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.