ZiggyStardust
New Member
I guess this thread is a little bit on the back of MarceMarc's thread that I have read throughout the day - the fact that he posed a question and was then subjected to other questions about his husbandry, without anyone answering his exact question.
I can only speak for myself, but what I wanted to say was that keeping a chameleon is an absolutely MASSIVE learning curve.
When I saw Chameleons for sale in my local reptile shop, I thought (extremely wrongly as it turned out) that the owner knew what he was doing. We have kept tortoises for 18 years, so I didn't consider myself to be an absolute novice, however, I acknowledged the fact that I had never kept a lizard. I told the shop owner that, and he assured me that he would do a set up for me that would contain everything that a Veiled chameleon needed to be happy and healthy.
As it turned out, 80% of it was complete bul*****.... he sold me a glass vivarium that would only house my chameleon for the next two months of his life before he got too large for it, he placed substrate in the bottom and sold me a coiled UVB bulb. He also told me that a 6 month old chameleon could eat adult locust, it took me a week to realise that the damn things were far to large for him.
I turned to the internet for advice and found you guys, together with Jamie Hardie of Chameleoco, who I am lucky enough to live 10 miles away from and since then, having read everything that I can lay my eyes on here and also taking advice from Jamie, my male Veiled is now in a XL reptibreeze and my young panther in the glass Exo-Terra that I bought with my veiled (but he's only three months and come the end of November he will be in an XL Reptibreeze also).
I guess what I am trying to say here is to anyone who is new to keeping Chameleons - DO NOT TAKE WHAT THE PETSTORE GAVE YOU AS ADVICE AS GOSPEL.
I had a very long conversation with a lovely young forum member on here last Sunday, first through the forums but then I gave her my mobile number to ring and talk to me, because she was in the UK and had been sold a chameleon without the absolute basics to keep it alive, indeed, some of things that she had been given would have killed it in 3 months.
There are so, so many people on these forums that have been keeping chameleons for many years than I can count and I honestly hold you all in high regard.
I guess my post is trying to say to any new members - you might THINK that you have your husbandry bob on, because the bloke at the petstore said so, but if you post a problem and people ask you things that you might think are irrelevant... think again - its for a reason and not because they are trying to belittle you or have a go.
I owe this forum and the knowledge and friendly people that populate it, to the good health of both of my chameleons.
It is an amazing resource and I am honoured to be a member.
I can only speak for myself, but what I wanted to say was that keeping a chameleon is an absolutely MASSIVE learning curve.
When I saw Chameleons for sale in my local reptile shop, I thought (extremely wrongly as it turned out) that the owner knew what he was doing. We have kept tortoises for 18 years, so I didn't consider myself to be an absolute novice, however, I acknowledged the fact that I had never kept a lizard. I told the shop owner that, and he assured me that he would do a set up for me that would contain everything that a Veiled chameleon needed to be happy and healthy.
As it turned out, 80% of it was complete bul*****.... he sold me a glass vivarium that would only house my chameleon for the next two months of his life before he got too large for it, he placed substrate in the bottom and sold me a coiled UVB bulb. He also told me that a 6 month old chameleon could eat adult locust, it took me a week to realise that the damn things were far to large for him.
I turned to the internet for advice and found you guys, together with Jamie Hardie of Chameleoco, who I am lucky enough to live 10 miles away from and since then, having read everything that I can lay my eyes on here and also taking advice from Jamie, my male Veiled is now in a XL reptibreeze and my young panther in the glass Exo-Terra that I bought with my veiled (but he's only three months and come the end of November he will be in an XL Reptibreeze also).
I guess what I am trying to say here is to anyone who is new to keeping Chameleons - DO NOT TAKE WHAT THE PETSTORE GAVE YOU AS ADVICE AS GOSPEL.
I had a very long conversation with a lovely young forum member on here last Sunday, first through the forums but then I gave her my mobile number to ring and talk to me, because she was in the UK and had been sold a chameleon without the absolute basics to keep it alive, indeed, some of things that she had been given would have killed it in 3 months.
There are so, so many people on these forums that have been keeping chameleons for many years than I can count and I honestly hold you all in high regard.
I guess my post is trying to say to any new members - you might THINK that you have your husbandry bob on, because the bloke at the petstore said so, but if you post a problem and people ask you things that you might think are irrelevant... think again - its for a reason and not because they are trying to belittle you or have a go.
I owe this forum and the knowledge and friendly people that populate it, to the good health of both of my chameleons.
It is an amazing resource and I am honoured to be a member.
