byrnesr
New Member
It's been a year since my boy Caesar came to live with me. Share your 10 things I've learned since owning a cham.
10 things I’ve learned since Caesar came to live with me….
1. Keep a mindful eye on your chameleons overall health, safety, appearance, and waste. Mindful, not neurotic. It’s easy to become obsessive in any of these areas with these guys.
2. Offer a healthy variety. These animals aren’t like dogs or cats that you can feed the same kibble day after day. There are plenty of feeders to choose from. Understand their nutritional value and give them all a try at some point. Just a few popular ones below.
a. Hornworms grow fast! Too many of these make poop stinky. Are excellent feeders to help rehydrate. If you have one cham, expect to have worms grow too big for your cham.
b. Wax worms are like French fries. We know what happens with too many.
c. Dubia roaches are WAY better than crickets. Quiet, long lived, reproduce well and are easy to keep alive, less odor, come in a variety of sizes, and oh yeah, good for your chams too.
d. Reintroduce previously snubbed food . Their tastes can change. They get bored with single feeders.
e. Soft bodied prey items like butterworms and silkworms are good to mix in with the hard bodied roaches, crickets, and locusts. Helps with softening the stool. And nutritious.
3. Build big. I’m surprised at the recommended sizes for cages for different size chams. I say at least double it. Imagine living your life in your bedroom. You could, but would you want to? Just be responsible and monitor your chams food and water intake. Mine would take my entire office if I let him, fortunately, he sticks to his half and I stay on mine.
4. All forums have drama, this one is no different. Overlook it to discover interesting people with lifetimes of knowledge, as well as a myriad of proud owners always willing to share their cham photos.
5. Your chameleon allowing you to handle it is a treat. Nothing is more sweet than when your little guy “reaches out” in anticipation to grab you. However, many chams don’t like to be touched as evidence by many comments in the forum. Often owners have multiple chams but we see owners handling the same ones in many photos. Enjoy your cham for the exotic that it is…pet your cat/dog. And if you have a social one….You Lucky Dog!
6. Sunlight is a miracle worker for these guys. Give it a chance to get started on health issues you may have overlooked. Chams look best in natural light. Be mindful of temps, temps in the sun are much warmer.
7. Get a chameleon experienced vet. You’re crazy not to have a professional, albeit second, opinion. Experienced keepers have them…shouldn’t that say it all.
8. Chameleons can be addictive. Chameleons are expensive to set up initially, require daily time investment, and have ongoing feeding costs. Either you become a bug breeder (which have feeding costs) or you buy them. Even with all the financial and health concerns you’ll want another one.
9. Think like a chameleon. This applies in a lot of areas, from feeding and watering, to handling and housing. Being aware of chameleon behaviors helps to identify health problems, helps in enclosure design, helps in feeding/watering techniques, and assists in handling.
10. You can love a cham. When yours passes and it will, the change in your life will be measurable. That time you took admiring your fascinating pet or the time responsibly caring for it will be empty. Those comments of condolences and tributes posted on this forum and by members who share this experience will have new meaning.
10 things I’ve learned since Caesar came to live with me….
1. Keep a mindful eye on your chameleons overall health, safety, appearance, and waste. Mindful, not neurotic. It’s easy to become obsessive in any of these areas with these guys.
2. Offer a healthy variety. These animals aren’t like dogs or cats that you can feed the same kibble day after day. There are plenty of feeders to choose from. Understand their nutritional value and give them all a try at some point. Just a few popular ones below.
a. Hornworms grow fast! Too many of these make poop stinky. Are excellent feeders to help rehydrate. If you have one cham, expect to have worms grow too big for your cham.
b. Wax worms are like French fries. We know what happens with too many.
c. Dubia roaches are WAY better than crickets. Quiet, long lived, reproduce well and are easy to keep alive, less odor, come in a variety of sizes, and oh yeah, good for your chams too.
d. Reintroduce previously snubbed food . Their tastes can change. They get bored with single feeders.
e. Soft bodied prey items like butterworms and silkworms are good to mix in with the hard bodied roaches, crickets, and locusts. Helps with softening the stool. And nutritious.
3. Build big. I’m surprised at the recommended sizes for cages for different size chams. I say at least double it. Imagine living your life in your bedroom. You could, but would you want to? Just be responsible and monitor your chams food and water intake. Mine would take my entire office if I let him, fortunately, he sticks to his half and I stay on mine.
4. All forums have drama, this one is no different. Overlook it to discover interesting people with lifetimes of knowledge, as well as a myriad of proud owners always willing to share their cham photos.
5. Your chameleon allowing you to handle it is a treat. Nothing is more sweet than when your little guy “reaches out” in anticipation to grab you. However, many chams don’t like to be touched as evidence by many comments in the forum. Often owners have multiple chams but we see owners handling the same ones in many photos. Enjoy your cham for the exotic that it is…pet your cat/dog. And if you have a social one….You Lucky Dog!
6. Sunlight is a miracle worker for these guys. Give it a chance to get started on health issues you may have overlooked. Chams look best in natural light. Be mindful of temps, temps in the sun are much warmer.
7. Get a chameleon experienced vet. You’re crazy not to have a professional, albeit second, opinion. Experienced keepers have them…shouldn’t that say it all.
8. Chameleons can be addictive. Chameleons are expensive to set up initially, require daily time investment, and have ongoing feeding costs. Either you become a bug breeder (which have feeding costs) or you buy them. Even with all the financial and health concerns you’ll want another one.
9. Think like a chameleon. This applies in a lot of areas, from feeding and watering, to handling and housing. Being aware of chameleon behaviors helps to identify health problems, helps in enclosure design, helps in feeding/watering techniques, and assists in handling.
10. You can love a cham. When yours passes and it will, the change in your life will be measurable. That time you took admiring your fascinating pet or the time responsibly caring for it will be empty. Those comments of condolences and tributes posted on this forum and by members who share this experience will have new meaning.
