Getting a Chameleon!!! please help with setup

Im getting a chameleon for christmas, not sure which kind yet but probley a jacksons or veiled. I need help with the setup though like what I should use for heat and what to put inside the cage for them. I plan on getting one of those all screen cages for chameleons but was wondering what size I should get. I would like to get a big enough cage that i dont need to upgrade later (38 gallon sound good?) anyways I would appreaciate some good advice.

get a cage that is taller than it is wide. an arborial cage is good. the like to climb so put lots of things in there for him to climb on. 38 gallons sounds good. thats plenty! um lets see. oh don't put a water bowl in there. just mist them down the collect the water off of they're nose. and make sure that you mist the cage often, mist the walls, plants, and everything within the cage... they drink the water off of that too. feed crickets and yeah! good luck hope hes cool!
P.S. you can put a water bowl in. but they wont drink from it. mine never did. mine always drank off of the leaves and stuff. good luck!:gj::salute:;)

Because I live at two different houses (divorced parents) my mom will be taking care of it when im not ther(I come every other week) She said she would feed it when im not there but I dont want to have to make her mist too, would i be able to just get a dripper for him to drink out of or is it completly necessary for the misting. I will have her do it if i need to but dont want to bother her too much. P.S. Do you feed them every day?

Hmm, how much herp experience do you have? I ask because chams are a really high maintenance and sensitive reptile. They need really good ventilation and high humidity: something that can be a *itch to get right. Also, if your mom is going to care for it make sure she'll be ready to do a lot more than just toss crickets in its cage. These lizards need quite a bit of work to get things right. They need good UVA and UVB, as well as a basking spot and 12/12 light cycle. They should be misted often, since most species are tropical and also since they drink from rain and dew dripping off leaves. Making sure their cage habitat is appropriate is really important.

There are some great sites out there on Cham care, including this one: http://www.chameleonsonly.com/Chameleon%20Care.htm
So do some searching for care sheets, read a few books, then decide if you're ready for such an advanced herp.

Sorry if this sounds pushy...it's just that I've seen too many Chams that suffered or died because their owners treated them like anoles or iguanas, not knowing their special care needs.
Lots of luck getting ready for a great lizard pet!

I have owend a leopard gecko in the past and am a proud owner of a ball python. Can you please tell me about the UVA and UVB lighting. I figured I would need a cage, a heat lamp at the top of the cage, a dripper and plenty of sticks leaves and branches for it to explore. what else?

yeah the dripper will work! but you do need to mist pritty often. essential most definatly.

i have a veiled and she's doing great. i have her in an exo-terra. i know many people disagree with them being in glass cages but the sides are really covered with plastic leaves... i've used a glue gun and attached them all over so she doesn't see her reflection.

i made her a lattice to climb on... her ceramic heat lamp is at the top where she basks. of course i have an excellent quality UVA UVB lamp (the long ones in the ballist)

i have an automatic mister. it's really an essential item for chams. i've got it set to every 12 hours and i increase it in the summer dry months.

i feel her silkworms... and some crickets a few times a month at most... her diet is 99% silkworms.

here's a video of her eating:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6X20l_EHJDA

i've heard they are very hard to keep but i have absolutely no problems with mine... she's very easy to care for... but that's because i started with all the right equipment!

enjoy! (and yes feeding and misting is essential on a daily basis... misting twice a day)

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Originally Posted by smalls92

I have owend a leopard gecko in the past and am a proud owner of a ball python. Can you please tell me about the UVA and UVB lighting. I figured I would need a cage, a heat lamp at the top of the cage, a dripper and plenty of sticks leaves and branches for it to explore. what else?

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Please do not take this the wrong way, but I would avoid getting a chameleon if I were in your shoes.

The husbandry requirements are on a different level altogether compared to a leopard gecko or a ball python. They need correct lighting, correct temps, correct ventilation, correct supplementation and a proper diet. They are easily stressed and more sensitive to environmental/husbandry issues than either of the animals you have experience with.

You are asking a lot of good questions, but frankly, these are not questions to ask on a forum where you are going to get a gamut of answers.

Take the time to do the proper research on all of the husbandry requirements. This is not an animal where you want to rely on the general consensus of opinion.

Lastly, your mother needs to be on board with providing the proper care for this animal when you are not there. This means that she needs to be as informed as you are on how to see to it's needs.

Yes I definatly agree with you on the fact that my mother must me completly informed on these animals but I belive that if I start with the proper setup I will be fully capeable in taking care of this animal. I want something a more advanced in the herp world and think a chameleon would be the right choice.

I think one of the biggest concerns with chameleons is females becoming egg-bound. My cousin had a veiled chameleon that recently died due to being egg-bound.

The following is from http://www.veiled-chameleon.com/:

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First and foremost, I cannot stress this enough, if you have a female veiled, she is GOING to lay eggs or die, regardless of whether she's around a male or not. You MUST, absolutely, have a 6 inch deep pan of sand (preferably playsand, not something used for building materials) available for her to lay eggs in or she WILL become eggbound and die.

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That's worded a little dramatically... but you get the idea. :P

Like the others have said, do tons and tons and tons of research, be a stickler for the set-up, and make sure you provide the right environment if you get a female.

Good luck!

Aleesha: Very pretty veiled you have there. And a great video. :) The proper equipment and devotion to their care is essential for a healthy, happy Cham...and you certainly have that.

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Originally Posted by smalls92

Yes I definatly agree with you on the fact that my mother must me completly informed on these animals but I belive that if I start with the proper setup I will be fully capeable in taking care of this animal. I want something a more advanced in the herp world and think a chameleon would be the right choice.

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Depending on where you live, it can be tricky to even find one in good health - and I'm 20 minutes away from one of the largest herp stores in the Country. Without naming names, I can tell you that alot of their animals are dehydrated and have other health issues.

I had an panther chameleon for about seven years before he died of old age. I live in the Bay Area and was able to keep him outdoors at least part of the day for about 5 months out of the year. I basically ended up building him a custom wood frame/pvc screen cage that measured about 3'Wx3'Lx6'H that I would move in and out of the house, weather permitting.

I warn you again, however, that chameleons are way less tolerant of husbandry mistakes than other herps and while I enjoyed keeping him, I will not own a chameleon again. For seven years I was constantly making sure he wasn't dehydrated, that he had the correct balance of humidity and ventilation, etc. I now joke with my wife that our two kids are less demanding.....

When you own a snake and want to leave for a week, it's fairly simple to find someone who will make sure that your thermostat is working, that he has clean water and that any waste is cleaned up. A chameleon is an entirely different matter altogether.

I'm not trying to talk you out of buying one, but most pet stores, even specialized herp shops will eagerly sell you one of these animals without covering all of the basics. A reputable breeder will give you the run down of the things that you must do to keep these animals thriving.

I would also like to add:

I really believe the reason my chameleon is doing so well is because our humidity is really high where I live and in my home specifically (we have 6 large fish tanks... three in the room she's housed in) - and I breed silkworms so she has an unlimited supply of healthy silks to munch on. Plus the fact that I have the right equipment.

I thought about this last night and honestly, I would not recommend someone get a cham who isn't there on a daily basis to care for it. They really are much too sensitive to only have 50% husbandry. Snakes can be left for a week... no problem. Leopard Geckos have a high tolerance for being ignored... but your cham isn't like that.

I suggest you wait until you have a living situation where you are there all the time. Cause you could NOT move a cham week by week... they would get totally stressed out and die. I never even handle mine due to the fact they can stress easily.

Hope this assists you to make your decision.

my opinion may not be popular, but i believe that veiled chameleons are actually fairly easy to keep... their diet is not specialized, they can withstand a wide variation in temps, and they come from an extremely harsh environment. other chams are a different story, but i'd start with a veiled for sure. i kept a pair in a 20 gal tipped on its side for the first couple months, then moved the to a 55 gal show tank for a month or so... now they dwell in customer cages with two sides of oak and two sides of plastic coated wire screen (1/4") with silk and real plants.

I would like to put in my two cents. I have told this story before, my friend bought a veiled cham from a really great source. (nature's spirit) but she did not take proper care of the animal. I grew increasingly concerned, and started doing all kinds of research on the web. I bought her a light, cricket keeper, gut load, calcium, vitamins supplement, cage... but it was too late. The animal grew fast, but died from MBD.

First off, everyone always says "dont get a chamleon as your first herp!". It's true these animals need specialized care. The humidity, the food items, UV rays, they are all important.
Even though veileds are from the desert (yemen, saudia arabia, not kuwait, lol) they need humidity. Usually ambient humidity in the house is not enough. Misting and having an auto matic dripper are a MUST.
I think like Aleesha said, she has naturally high ambient humidity, and she raises her own food items, is probably the best way to keep them. I know that chams are supposed to have wide varied diets to prevent sickness. I have also read that these veileds love to bask. having some window screen cage to that goes outside (maintain a cool end on the inside of the house for the cham) is supposed to be soooo much better than just uva/uvb lights. Natural sun is just the best. Giving them a few hours in the summer does more than you know.

The food items need to be varied, like the crickets cant be too big. It's also good to get them to eat greens when young. Vitamin supplement is usually a good idea.

Also, for the sexing, it's very easy to tell male and female veiled apart. The males will have spurs on their back feet since the day they are born. I recommend a male over a female since that does require more experience than you have right now.

I think my point is, read read read!!! And read some more!!! These animals do take a lot more care than a leopard gecko, and def more than a BP. This is something everyone needs to be on board with. Save your money and don't go cheap when buying equipment. It is so important to have a high quality light, and a well ventilated cage. For the youngins, fill the cage up so they don't become stressed. Use proper heating equipment and monitoring equipment. Again, like Aleesha said, (:D) If you buy the right tools, it will make things much, muuuuch easier. Hope that makes sense and doesnt deter you, but helps you make the right decision.

It's all true. Chams are an intermediate reptile at least, and need constant looking after with good equipment. I consider myself a pretty experienced herp owner (various lizards, turtles, and now snakes), but I would never think of owning a chameleon unless we were out of apartments and both had good, steady jobs with adequate time to devote to it.

If you really want to get a 'different' lizard...why not try a skink? Skinks are gentle for the most part, very pretty, and a bit easier to care for than a cham. My favorites are the Schneider's and the Blue Tongue. :)

I was thinking of a skink but they get too big, the only cage i have is a ten gallon aquarium but with a cham I can buy plenty of cages because of them being so cheap (all screen). I will be going to a reptile speacilty store this weekend (east bay vivarium for those of you who live in the bay area) And plan on asking many questions about chameleons but also plan on checking out other lizards too. What I have gathered so far is, A tank, heat light, UVA/UVB tube, plenty of vines and plants, automatic mister because I will not be there all the time to mist it (although I would make frequent trips to check on it when im not there) A dripper and thats about it. If I do get a chameleon I plan on rasing my own crickets in the spare ten gallon tank I have so I have a steady supply of food, maby even divide the tank into half crickets half silkworms. Im not saying that this is my final decision but im definatly leaning tworads a chameleon. Ive been reading for hours every night about them and belive that I could care for it properly. Please tell me if there is anything im forgetting

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Originally Posted by smalls92

I was thinking of a skink but they get too big, the only cage i have is a ten gallon aquarium but with a cham I can buy plenty of cages because of them being so cheap (all screen). I will be going to a reptile speacilty store this weekend (east bay vivarium for those of you who live in the bay area) And plan on asking many questions about chameleons but also plan on checking out other lizards too. What I have gathered so far is, A tank, heat light, UVA/UVB tube, plenty of vines and plants, automatic mister because I will not be there all the time to mist it (although I would make frequent trips to check on it when im not there) A dripper and thats about it. If I do get a chameleon I plan on rasing my own crickets in the spare ten gallon tank I have so I have a steady supply of food, maby even divide the tank into half crickets half silkworms. Im not saying that this is my final decision but im definatly leaning tworads a chameleon. Ive been reading for hours every night about them and belive that I could care for it properly. Please tell me if there is anything im forgetting

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There are maybe two people in that store who can give you any real advice on chameleons and the rest of the staff will happily give you bad advice. The Vivarium is a blast to visit but I have repeatedly seen them give out improper husbandry advice. Additionally, over the last two years I have seen a slow decline in the condition of a lot of their animals.

I recommend Googling for Chameleon-specific forums and reading their FAQs and threads. I also recommend that you contact several breeders and talk to them. Most reputable breeders will patiently answer your questions and will also sell you properly cared for and conditioned animals.

man you guys either really hate me or just dont trust me:( but all jokes aside, like I have said many times, I have not made my final decision but am leaning twords a cham and have been doing hours of research every night because of that BUT that doesnt mean that im not thinking of something else. I was thinking of crested geckos but to me, geckos are just boring at least my leopard was. But I will continue to do research and see what EVB has to offer me also, how bigs do skinks get and how big do their tanks need to be.

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Originally Posted by smalls92

man you guys either really hate me or just dont trust me:( but all jokes aside, like I have said many times, I have not made my final decision but am leaning twords a cham and have been doing hours of research every night because of that BUT that doesnt mean that im not thinking of something else. I was thinking of crested geckos but to me, geckos are just boring at least my leopard was. But I will continue to do research and see what EVB has to offer me also, how bigs do skinks get and how big do their tanks need to be.

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http://bluetongueskinks.net/blue.htm

Don't mind the corny music. Good care sheet, decent forum and a good breakdown of the different variants.

Blue tongues are a lot easier to care for than chameleons, and are more interactive to boot.

If you are into geckos, check out Pet'acular Exotics in Antioch. Richard Speckner is the owner and is really into geckos.

I think leos are boring too but I'm in love with cresties, and honestly, they're a hell of a lot easier to care for than a chameleon. Chams aren't all that active either, so if you're trying to avoid boring, you might want to skip that too.

If you're looking for more of a challenge, maybe think about dart frogs- they're just as pretty as chameleons and a lot more active. You can't handle them, but you shouldn't be handling a cham either. I wouldn't say they're as care intensive- I don't pay attention to them everyday and I know I can leave them in someone else's care without worrying (too much, but I'm neurotic).

You can also setup some GORGEOUS cages for them to hop around in. :D

Well, as for some good skink varieties... Blue tongues are my favorite but they need lots of room as adults. Other great choices would be Schneider's - very pretty, don't get THAT big, and still simple care, and Fire skinks - also relatively small and pretty. Both of those species are easier than a cham, still look nice and are unusual pets, and normally don't cost a ton either.

And no, we don't hate you (at least I don't think the others do)... we're just trying to make it clear that Chams are a VERY demanding and sensitive herp that need their care 'just so' to survive and thrive. We would rather not see you get overwhelmed by the care demands and especially don't want you to lose your pet.

i find my veilds are probably my most active herp and the most enjoyable to watch... mostly because the time i watch them most is feeding time. i never get enough of the way they stalk up on the prety and *zap* them like that. i love watching them shed too, that's always amuzing... they remind me of a cat preening themselves.

Hey smalls92,

People dont hate you at all, they are just trying to help you avoid possible heartbreak. Go to chameleonforums.com and read,read, read. I think the main concern from people is that you arent going to be there every day. I am sure your mother is perfectly capable, but chameleons can be specific and require a lot of attention to detail. Crickets are time consuming and require a lot of space to get a breeding colony going and should be cleaned every day. Also, a cricket only diet will not suffice as a staple diet you will need to vary it with feeders such as silkworms,hornworms and roaches are just a few. I spend at least 30 minutes a day dealing with feeding,cleaning feeder insects and the cham itself (and I only have 1 cham). Even if you have just 1 cham the husbandry is still time consuming and I think unless you are just completely obsessed your mom will probably get tried of the daily requirements. Try that discussion forum mentioned above and see what you think!!

Dell