NICK GILCHRIST
New Member
I decided to start my Chameleon collection with a pair of Veiled ..in the UK , as in many places. this is obviously the most common species readily available as a captive bred species...however, at the time of looking for my first purchase there were lots of males available..but nothing that really stood out as being particularly different...and then i spotted a FOR SALE thread with some pics hosted by an owner, whos speciality was macro photography...which meant that the quality of his advertising pics was good..now...as you will see from the pics..the Male is showing definate signs of defensive colouration! but he certainly took my eye....
Here is Rio as I first saw him...
I contacted the owner and arranged collection. RIO had been well looked after. and brought up from a baby but had little one on one contact..and in fact his owner was rather scared of him..(not suprisingly) Also he had been housed in a large flexarium sited in his bedroom. with little human contact. other than feeding etc or to be brought out for photographic purposes..on the day of collection. the owner left me to remove him from his cage. being rather nervous of him...Rio displayed his threat posturing but. being used to this i had no major issues in getting him to his travelling cage..upon his return..i had built a planted unit which he was placed in..The cage unit was in my main lounge area. so there was a regular exterior traffic movement passing of both my son and I. but during work hours he was pretty much left alone..for those first few days he displayed dark colours and spent much time eying us up..as time passed he realised we were not a threat. and would await his feeding session. after a period of 2 weeks he would happily hand feed...and started showing no stress whatsoever..just a keeness to explore...after a further few weeks. he would charge down his branch as soon as the cage door was opened and literally balance precariously on the edge of the cage reaching out to my hand. trying to latch on..at that point. and since then, he actively enjoys coming out of his cage to explore and interact..he never shows his threat display and will continually watch my every move if he thinks its feeding time...so now..no longer do i get Mr Stressy..but instead i have a happy cham!! and he really is a character!!
Here is a pic my son took of him recently...maybe not so good..but hey! hes happy...
and then...........there was his love interest......JEWEL..at the same time as getting RIO i also sourced a female for him.. Now this little girl was another cham brought up from a baby..she was just about 12 months of age and the only pic I had of her was a rather faded dodgy one that certainly did not show her as being a happy cham! . i dont still have this..but suffice to say..her owner, despite the best intentions. had little experience in chams and she had reached an adult size and was housed in a unit not much bigger than 2ft high..he was keen on swapping her for Tarantulas. at the time i had some spiderlings from a swap deal and rapidly contacted him..an exchange was made and upon meeting him and seeing her for the first time,,i was happy to see a chubby liitle girl in good health, obviously well fed, but very nervous..i rushed her home and immediately placed her in her new cage unit..this was considerably larger thean the one she was used to..it was approx 30" high x 15" deep x 30" wide. fully planted..Within days her entire attitude changed and she was to be seen roaming around exploring her new environment...she loved it! Her initial shyness soon disappeared and like RIO she would happily take live locusts from my fingers..she still remains a liittle shy. but has thrived in her new unit...she is currently due to lay some eggs (not fertile) so appears chubby..but there is a laying area for her...she is also mad keen on eating plants etc (unlike RIO) so she gets a bowl of mixed leaves to eat regularly..which she will happily rush to devour! as well as regular livefoods offered..as soon as she shows receptive colouration again I will attempt a mating, especiallly as RIO is a bit like an adolescent teenager at a Disco when the slow music comes on!
This is a pic of Jewel..not a good one. butI will take some better ones..
Currently they are residing in 2 identical cages, RIO is allowed free range most days as I let him out to explore the large Ficus positioned in our window most days..here are there 2 cages... next to my computer
You will notice that there is rope being used as a climbing medium..this was an experiment that i tried, which both chameleons seemed to like.however i9 have since added branches as an alternative. but they still seem to prefer the ropes?
With the smaller female, i have since split the larger rope into smaller diameter ones and she spends a lot of time roaming and seems to like the varying thicknesses and grips offered..
Here is Rio as I first saw him...
I contacted the owner and arranged collection. RIO had been well looked after. and brought up from a baby but had little one on one contact..and in fact his owner was rather scared of him..(not suprisingly) Also he had been housed in a large flexarium sited in his bedroom. with little human contact. other than feeding etc or to be brought out for photographic purposes..on the day of collection. the owner left me to remove him from his cage. being rather nervous of him...Rio displayed his threat posturing but. being used to this i had no major issues in getting him to his travelling cage..upon his return..i had built a planted unit which he was placed in..The cage unit was in my main lounge area. so there was a regular exterior traffic movement passing of both my son and I. but during work hours he was pretty much left alone..for those first few days he displayed dark colours and spent much time eying us up..as time passed he realised we were not a threat. and would await his feeding session. after a period of 2 weeks he would happily hand feed...and started showing no stress whatsoever..just a keeness to explore...after a further few weeks. he would charge down his branch as soon as the cage door was opened and literally balance precariously on the edge of the cage reaching out to my hand. trying to latch on..at that point. and since then, he actively enjoys coming out of his cage to explore and interact..he never shows his threat display and will continually watch my every move if he thinks its feeding time...so now..no longer do i get Mr Stressy..but instead i have a happy cham!! and he really is a character!!
Here is a pic my son took of him recently...maybe not so good..but hey! hes happy...
and then...........there was his love interest......JEWEL..at the same time as getting RIO i also sourced a female for him.. Now this little girl was another cham brought up from a baby..she was just about 12 months of age and the only pic I had of her was a rather faded dodgy one that certainly did not show her as being a happy cham! . i dont still have this..but suffice to say..her owner, despite the best intentions. had little experience in chams and she had reached an adult size and was housed in a unit not much bigger than 2ft high..he was keen on swapping her for Tarantulas. at the time i had some spiderlings from a swap deal and rapidly contacted him..an exchange was made and upon meeting him and seeing her for the first time,,i was happy to see a chubby liitle girl in good health, obviously well fed, but very nervous..i rushed her home and immediately placed her in her new cage unit..this was considerably larger thean the one she was used to..it was approx 30" high x 15" deep x 30" wide. fully planted..Within days her entire attitude changed and she was to be seen roaming around exploring her new environment...she loved it! Her initial shyness soon disappeared and like RIO she would happily take live locusts from my fingers..she still remains a liittle shy. but has thrived in her new unit...she is currently due to lay some eggs (not fertile) so appears chubby..but there is a laying area for her...she is also mad keen on eating plants etc (unlike RIO) so she gets a bowl of mixed leaves to eat regularly..which she will happily rush to devour! as well as regular livefoods offered..as soon as she shows receptive colouration again I will attempt a mating, especiallly as RIO is a bit like an adolescent teenager at a Disco when the slow music comes on!
This is a pic of Jewel..not a good one. butI will take some better ones..
Currently they are residing in 2 identical cages, RIO is allowed free range most days as I let him out to explore the large Ficus positioned in our window most days..here are there 2 cages... next to my computer
You will notice that there is rope being used as a climbing medium..this was an experiment that i tried, which both chameleons seemed to like.however i9 have since added branches as an alternative. but they still seem to prefer the ropes?
With the smaller female, i have since split the larger rope into smaller diameter ones and she spends a lot of time roaming and seems to like the varying thicknesses and grips offered..
