Which type of chameleon should I get?

[Tiberius223]

Hey I'm thinking about purchasing a chameleon, and I'm confused on which one to buy, ppl say veiled are the best bet but apparently it's becuz they're cheaper and have more health risk. I like the look of panther chams and Jackson's chams. Any advice I should take? Like which would be more friendly and healthy?

 

[nightanole]

Friendly is more of a cham to cham basis just like dog/cat personalities. Hand raised (not farm raised) normally are friendlier and want hand rides.

In terms of easy to care for, id go with the veiled. They can survive a wide temp variance and humidity. They also will eat some fruit/veg so they are alittle easier to keep a health diet.

Panthers are another excellent pick. They are alittle smaller, little less aggressive, and alittle more active than a veiled. This is splitting hairs. Panthers may be healthier just due to the massive imbreeding of the veiled. Most of the panthers sold here you can see picks of mom and dad and its the closest thing you will get to "papers".

Another "hardy" cham is the Oustalet. I have one and they are very mellow and survive in floridia just fine. The down side is that finding a captive born is hard. I bought a floridia wild caught baby, and 90 days later 2 hand raised clutches showed up on the forums. The Oustalet is not a very pretty cham(bark rocks dirt), but its dino like and the largest sane species you can get(next size up species is $2k).

 

[Tiberius223]

Friendly is more of a cham to cham basis just like dog/cat personalities. Hand raised (not farm raised) normally are friendlier and want hand rides.

In terms of easy to care for, id go with the veiled. They can survive a wide temp variance and humidity. They also will eat some fruit/veg so they are alittle easier to keep a health diet.

Panthers are another excellent pick. They are alittle smaller, little less aggressive, and alittle more active than a veiled. This is splitting hairs. Panthers may be healthier just due to the massive imbreeding of the veiled. Most of the panthers sold here you can see picks of mom and dad and its the closest thing you will get to "papers".

Another "hardy" cham is the Oustalet. I have one and they are very mellow and survive in floridia just fine. The down side is that finding a captive born is hard. I bought a floridia wild caught baby, and 90 days later 2 hand raised clutches showed up on the forums. The Oustalet is not a very pretty cham(bark rocks dirt), but its dino like and the largest sane species you can get(next size up species is $2k).

Thank you, I'm deffinently looking into the panthers, veiled are still beautiful and very cool. Would a Jackson Cham be a bad choice for a beginner

 

[nightanole]

Never own a jacksons. I know they do not like it above 80, and are high humidity folk. I cannt provide ether one all year around so i have not tried them. Most can trace their roots back to the Hawaii release in the 70's.

 

[szpond]

Thank you, I'm deffinently looking into the panthers, veiled are still beautiful and very cool. Would a Jackson Cham be a bad choice for a beginner

Jackson's is what I started with. I would say it depends on if you'll house inside or outside. My Jackson's has always been housed inside (weather mood swings in Michigan...I don't trust it), and I have found that I needed a lot of free time to keep his humidity up. Knowing what I do now, I wish I started with a veiled chameleon, although they need it to be hotter than a Jackson's. My adult Jackson's basking spot doesn't go above 80, he likes it to be cool anyway.

 

[gooslapa]

i would, and DID go panther.. they're all just so different, i love it

 

[Tiberius223]

i would, and DID go panther.. they're all just so different, i love it

That's a shame about the Jackson's, they are very awesome looking. I heard they're a bit aggressive too, a bit more territorial than veiled and panther. Until further notice I'm going panther, unless I all of a sudden fall in love with a veiled Cham

 

[chameleonkev]

Jacksons are easy to keep but if you want a jacksonii look at a couple of diffrent kinds an decide with you like, jj jacksonii, mt meru, xanth are all nice. My favourite are the mt meru

 

[Tiberius223]

Jacksons are easy to keep but if you want a jacksonii look at a couple of diffrent kinds an decide with you like, jj jacksonii, mt meru, xanth are all nice. My favourite are the mt meru

I just worried about the handling, I don't want to stress the chameleon out by trying to grab it out of its enclosure, I'd like a chameleon that likes hand rides

 

[chameleonkev]

If that's what you want I wouldn't get a chameleon

 

[nightanole]

Yup hand riders are hit and miss.

My last panther was a "look at" lizard. You just looked at it, you didnt touch it, for cleaning you grabbed the stick it was on and it road to the bed so you could clean the cage. You grab it you get bit

On the other hand my my current outs can be petted by 4 year olds, and while it wont walk on your hand(im too impatient) it will easily let loose and grab your hand if you scoop it up like a beardy.


Never by a cham with the expectation it will be one of the lovable ones on youtube that come running to you and dont want back in the cage. They are not like beardys where everyone is a lump that can be picked up and played with.

 

[Tiberius223]

I understand that they cannot be handled all the time and I won't especially for my first one, but I've seen so many videos I've people having them on their hands and carrying em that way but deffinently not all the time. But I'd like the Cham to feel comfortable climbing on me without me forcing him to and stressing him out, I know that will take time

 

[Ladybones]

I own a veiled and he is the sweetest guy around, pretty easy to care for. they are the easiest for beginners really, they are very tolerant of changes in temp and humidity.

I just think Veiled's are cool looking myself.

 

[Tiberius223]

Yeah I'm really crossed between the two I like the veiled but I just have heard Many good things about the panther, I love the colors too

 

[Adam Harrelson]

you should look at tiki tiki reptiles.com where i got mine from they're trustful you can also pick which kind of veiled you can get there's some new ones now on there I myself got an orange crush there's others like the yellow mako

 

[MCSEB]

My advice, do your research on the chameleons you are considering on getting. See which one catches your attention more. Veileds are cheaper chameleons and very popular to begin with and panthers are very popular chameleons to own too and have beautiful colors but are little more on the expensive side. If you feel/have money to spend then definitely go with the panther but make sure you read their care sheets carefully. I would suggest to print it out and read through it a couple of times.