New to this!

[jamest0o0]

Hi everyone, my whole life i've wanted a chameleon. I've had all sorts of reptiles, saltwater reef aquariums, and everything else you can imagine growing up. Right now i only have 2 cats because i have my own place now. I really wanted an exotic pet so my girlfriend and I decided on a chameleon. I realize their care requirements and need for a local vet. I have a lot to read up on, but i feel it should be no problem, i'm willing to be patient and set this up the right way.

I plan to re-read the stickies(i just skimmed through), but is there any other sources of info out there you guys would recommend? We love the colors of the panthers, and are pretty dead set on having one eventually. I want the enclosure to be perfect and make it as natural as possible. I'd love to make it like their natural enviroment as closely as possible. Also are there any online stores you'd recommend for buying equipment, plants, etc? Anything you guys would like to tell me beforehand so i know what i'm getting into? It seems like it'll take some time and reading, but i'm not noticing anything insane. Just to keep them from stressing too much which i'm sure i'll read about. I'd like to get the enclosure set up ASAP. So i can stabilize it and make sure everything is good for awhile before I get the cham.

I wanted to put it in my living room somewhere do you guys see any problems with this? I can put it elsewhere if so. Also i have a lot of windows in the house, is this a problem?

Thanks in advance, this is all i could think of for now, but i'm sure i'll have more questions soon.

 

[bobcochran]

The care sheets under the resources tab are a great place to start.
I think you'll want to keep your chameleon away from the cats, even if the cats can't get to the chameleon, the sight of them will stress out your new cham.

 

[#Chams4life]

I don't hink having the cage in the living room would cause any problems I keep both of mine in there and they love it, they always want out and are super sociable. Windows are not a problem just as long as they can get out of the sun when they want, the sun is very good for them.

 

[jamest0o0]

Thanks for the quick replies. So what should i do about the cats? They are indoor and roam the house. Do you guys think this is a problem? I've looked over a lot, i'm not really seeing anything too extreme, definitely not a pet for a kid, but for two young adults with jobs and the devotion to make a perfect enclosure for our future chameleon it doesn't seem too hard. I've heard they were difficult and then the opposite, with the right stuff, not a big deal. So what do you guys think? Is there anything that sticks out as a huge PITA or heavily time consuming that i am overlooking?

Would you go male or female panther? From my understanding males are larger and more colorful so that appeals to me more.

Also can someone recommend a place online to buy the best enclosure i can? I'd like to not have to upgrade in the future if possible. Since it'll most likely be in the living room i want something nice, i've saved a lot for this so i'm willing to fork out whatever is necessary to make things easier and look better. I was wondering if there was an enclosure out there with a canopy or something to hide the equipment and make it look like a nice display. I understand they need the screens though for ventilation.

Thanks again!

 

[#Chams4life]

I have two cats and they roam the house as well my cage is on the floor and the cats like to sit and watch them and the chams don't mind. Yes male panthers are more colorful and you don't have to worry about egg laying

Dragon strand sells nice cages. You could look there
http://dragonstrand.com

 

[Carlton]

I don't hink having the cage in the living room would cause any problems I keep both of mine in there and they love it, they always want out and are super sociable. Windows are not a problem just as long as they can get out of the sun when they want, the sun is very good for them.

Sunlight unfiltered by window glass is good for them. The light from glass windows is just general light and warmth. To provide the correct type of UV exposure you'll either need to supply UV light by fluorescent fixture or leave the windows open all day every day.

 

[Carlton]

I have two cats and they roam the house as well my cage is on the floor and the cats like to sit and watch them and the chams don't mind. Yes male panthers are more colorful and you don't have to worry about egg laying

Dragon strand sells nice cages. You could look there
http://dragonstrand.com

Do NOT assume the cats won't be a problem!! If your cats are not guarranteed to leave a small caged animal alone you may not be able to predict what will happen. They may attempt to jump on the cage, knock it or the lights off, break the lights (fire hazard), frighten the cham by pestering the cage, and they can stress out the cham just sitting and watching it for hours. Some individual chams are shyer than others so that is also an unknown. Most will view your cats as predators and a threat, so may hide constantly which means not eating, drinking, basking, as it normally would. Be prepared to keep the cats off the cage and keep them from staring at the cham all the time. And, never leave your cham outside the cage unsupervised. It only takes a moment for it to be attacked or killed. Just be forewarned. You can search the forums for tragic cat/cham accidents. They do happen.

 

[alphakenc]

My suggestion for the cat part is.....every chameleons have their own different personality,some cham will be shy away from any movement they see,some will not,I would play it safe first,since we are not sure how is ur chameleon will interact with ur cat,always observe then set things up accordingly,good luck.

 

[shomegirl]

I have a male panther, because females seem like a little more trouble (to me, not everyone). I have a dragonstrand enclosure and it sits on a 3 ft table and the enclosure is 4 ft tall. I keep it in the living room also, I have a cat and dogs. My cat is blind for the most part and doesn't see much of anything, except shadows. My dogs are pretty low key. Waldo, won't run and hide or turn dark colors when he sees them. So, in my case it is fine. Other people choose to keep them in a room that is less traffic. I did the same thing as you, I researched for months, had my enclosure set up for a couple of months to make sure I could maintain temps, humidity, and make sure my mister/drip worked properly. welcome to the forum!

 

[WAMBO]

I just bought my healthy, very hungry juvenile male panther from Chameleons Northwest , a sponsor. The sponsor area has vendors for everything that we need.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/sponsors/

You can also visit the market area to see offers:

https://www.chameleonforums.com/market/

 

[Nursemaia]

Thanks for the quick replies. So what should i do about the cats? They are indoor and roam the house. Do you guys think this is a problem? I've looked over a lot, i'm not really seeing anything too extreme, definitely not a pet for a kid, but for two young adults with jobs and the devotion to make a perfect enclosure for our future chameleon it doesn't seem too hard. I've heard they were difficult and then the opposite, with the right stuff, not a big deal. So what do you guys think? Is there anything that sticks out as a huge PITA or heavily time consuming that i am overlooking?

Would you go male or female panther? From my understanding males are larger and more colorful so that appeals to me more.

Also can someone recommend a place online to buy the best enclosure i can? I'd like to not have to upgrade in the future if possible. Since it'll most likely be in the living room i want something nice, i've saved a lot for this so i'm willing to fork out whatever is necessary to make things easier and look better. I was wondering if there was an enclosure out there with a canopy or something to hide the equipment and make it look like a nice display. I understand they need the screens though for ventilation.

Thanks again!

I have 3 cats that go into my reptile room. I have tons of coverage in their cages and neither one seems to notice the other. I think the cats will be fine.

I vote male panther. With females you have to deal with eggs whether or not they have mated. I love her dearly but it's stressful every time my female veiled becomes gravid. I always worry about egg binding plus females tend to have a shorter life span.

As for supplies, I use reptiledirect.com or Amazon. I purchase live plants from my local garden center, get branches from outside, and go to the craft store for fake vines. At Michael's I can get a 2 pack of 6' fake vines for $10. The fake vines work great for filling in the enclosure while the plants are growing. I keep my enclosures full of foliage and jungle like.

 

[WAMBO]

I purchase live plants from my local garden center, get branches from outside, and go to the craft store for fake vines. At Michael's I can get a 2 pack of 6' fake vines for $10. The fake vines work great for filling in the enclosure while the plants are growing. I keep my enclosures full of foliage and jungle like.

I keep forgetting about Michael's, and my wife buys stuff for the kids there every week!
Also, thank you all for helping we novices.

 

[jamest0o0]

Hey guys thanks for all of the replies! This forum will be very useful. I've been looking at the dragon strand enclosures, but i'm not sure which to go with it's overwhelming lol. I read juveniles should be in a smaller enclosure until their larger is this true? Which on dragon strand do you guys prefer for a male panther? I want to get it soon so i can find a good place to put it and start adding to it. I will of course wait to get the chameleon though until I know everything is perfect.

As for the cat advice, if the chameleon seems to be bothered by them I have an extra room I can move the enclosure to away from everything else. Hopefully he'll be okay in the living room, but i won't risk anything if he's stressing from it.

Thanks again, i'm open to any and all advice, links, tips, etc. it all helps.

 

[WAMBO]

You can probably buy the larger cage, which you will need for a male panther, but section it off to only use half of it or more? I started with the Reptibreeze chameleon kit, which includes a heat and UV bulb, a cheap vine and cheap plastic plant, sample of Repti calcium and a thermometer. But you need more things to climb and hide, and then a bigger cage once it grows. So I wonder if I could have started with the big cage and divided it off. I think the only thing that I will reuse is the light and thermometer, and by then, the UV bulb will need to be replaced.
Any thoughts from the pro's?