New Cham Enthusiast!

[elle628]

I have always been intrigued by chameleons, but it was the other day when the worker at the pet store that made me want to purchase one. She told me to hold my palm flat and the cham proceeded to walk on my hand, climbing my fingers. I immediately decided I wanted one.to bad its not that simple. After researching veiled chams for about a week now I think I havea pretty good general knowledge of this incredible animal. But there are a few things that I could find the answer to. First, is there a difference in the behaviors of males and females? Also is there a difference in size with females? If so, what? Would misting 3x a day for 5 minutes and a jug or icecube drip system efficient hydration? Also I see a lot of "as little handling as possible" but how do you not handle him/her alot if you plan on taking them outside for sunlight, letting him sit in the shower on a plant, and cage cleaning? Is night heating necessary? When you allow your pet to shower, you leave him unattended?do females layeggs even if not breeded? And lastly would mixing fake plants with real plants be a bad idea, incase they mistake the fake leaf for a real one? Thanks for helping!

 

[Berg]

I have always been intrigued by chameleons, but it was the other day when the worker at the pet store that made me want to purchase one. She told me to hold my palm flat and the cham proceeded to walk on my hand, climbing my fingers. I immediately decided I wanted one.to bad its not that simple. After researching veiled chams for about a week now I think I havea pretty good general knowledge of this incredible animal. But there are a few things that I could find the answer to. First, is there a difference in the behaviors of males and females? Also is there a difference in size with females? If so, what? Would misting 3x a day for 5 minutes and a jug or icecube drip system efficient hydration? Also I see a lot of "as little handling as possible" but how do you not handle him/her alot if you plan on taking them outside for sunlight, letting him sit in the shower on a plant, and cage cleaning? Is night heating necessary? When you allow your pet to shower, you leave him unattended?do females layeggs even if not breeded? And lastly would mixing fake plants with real plants be a bad idea, incase they mistake the fake leaf for a real one? Thanks for helping!

Im a new"er" cham owner( 6 months female veiled) and wanted to try and help everyone on here answer some "rookie" questions so im not saying that this is all written in stone


1. Male Veiled Chams are bigger than females and I hear a little more aggressive.( dont know about other species)

2. To me 3 x a day is a lot for that long maybe shorter times on the misting and drip system is perfect for them.

3. Handling is as little as possible which just means dont take him out more than is needed cage cleaning is a necessary so you are going to have to handle them.

4 No night heat needed some say its good to have the temp drop at night.

5 I dont know what you mean by shower.

6 Yes infertle eggs

7 Fake and real plants/vines is a good combo. They have non toxic plant for them incase they try and eat it

Hope that helps and there are a lot of great members here to help you out with any more ?s so don’t be afraid to ask

 

[justjumpit621]

I have always been intrigued by chameleons, but it was the other day when the worker at the pet store that made me want to purchase one. She told me to hold my palm flat and the cham proceeded to walk on my hand, climbing my fingers. I immediately decided I wanted one.to bad its not that simple. After researching veiled chams for about a week now I think I havea pretty good general knowledge of this incredible animal. But there are a few things that I could find the answer to. First, is there a difference in the behaviors of males and females? Also is there a difference in size with females? If so, what? Would misting 3x a day for 5 minutes and a jug or icecube drip system efficient hydration? Also I see a lot of "as little handling as possible" but how do you not handle him/her alot if you plan on taking them outside for sunlight, letting him sit in the shower on a plant, and cage cleaning? Is night heating necessary? When you allow your pet to shower, you leave him unattended?do females layeggs even if not breeded? And lastly would mixing fake plants with real plants be a bad idea, incase they mistake the fake leaf for a real one? Thanks for helping!

Sound like you've been reading up =D Great job. Here are some answers to your questions.

-Behavior wise, it really depends on the chameleon. Some people have nice boys, some have aggressive boys, some have sweet girlies, some have PITA girlies it really all depends on the cham which is hard to tell when you first get them. If you would like a friendlier chameleon, try getting one close enough that you can go visit it first to assess it's temperament.
-Males are usually a little bigger than females, but then again I know some pretty big females.
-3x a day misting for 5 mins is perfect, and it is always good to have a drip system as you stated. I use an IV drip system I got from work (vet office).
- Handling really depends on the chameleon. If your chameleon is afraid of you and every little movement makes it run for the hills, leave it alone as often as possible. You can take it outside for sun possibly on a plant that is already in it's cage so you only have to carry the plant. The same goes for showering and cleaning. But very friendly chams should be fine.
-No night heating is neccesary, veiled chameleons need to regulate their body temp at night and temps going into the upper 60's is prefered.
- You should never leave a chameleon unattended in the shower, some can wander and some can fall off their plant and into the water at the bottom and drown.
- Females will lay infertile clutches of eggs if not regulated with food and temps, so for a beginner I suggest it would be best to get a male, which you can tell by spurs on the heel of the back feet.
- Veileds tend to be plant eaters, so if you have fake plants in with real ones, make sure the leaves are secure. I use some fake plants and vines from the dollar store along with some cut grape vines and live plants.

Good luck! To make sure you have everything up to par, you should fill out this https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/ form so we can make sure you know what you are doing and can address any issues before you get the chameleon.

 

[elle628]

Thanks so much! I'm glad there's a place where I can ask past/present cham owners for advice.