No experience, need a LOT of help !

[naucle]

Hello guys, I'm gonna start off by apologizing for my mediocre English.

I'm gonna be really brief. I live in Morocco (North Africa), people don't care much about reptiles here. Last Friday, my little sister bought these guys http://i.imgur.com/dsIRnhv.png to some random guy, who told her that she can feed them minced meat and/or yogurt and that she would have to feed them herself and give them to drink too.

These two chameleons were very active the first 2 days, but are moving less and less lately. They didn't get much light and their color turned from beige to very dark.

I don't want them to die. I want to care for them. I can work out something for the habitat (small aquarium and plants), but there is no way I could get a UV light, and I don't know what to use for warming. They don't sell insects or supplements here either, so I don't know what to feed them.

For now, I've put them in a box and left them in the balcony to get some sunlight. I'm in a serious need for a poor man's guide to keep them alive.

Thank you.

 

[GCash]

Hello guys, I'm gonna start off by apologizing for my mediocre English.

I'm gonna be really brief. I live in Morocco (North Africa), people don't care much about reptiles here. Last Friday, my little sister bought these guys http://i.imgur.com/dsIRnhv.png to some random guy, who told her that she can feed them minced meat and/or yogurt and that she would have to feed them herself and give them to drink too.

These two chameleons were very active the first 2 days, but are moving less and less lately. They didn't get much light and their color turned from beige to very dark.

I don't want them to die. I want to care for them. I can work out something for the habitat (small aquarium and plants), but there is no way I could get a UV light, and I don't know what to use for warming. They don't sell insects or supplements here either, so I don't know what to feed them.

For now, I've put them in a box and left them in the balcony to get some sunlight. I'm in a serious need for a poor man's guide to keep them alive.

Thank you.

You can keep them outside in natural sunlight but NOT in an aquarium. The greenhouse effect will cook them. You'll eventually need two full screen cages, the sooner the better. One chameleon per cage. They'll need a portion of the inside of their cage to have plenty of shade from dense planting so they can escape the sun if needed. Watch out for extremely light coloration and gaping of their mouth because that means they're getting too hot and need a cooler location. Water them daily by spraying them with a mister, preferably for 5-10 minutes at least 2-3 times a day. Get a net and catch as many wild insects as you can that's smaller than the chameleons heads. Watch out for brightly colored ones that may be noxious. If you feed them fresh you MAY be able to go without supplementation. Feed them as much as they'll eat without an excess amount of insects building up in the cages losing nutrition. This is just an introduction to get you started and give them a chance. You'll still need to research, research, research. And, if you know 100% that they were collected near by and occur naturally in your area, you can always release them but in this case, the sooner the better. Good luck with them.

 

[Lathis]

Hi Naucle,

A few times of year, we get a posting from someone in Africa or the Middle East who has trouble finding live insects. Honestly, I think the long term success for those chameleons is very poor. People are often told very bad advice as there is very little understanding for chameleon care. If they are native to your area, you can release them in a safe place. They are almost definitely wild caught and may have a hard time adapting to be captured.

I am not sure what type of chameleons you have, so this is just very general advice.

Your chameleons will need live insects to survive. Do you have a fishing bait shop nearby where you could get worms or locusts? Could you call a local zoo and ask for advice? You can catch insects too - moths, crickets, cockroaches, locusts, any type that you can catch. Right now, live bugs is your top priority!

Long term, you should catch some cockroaches and start raising them for feeders, but it may take several weeks to get a colony going.

For water, most chameleons like dripping or running water over bowls. Use an old plastic bottle (clean!) and poke a small hole in the bottom so that it will drip water out - one or two drops per second is good. You will also want to get a a sprayer bottle and mist them several times a day. They are probably very dehydrated - give them much water right now, but do it will drips on the nose. Don't try to force water or food.

They must have access to ultraviolet (UV) radiation - it helps the body produce Vitamin D and process calcium. Chameleons are prone to calcium deficiencies which leads to a softening of the bones call Metabolic Bone Disease. Get a cuttlefish bone (like they use for birds) and grind it into very very fine powder. Use a little of this powder on all their insects.

If you can't get a UVB light bulb, can you put them outside but in the shade for several hours a day? Even in the shade, they should get plenty of natural UV from the sun. Don't put them in an aquarium because they will overheat. Can you make a box out of window screen?

I'm sorry that we can't give you better advice. It is difficult in some parts of the world to provide the proper care. Chameleons are delicate animals. Let us know if we can help you in any way - we will do what we can.

Also, read this information in detail:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/chameleons/

Also, I found this:
http://www.moroccoherps.com/en/ficha/Chamaeleo_chamaeleon/

 

[leedragon]

I belive those may be chameleon africanus, if this could be comfirm the best thing to do is find somewhere with plantations or with many shrubs and set it free. you are going to have a hard time carring for it and it has the best posibilities surviving on his own, IF it is a species who normaly lives wild in your contry

 

[kinyonga]

The one on the right looks like chamaeleo chamaeleon to me. They do come from Morocco.

They are insectivores so you should be able to feed them crickets, locusts and other local insects being careful not to feed them bright colored (as was already suggested) or those that feed on poisonous plants or ones that come from areas where they or the plants they eat have been sprayed.

I'm assuming it's quite warm where you live so a screen cage would be best especially if you are keeping them outside a lot. Basking temperatures in the mid to low 80'sF would be good at that age.

Water can be provided by misting the plants in the cage and also by a dripper that drips on the plant leaves at the rate of a drip or so every second. Whatever plants and sticks/branches you use in the cage should be non-toxic too.

I raised/kept/hatched chamaeleo chamaeleons and found them to be relatively easy as far as chamaeleons go.


Good luck with them.