Holy cow! How do they make it in the wild!

[Cmoore]

I'm new and in reading all these threads to make sure I am set up right and do the right thing, it sounds almost impossible for a chameleon to make it in the wild! Between supplements, lighting, heat, water, humidity - YIKES! I know the point is to mimic the wild as much as reasonably possible but geesh! I am sure that most people only post when they are having issues and don't post anything when things are going smoothly so I'm trying not to freak out to much! My new little guy should be here Thursday - Can't wait!

 

[Kate]

Ask lots of questions, relax and enjoy

 

[lysinlight87]

I often look at my chams and wonder how on earth they exist in the wild too lol I guess they do just fine, it's just we have to work hard to keep them happy in captivity. Once you've got things covered, it becomes easier. My chams are really low maintenance now I know what I'm doing!

Ask as many questions as you need & enjoy you cham!

 

[JonRich]

Im sure they do just fine in the wild...

Captive_________vs_______Wild
*UVB__________________________Natural Sunlight
*Supplementing_________________Insects they feed on gutload on natural vegetation, and could possibly get supplements from soil.
*Dripper/Misting__________________Rain fall and moring condensation
In most cases Crickets and mealworms____whatever they can catch

 

[JonRich]

Its actually not that hard once you understand their needs.There are also plentyyy of threads of things going as planned without issue and pure enjoyment.

 

[Carlton]

I'm new and in reading all these threads to make sure I am set up right and do the right thing, it sounds almost impossible for a chameleon to make it in the wild! Between supplements, lighting, heat, water, humidity - YIKES! I know the point is to mimic the wild as much as reasonably possible but geesh! I am sure that most people only post when they are having issues and don't post anything when things are going smoothly so I'm trying not to freak out to much! My new little guy should be here Thursday - Can't wait!

Basically as Jon said before, we are taking a creature that has evolved to thrive in a specific wild habitat and putting it into a very limited artificial habitat. We have no where near the same diet diversity they'd get from wild insects, our artificial lighting isn't nearly as good as the sun, our houses are comfortable for humans...but a lot drier than a cham's humid forest home, we are still doing a lot of guesswork about nutrition/UV/calcium metabolism, the breeding stock we are working from is very limited (and this increases the chance for hereditary problems and inbreeding effects), and we are also subjecting this solitary territorial animal to daily disturbance.

Also, consider that we hope to have our pet chams live longer than their wild relatives might be lucky enough to. Age means there's simply more time for an individual's physical problems to surface.