Talk about expensive! I am seriously reconsidering getting one. I know I got too big of a cage, and maybe that's what I need to change, but I figured hey...this is a nice cage for one to go roaming about.
I am having a hard time wrapping my brain around getting a light for $150 when the lizard is $40.
Your cage isn't too big at all. Actually, a 24 x 24 x 48 cage is the
minimum cage size recommended for most adult chameleons, included Veiled Chameleons. So that means you would probably want a bigger cage in the future if you want your chameleon to thrive. Most people get chameleons as babies or juveniles, and have to have a smaller cage for them when they are that young so that way they don't have a hard time finding their food. Then, when they are adults, you upgrade the cage. That will be about another $100, give or take - or more, if you do a fancy D.I.Y. project.
Also.... your veiled would cost $40? That's cheap. I have a panther chameleon I bought at a Reptile show - it was 3 months old at the time - and it cost me $200. That even, is cheap, considering that some super big online breeders sell panthers for $300 or even more, then you add in overnight express shipping costs..... $40 is a bargain. And then there are super rare-to-find chameleons that I've seen people selling for $700 and more.....
As for the lights... There are different routes you can go with that. A basking lamp is deff necessary, but don't get the bulbs at pet shops. Use a standard household incandescent 60 or 100 watt bulb as the heat bulb and save money. I have a dual deep dome heat lamp from Zoo Med, with two household 60 watt bulbs in it as my basking lights (I've had a 2 - in case one of them ever decided to go out when I'm not home, he won't get cold
) The dual dome basking lamp I use was $20 or less. There are other, single light, heat clamp lamps that can be had for $10-$15.
As for UVB.... when mine was younger, I used a singular UVB coiled bulb in a Fluker's 8.5" clamp lamp, which was $11. Now that he is bigger, I got me a 24" Zoo Med AquaSun T-5 HO Double Light Linear Fluorescent Hood (which is actually on sale right now at Petco until tomorrow $40.79 instead of $67.99) In it, I have a T5 HO Reptisun 10.0 and also, a T5 HO Ultra Sun 6500k bulb for my plants. Both bulbs can be found for around $20 usually, and the 6500k bulb can be found at hardware or plant store for a lot less usually. The clamp lamp is now housing a 100 watt bulb suspended above a few small ventilated jars of pupating insects, to provide heat for them to pupate faster and better.
Then you got fake plants and real plants. I use a mixture of both. Fake plants add color and variety to your cage, while real plants clean the air a bit and maintain humidity a million times better than any fake plant will. Both will cost $$. Fake plants are anywhere from a few bucks, all the way up to $20 for huge ones. Then the real plants.... found at plant nursery stores and such... can range in a variety of prices, but cheaper than buying them online. Get branches and vines as well for him to crawl around on, which can be found outside (and cleaned) our purchased online.
Then there is the misting system. Many out there, typically around $100. Mistking, Monsoon RS400. Climist, D.I.Y. systems....
Then add in feeders. Chameleons need variety, so the more different kinds of insects you can offer, the better. You wouldn't eat the same ham sandwich, day after day, year after year, and be happy. They won't eat the same bugs either day after day after day, every day - typically going on hunger strikes when they are fed the same thing over and over and over... So you need a variety of feeders.These are found at local pet stores, local bait shops, and online. Crickets and roaches are the best staple diet feeders. There are many many others. A quick google search or a search here at the forums will give you a wide variety of feeder info.
Now supplements. Calcium with D3, calcium without D3, Multivitamins.... you gotta have them all, and dust your insects with a schedule. You also have to gutload a lot of the insects you feed your chameleons so that way the insects are healthy, and they pass that onto the chameleon. Otherwise, an empty insect is like eating a piece of meat with no nutrition. Fatten your insects up!!! Have to provide proper gutload to make them healthy, and that makes your chameleon healthy.
Now there's the water issue... If you spray lots of water when misting, it has to collect somewhere. So you can either wipe it up daily, or build a drainage system of some sort. You can also purchase drainage TRAYS online. These have a wide range of values, depending on what route you go.
Speaking of water.... that brings me to humidity. And temperature. Gotta have a way to measure both, so now you need some dial gauges, or some digital gauges, to measure each. These have a wide range of prices as well, depending if you get dial or digital. Either way, you're looking at $10-$20 for a set of proper gauges.
There's a few more things I could add to the list.... but the point is..... Chameleons are not cheap, that is for sure. It's deff not like keeping other reptiles. There's a lot more to know, and a lot more time, patience, and $$ put into raising and caring for them.
It's a commitment, but you gotta make absolute sure you are going to follow through with it before you make your decision. It's called a hobby by many for a reason; hobbies tend to be a little pricey
This pic was before we updated our enclosure and we dropped almost a stack... lol. He was only 2 months at the time (miscommunication w our breeder thought he was 4 months) he learned to be a big boy though. Now he hates it when he has to leave his house.
