have been thinking seriously about getting a chameleon

[Leza]

can anyone offer any insight? how do you care for them? what do they eat? how big should their enclosure be? I saw a male and female and their cage and accessories on CL for only 250!! should have jumped on the opportunity, they are long gone.

 

[Greycloud]

I had a male veiled chameleon. He was about 2 inches when I got him and was about 10 1/2 inches when he passed. I kept him in a 30 gallon terrarium. Vents on the side, screen lid and a reptile light on top. I had an automatic mister that came on 4 times a day. Humidity and heat are important. Diet was crickets, mealworms with heads removed and wax worms. He became ill one winter and we were in the middle of a horrible snow storm. Over 3 feet on the roads. I spoke with the vet several times and we could not save him sadly.
He enjoyed going outside on the plants in the summer and catching butterflys. I do not recommend a Panther chameleon. They can be rather nasty.

 

[Saemma]

 

[Stacy_b]

Love Chameleons. Very hard to care for. The cage should be well ventilated, they can get sick easy. Make sure you water often, they dehydrate easy.
If you get a female be sure to have a place for her to dig, in case she needs to lay eggs, you dont want her to get egg bound. Keep the temps steady also.

 

[Milo]

I love chameleons, however it can be /very/ difficult to treat them if they become ill

 

[Leza]

what is a good price for a veiled, about 4 inches long? i think its 2 years old, on CL but the home is WAY too small.

 

[Greycloud]

4 inches is pretty small for a 2 yr old. Mine was about 7-8 inches at 1 yr. I paid $80 for a 2 inch baby.

 

[TITANIS]

Fascinating.

 

[Leza]

sorry i was looking at another add.... mixed them up. it is young, the 2 year old is like 8 or 9 inches

 

[Leza]

is the red reptile light ok for all the time or should it be a uvb bulb (full spectrum)?

 

[TITANIS]

I do not recommend a Panther chameleon. They can be rather nasty.

Is Panther the larger variety? What's bad about them?

 

[Leza]

Is it worth buying a panther chameleon for the extra money instead of buying a veiled chameleon? - Yahoo! Answers

I guess they are just unforgiving about the environment?

 

[usakoinwonderland]

I've always wanted a chameleon so I find all of this fascinating

 

[Leza]

i'm going to get it tomorrow

 

[kcbee]

Don't forget pictures!!

 

[BirdsFTW]

I know zippo about chameleons... but I never knew they're hard to care for?? We've got Jackson's chameleons all over our island and a lot of people have them as pets. I guess Jackson's are more hardy than others?

I looked up the Veiled and it's pretty!!

 

[Leza]

i guess they need vitamins and calcium supplements, but you have to dust the bugs, and feed the bugs to get the vitamins in the chameleon. they can't have a lot of vit. a either, it is better as beta carotene?

 

[Leza]

here's a preview

 

[waterfaller1]

I had a friend, actually the person who I got Sheba from. He had the panthers. The males are beautiful. He had elaborate systems for each one with misters and all that. He had very poor luck even though he had everything for them. Especially the females, which all died. They are cool, but not an easy pet to keep. Make sure you have some kind of power back up in case of cold, or power outage.Good luck!

 

[kcbee]

Oh my it's so tiny!!!! So cute.