Chameleons anyone?

[marl_nyc]

Hi! I was just wondering if anyone here has had any experiences with having/raising Chameleons?

I am looking into getting one and I am currently doing research on their husbandry (care).

I would greatly appreciate any info from people who have them or have kept them as pets.

Thanks

Marl

[BioHazard]

I know a great forum you can get help on for that. http://herpden.4.forumer.com/index.php?

[Vicious_Fish]

If you're looking for a pet reptile you can interact with, chameleons are not for you.
But if that's not the case then they can make very nice display animals with the right enclosure.

Do you know what species you're looking at getting? Almost all species need large, spacious enclosures with very good air flow with the exception of some of the dwarf species that do all right in glass aquariums. All species can stress pretty easily if they are not provided a large setup with many hiding places to help them feel secure. Chams do not like to be seen. Most of the common species for sale like veiled and Jacksons should have tall enclosures that should not be located in high traffic areas.

They need a lot of live food so be prepared for a high food bill. Gut loaded/dusted crickets, roaches and hornworms can make up a bulk of the diet. Chams will not drink water from dishes because they are dew drinkers. You’ll need to mist the cage twice a day for them to stay hydrated.

One of the unfortunate things about chameleons is that they are not long lived animals. 4-8 years is about the average lifespan with males living the longest of the two sexes. Years ago I had a wild caught male Senegal Chameleon that lived for 4 years. I have no idea how old he was when I bought him. If you can stay away from wild caughts and do your best to by a captive bred animal.

[Chris Anderson]

I have over 12 years of experience with chameleons and have worked with over 50 different species. Here are a couple good links that might help you:

http://www.chameleonnews.com/?page=article&id=74
http://www.chameleonforums.com/
http://www.chameleonnews.com/?page=reference

If you happen to have any particular questions, I'd be happy to help.

Chris

[marl_nyc]

Thank you for all the links! It has been very helpful! I am learning a lot and I will hopefully be getting one soon. After I do more research.

Marl

[pam916]

I had three vieled chameleons, the last one died about 6 months ago, mine lived for about 4 years. I think they were some of the most interesting pets I have ever had and I enjoyed them and although they definitely do not like to be handled they do interact with you in their own way. With that being said, I will probably not get another one, they are a long term committment and can be rather costly to maintain. There was a thread started several months ago by a member who was considering getting a vieled chameleon and the member had heard that it costs around $400 a year to keep one and after I started adding it up I believe that is an accurate figure when you consider the equipment needed and the cost of crickets, etc. So please think about it carefully before you get one. As mentioned above they do not drink from a bowl and require you to provide them with some kind of water source a couple of times a day, which means you must have someone else to take care of them daily if you go out of town. I placed an ice cube on top of their enclosure so that as it melted it would drip onto a leaf that they would drink from. Since they only accept live food you must have a daily source of live insects, usually crickets and you MUST dust your crickets with calcium powder. I ordered my crickets by the thousand and kept them in a 10 gallon aquarium, which meant I had to provide food and water for the crickets. You can also buy your crickets by the dozen from your local pet store but it is much more costly considering that a young growing chameleon can easily consume a dozen crickets a day.