Looking to get a Veiled Chameleon, any tips

[Toxic Tessa]

Hey all!

I have been considering getting a veiled Chameleon for a couple of years now. Only problem is that there are literally no shops around here that has them. Do they do well being shipped? If so, does anybody know any reputable breeders that they could recommend?

I have owned many reptiles in the past but never a Chameleon, so any tips would be fantastic! I have just now begun to seriously research them as I don't want to take one on without knowing fully what is needed.

[Quantum Constrictors]

I have always wanted one soooo bad too! But I heard they are quite delicate. Every single pet store around here sells em for $60 or so more if you want a panther of course.

I have never really done any reasearch so I can hel you out. Sorry lol

[Andybill]

They are awesome! I got mine from LLLReptile. they do ship and they have caresheets on their site. I would recommend a male they have cooler colors and the casque* gets bigger so IMO they are just cooler. they do have needs that are a little more specific and I think the veileds are some of the most resilient of the chameleon species, mine has been through hell when I moved up from Cali to Washington and just when he looked on the brink of death he came back swimmingly! Go check em out!

[Toxic Tessa]

Thanks both of you!

I will check out LLLReptiles for sure! I guess it's a good thing I wanted a male! For some reason, all my pets are males haha. Also, I am very envious of you Andybill! I moved from Seattle to Texas for school and would give just about anything to go back to WA. Texas weather does not agree with me .

[Andybill]

Well washington weather has been horrible! How much school you have left? What you going for? My sister about to move to Ft Worth.... So as far as chameleons go I must say they are super fun to watch grow. They start out about 2 inches long and next thing you know they are 6 inches long and their color variations are starting to get better granted they dont get extreme like panthers but I wouldnt trade mine for anything. I hope you enjoy your chameleon if/when you get it! Updates too! Keep it real Toxic Tessa.

[Toxic Tessa]

Well washington weather has been horrible! How much school you have left? What you going for? My sister about to move to Ft Worth.... So as far as chameleons go I must say they are super fun to watch grow. They start out about 2 inches long and next thing you know they are 6 inches long and their color variations are starting to get better granted they dont get extreme like panthers but I wouldnt trade mine for anything. I hope you enjoy your chameleon if/when you get it! Updates too! Keep it real Toxic Tessa.

See, I am use to the rain and over cast skies! I'm not use to all this humidity and sunshine. For the longest time I thought the sun was a UFO! I'm currently working on finishing up medical school. Got about a year left then have to go into specialization for Orthopedic Surgery - that is, if I can score high enough on my boards to get accepted into that residency. I am working on getting my MD and PHD at the same time. I've been in school forever.

I've always wanted a Chameleon but because they are said to be so delicate, I wanted to wait until I was older and more disciplined in the care of reptiles. I think I am ready now since I have housed countless random reptile species due to a rehabilitation program I was in. I will definitely post pictures when I do get one! Right now I am working on what type of setup to get going and exactly where to put it in my Zoo of an apartment.

[Andybill]

Wow I am have been in school for only 2 quarters and I cant wait to be done. I am only going an AA so I couldnt imagine going to school for a PhD wow! I am originally from Washington and thus used to the rain. But I joined the marines and was stationed in cali so I got spoiled with all the great weather and now all I want is sunshine!

I think the main concern for the chameleon has to be its eyes. They can get infections very easily so cleaning the cage on a weekly basis while spot cleaning each day is important. From my experience you have to be careful with vitamin supplementing too. You must have a Vit A supp but be careful not to over supp on the Vit A and not to under supp. Other than that I think the caresheet provided at the LLLReptile site covers everything and other questions you might have could be answered here or other forums. there is a forum that seems to be primarily chameleon so maybe join them too. It may sound like a real high maintainence animal but its totally worth it. Chameleons are super cool. I wont own any other type of lizard cuz i dont think they compare!

[susannuh]

I will agree that they are more on the delicate side, animal wise. And we're getting ready to breed panther chameleons. But the tricky thing is keeping them hydrated and dusting most of their food with vitamins. They can easily get defficiant in vitamins if they're insects aren't dusted. If they get stressed out then they can potentially die. And you also need to have a fairly big cage set up. We found that live plants seem to work the best hope some of this helped. I also hope it wasnt discouraging in anyway either!