Rudis maybe????

Everybody is being so harsh! I'm 16 and I've loved chameleons since I found my first wild one, at 10. Right from then I've been catching and keeping them and it so happens that children CAN look after something as delicate as a chameleon. I know a lot of eight year olds who are far more intelligent than 50% of the adults I come across on the internet.
I'm hoping to study herpetology and get a PhD in chameleons.
And I completely understand someone not wanting to spend over $100 on a cham. Thinking that if they can't afford to buy an expensive one means they won't be able to afford to buy proper food, housing etc for it is ridiculous!
 
Yes I have. Pygmy Chams are more ground dwelling, and my cage is a tall one. The next smallest are Rudis, and they look magnificent as well and are relatively easy to take care of. Read FLChams description on them.
 
Vinyonga said:
Everybody is being so harsh! I'm 16 and I've loved chameleons since I found my first wild one, at 10. Right from then I've been catching and keeping them and it so happens that children CAN look after something as delicate as a chameleon. I know a lot of eight year olds who are far more intelligent than 50% of the adults I come across on the internet.
I'm hoping to study herpetology and get a PhD in chameleons.
And I completely understand someone not wanting to spend over $100 on a cham. Thinking that if they can't afford to buy an expensive one means they won't be able to afford to buy proper food, housing etc for it is ridiculous!
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If you live in an area with wild chameleons it's a different ball game, far easier for you since all their environmental conditions are already met outside. When I was your age I had an awesome tree frog colony that I kept for years under a $100 budget, because I lived in Florida and could catch the frogs and feeders outside while others would need to spends hundreds or thousands to keep the same species thriving in other states. Nobody is trying to be harsh, they care about chameleons and want to help the op prevent issues before they arise. He lives in Texas, not a Cham friendly environment, dry heat. Closest species to his conditions and on his budget would be a veiled but he has no interest in one for other reasons. Keeping any chameleon healthy long term in captivity is expensive, far more so than most reptiles. Like has been said many time on his multiple post the cost of species you start with is largely irrelevant the real expenses are getting the correct habitat, caging, drainage, misting, plants, vines, branches, lighting, tubs for feeders, variety of feeders, supplements, vet fund. It adds up quick. We all want the best for the op and whatever Cham he ends up with, happy to see that op is waiting and saving is now part of the plan. Start watching craigslist for vivs! You'll be able to get a full screen set up used if your patient.
 
Starting with a montane is ambitious given your budget and experience, sure that's not what you want to hear but some things to consider beforehand will be their increased sensitivity to heat and hydration. You will need an automated misting system or someone to mist frequently while your in school, a dropper will not suffice alone to maintain the high humidity. My RH in the house stays around 50% likely higher than yours and I still run a mistking 8x a day for 5-10 min intervals to maintain my montane enclosure temp and humidity gradients. Did you notice on the FL chams page it says they need basking temp of mid 70s? What are the summer temps in your house like? Will your parents be ok with the air conditioner schedule being based on your chameleons needs? Guessing in Texas they don't keep the ac in the low 70s during summer or drop the temps 10-15 degrees down to the mid 60s every night which you need to keep your cham happy. You can do it and I don't want to be discouraging, just all things to consider and dial in while your saving for your cham. Go ahead and set things up, get a cheap temp gun and a couple temp/ humidity probes and start figuring out your gradients and playing with ways to adjust them.
 
Already done. My humidity is also about 50, maybe 60 depending. My house is always at 66 degrees, and with the heat and UVB during the day that should go well. Temps are 77 with both bulbs.
 
NickyChameleon said:
Already done. My humidity is also about 50, maybe 60 depending. My house is always at 66 degrees, and with the heat and UVB during the day that should go well. Temps are 77 with both bulbs.
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66 degrees during the summer in Texas? That must be a hefty AC bill.....
 
Thank you that is quite useful. I may just use FLChams die to their shipping and such. However if this guy is known for shipping well, I'd save 50$...how good is this guy?
 
Chiche's upbringing

One last thing before I get my chameleon and leave you alone until I have successfully had him for a while. Check out http://www.voodoochameleon.com , a site reccomended to me. Tell me if this guy is a good one to but from, as he has Two-month-old CB trioceros sternfeldi for 75$ (+ shipping) and if you ask me that's good. Wondering if it's too good to be true....help?
 
That site is rife with spelling mistakes. :rolleyes:

Ask for pictures of the animals for sale and post them here. We can tell you if their sternfeldi are healthy and worth buying or not.
 
If it's the Rudis pictured, it looks good to me. Distortionz recommended the business and the owner by name, so he must have had a good experience with him.

Nicky remember lots of water, misting, cool enclosure good uv. I would really consider a couple hanging pothos as a home if you can safely pull it off. This sort of free range worked very good for me several years ago. This would also take care of your glass terrarium problem.
 
I'm not sure I would recommend the free ranging option to a novice keeper. Particularly for a small, not commonly kept species. It is easier to hit the temperature and humidity levels in his cage.
 
I personally have never purchased from him. I have seen john deaton around the fb groups though.. I can't vouch for him personally but he has cb babies I know that much. I'd recommend contacting him and asking some questions. I just know there isn't many places with cb rudis so I threw it out there.
 

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Trace said:
I'm not sure I would recommend the free ranging option to a novice keeper. Particularly for a small, not commonly kept species. It is easier to hit the temperature and humidity levels in his cage.
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I understand your concern, but the pair I had thrived on the free range I had set up. My set up didn't allow the chams to get off as it was hung high from the ceiling with 50lb fishing line. The humidity was great with the frequent watering and humidifier shooting up at it. Also they enjoyed our bathroom shower often.
 
If the dog was in the room I would worry about that, but I'm sure the op has a door to shut the dog out. Also if it was high enough, or the dog was small enough it probably wouldn't be a problem.

Reading this back to myself it sounds disrespectful but I assure you it is not intended to be.

I had a pair of these guys as my first chams and it worked good for me, but the op will have to work it out.
 
You might be just enough to push me back away from this forum. Watching members refusing to properly care for their sick and dying animals made me take a good year of a break.

You have been given SO MUCH advice and you are still just "considering" it instead of taking it as fact. There was a member on here a couple months ago, around your age. His tag line was "I'll consider your advice". His sister was the adult in the house and when his allowance/extra money couldn't afford the vet bills and proper supplies - the poor thing died. You are reminding me a lot of him with your ignorance and refusal to take good advice.

What happens when you need a vet appointment but your Christmas or birthday money is two months away? He's not going to wait that long. Even the most experienced and wise on here end up at the vet once in a while.

Is your mom prepared to pay for it? You should certainly look in to that. Maybe let her know before hand, hey. Is babysitting going to cover a varied diet? When I was at one it cost me about $20 a week to make sure that I had a variety of 4-6 different types of insects on hand at all times (I have more now so that price has changed). You shouldn't even consider taking on a chameleon unless you have a good chameleon savings fund for when (not if) he needs medical attention. If you have all that then spectacular. What you have now will maybe keep him alive, but he won't thrive. Especially when the birthday money runs out. But I'm sure you've "considered" that as well.

No one gave you your bad rep but yourself.
 
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