Senegal... Should I??

[PenelopeLove]

Hey Everyone!

Sorry it's been so long since I've been on!!!

Ok so I've pasted a link below to the pics so you can all have a quick peek and answer my question lol:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/what-we-103494/

We have 16 of these little cuties.. he's not in the pics but he's about the same looking.. I know they're all in rough shape, but with heaps of misting and regular feeding they're all starting to drop that horrible leftover shed and put on weight..

I'm starting to fall in love with one little cutie who rushes to the door everytime I go near the cage and love to hang out for as long as possible, but we can't get anything for feeders except meal worms for now..

2 questions:

1. should I wait till we can get crickets
2. how much bigger does he have to be before it is safe to be in a 4ft tall enclosure??

Would love your thoughts

 

[NavyCham]

I think you should go for it! Senegals are amazing chams & they'd be better of with u then going to the next person who probably won't have as much knowledge or resources. I think if u are willing to get him checked out for parasites & bring him up to health then u are the best chance he has. U will love him, they have so much personality

 

[Jon114]

I would snap one up!

They might not be the prettiest of chamaleons, but I personally LOVE that standard, all around chamaleon look they have going. When you mention chameleons, a chameleon that looks like a senegal is probably what most people imagine.

They stay a small size, are readily available, and are relatively cheap, too! If everything goes well with the veiled cham I plan to have in the future, a senegal is next on my list. After that maybe I'll have enough courage to shell out 300$ on a panther.

It's a bummer most are probably wild-caught, and in poor shape.

 

[Lovereps]

I'm starting to fall in love with one little cutie who rushes to the door everytime I go near the cage and love to hang out for as long as possible, but we can't get anything for feeders except meal worms for now..

How often are you going to encounter a chameleon that does that?
I think you will be very sad and sorry if you don't adopt him.

1. should I wait till we can get crickets
2. how much bigger does he have to be before it is safe to be in a 4ft tall enclosure??

Would love your thoughts

1) Don't know why that would make much difference--he will either be eating mealworms where he is or in your home.
If you worry about impaction, then try to feed mostly the newly shed mealworms.

2) I could see tiny newborn babies having difficulty finding food in a large cage, perhaps but I honestly think that he will be fine in a larger cage.
If you're worried that he will have difficulty finding the food, you can cup feed or hand feed him.

If crickets are sometimes available to you, then you might wish to start your own breeding colony of them, so that your cham always can have some crickets.
Maybe there are other feeders available in your country that you have not considered, such as suitable types of flies.
Chams do like flies.
You would want to be sure they aren't a biting type of fly or a type that usually carries diseases, of course.
If he is small enough it should be simple to collect fruit flies on a piece of fruit.
Are there any reptile clubs in your country?
They may know of more types of suitable feeders and sources to obtain them from.

 

[deadhd5]

I think senegals are absolutely adorable. I hear they have great personalities. I say go for it for the reasons lovereps outlined

Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[PenelopeLove]

Thanks everyone!

He eats like a hippo and I always try to pic ones that are freshly shed or nice and juicy looking for him

I guess with the cage I'm a bit more concerned with the height if he falls as he hand feeds really well... He's really adventurous, so should I be worried about that?

 

[PenelopeLove]

I got him!!!!

He'll be just gorgeous after a shed or two


Still working on the name

 

[deadhd5]

I love LOVE his cute little face Senegals have to be one of the cutest chams out there. I look forward to all your future threads showing off this guy. Good luck with him and keep us update

 

[Lovereps]

Congratulations!
I'm so glad you've taken him home!

You probably already have this, but it's a handy reference:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/senegal/

 

[little leaf]

my very first cham was a senagul then a graceful - and now a Jackson ( next a panther )
you will just love him, so glad you got him

 

[Kate]

He is gorgeous . Congrats on your little one.

 

[NavyCham]

so happy you got him! its awesome having another senegal keeper on here. You will love that little guy!

 

[crocky]

He is gorgeous, loving that bright green!

 

[PenelopeLove]

Thanks everyone for you kind words and thoughts!!

He's still settling in but hopefully today he'll have some lunch