What are some good tips for beginners?

[alpine]

So I've been doing my research (for the past 3 years...) and I believe I understand all of the basic care/feeding/health/etc. topics there are to know. I was wondering if you guys, as experienced Chameleon owners, have any other little tips and tricks to give beginners like me. Is there anything I should know that I don't already? Any advice to help raise a healthy, happy Chameleon would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Solid Snake]

Id say get a schedule with your animal/s and stick to it.
It makes things easier for you and them.

Always have a bit of spare cash.

Expect the unexpected

Try and have patients.

Dont stop doing research/learning.

On a more specific note...

A good gutload is key.
A proper temp gradient is key.
Buy a quality animal.
Live plants, live plants, live plants...



JMO

 

[Davonat]

DONT DO IT!!!!... Before you know it your life savings will be spent on lizards! Just Kidding!!!..... Welcome! You will get all the info you need from all these great people. Dave

 

[Solid Snake]

DONT DO IT!!!!... Before you know it your life savings will be spent on lizards! Just Kidding!!!..... Welcome! You will get all the info you need from all these great people. Dave

What? You got something better to spend your life savings on?

LOL

Its really not funny, Im about tapped

 

[jannb]

If you have been researching for 3 years you should do fine. I would highly advise finding a good chameleon vet before you buy your Cham and have a nice little saving account because no matter how good of care you take of these little guys sometimes things still happen.

My blog for new keepers. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-keepers-young-veiled-panther-chameleons.html

 

[yankfanthom]

Be prepared for an addiction... You can't just have one.

 

[PantherEnvy]

After 3 years of research, aren't you chompin at the bit for a cham? TaKE THE PLUNGE!

 

[alpine]

Be prepared for an addiction... You can't just have one.

I'm no stranger to addictions lol. I think my current list of hobbies runs around 16+ different things I waste my money on. I got into snakes 2 years ago and now have 3 sitting next to me at all times. I'm looking forward to finally beginning my Chameleon addiction

Also, just learned that I should not have bought the ZooMed Reptibreeze!!! I'll see if I can take it to my LRS to get store credit for it or something (feeder mice are expensive after a while..). I should have just boughten a DIYcage for just a small amount more.

 

[Elizadolots]

Hi, alpine, welcome to the forums.

There's nothing wrong with a Reptibreeze. That's a fine enclosure for a chameleon.

What I think you should know? It's that you'll never know it all.

 

[yankfanthom]

I'm no stranger to addictions lol. I think my current list of hobbies runs around 16+ different things I waste my money on. I got into snakes 2 years ago and now have 3 sitting next to me at all times. I'm looking forward to finally beginning my Chameleon addiction

Also, just learned that I should not have bought the ZooMed Reptibreeze!!! I'll see if I can take it to my LRS to get store credit for it or something (feeder mice are expensive after a while..). I should have just boughten a DIYcage for just a small amount more.

Reptibreeze are garbage. They rust quick and the swing door on the bottom tends to not stay connected. In the future I highly recommend the cages that LLL reptile sells. They are less expensive but 100x better.

 

[grimjob]

Yeh totally agree with the LLL reptiles enclosure I got one and there awesome, you've come to the right place for tips, every1 on here is a great help and nice people

 

[ecoreef]

TIPS.

1.) CLEANLINESS IS NEXT TO GODLINESS! Chameleons have evolved for an aboreal life in the trees. They are very suceptible to the dirty anerobic bacteria that accumulate on the ground. Don't let poop or dead feeders accumulate on the bottom of your cage. In short keep the bottom of your enclosure clean.

2.) DON'T CONFUSE CHAMELEONS NEED FOR GOOD HYDRATION WITH EXCESSIVE WETNESS/HUMIDITY. Chameleons need to be misted frequently to drink and hydrate their skin but just as important is that their enclosures dry out at times so bad bacteria(again refering to my first tip) aren't allowed to get out of control in constant damp conditions.

3.)UVB! UVB! UVB! Chameleons(at least the popular ones kepts as pets) need exposure to UVB light so their bodies can produce a vitamin(d3) that allows them to absorb calcium. Although many calcium products include vitamin d3 they can easily be overdosed and should be no substitute for UVB lighting. The standard UVB light that most chameleon keepers use is the linear(not coil/cfl) reptisun 5.0.

4.) GOOD NUTRITION. Chameleons will not thrive on a diet of poorly fed crickets like a lot of other reptiles will. Although crickets, dubia roaches, or silkworms can be used most of the time, variety is a key part of a chameleons diet. You should substitue their main diet with other inscets such as hornworms, superworms, phoenix worms, butterworms, or other non toxic insects.
JUST AS IMPORTANT AS VARIETY OF INSECTS IS GUTLOADING. Chameleons get a large part of their nutrition from the gut tract of the insects they eat which is why you should gutload all of your feeder insects, or feed your insects nutritious foods prior to feeding them to your chameleon. Good gut loading foods include Fresh greens(mustard greens, turnip greens, dandelion greens, ect...) Fresh fruit (papaya, oranges, kiwi, apple, blueberries ect...) and other vegies like sweet potatos, carrots and squash. Lastly with nutrition is the supplements. Calcium with out d3 should be LIGHTLY dusted on all feeders, calcium with d3 should be given twice a month and a good vitamin supplement such as herptivite should be given twice a month.

There is many more things that are important to chameleon keeping but those are the things I think people have the most difficulty with. GOOD LUCK!

 

[Solid Snake]

One more...

A camera should never be more than 10ft from your chameleon.

 

[Olimpia]

I wish someone had told me when I started how much water they will need. Make sure you put your cage over something that the water can drain into, so you don't ruin your table-tops. A 3-5 minute misting several times a day will be a must, in my opinion, so make sure you know what to do with the water!

Also, don't ever buy a hand-help mister. Get one of those pump ones from any Home Depot/Lowe's for $15-20+ (the cheaper ones are crap, in my experience) and you will be much happier for it. And your chameleon will get more water. Alternatively, invest in an automatic mister (like Mistking or Aquazamp) so you don't worry about water at all most of the day.

Get light timers as well. The more automatic you can make everything, the better. It keeps their schedule steady and lets you sleep in or go out to dinner without having to rush over to turn the lights on/off.

Start breeding a few insects if you can. Superworms and a few species of roaches are super easy to breed, so after the initial cost of the insects, you'll have breeding colonies which will save you money and always let you have food at home for them. I have superworms and 4 types of roaches breeding at my house right now.

Best of luck!