whats the best

D

dilbert

New Member
hello every body i have always wanted a chameleon i finaly have te cage and the money to have one and iw as wondering what you guys thought would be the best beginer chameleon. also what would be some good care sheets and what are somethings i am going to need. also ive heard that they hate being held and they wll get aggresive. is that true

thanks for your time
josh
 
Look into Veiled Cahemelons and Panther Chameleons for your first chameleon.
Many chameleons are aggressive, some are extremely shy, and some will tolerate handling.
No matter their disposition towards you, handling needs to be limited.
 
ok so are panthers and veils able to be handled. and when they get aggresive do they bite or what i know my firend has an igg and it hurts when he wipps. also will they primarly feed on crickets. my mom says i need to find out everything before i get one. by the way im 15 work two part time jobs. and have alot of carpentry experience. so i can make basicly eny thing that iw ill make. the cage i made is a 4' high 3' deep and 3' wide. for my pythons i raise my own food can i do that with a cham.
 
From my experiences with my veileds it depends highly on the chameleon. My first chameleon Corey Really seemed to enjoy being handled ... she would literally come running from across the cage when I put my hand in there and climb on. My current veiled Hermie, would try to bite -- repeatedly -- when we attempted to take him out. He has since gotten better, but that's bc he was REALLY sick and HAD to be handled at least twice a day for meds and force feedings -- still as he is getting better he is more prone to hissing when we take him out. I try to limit how much they get handled bc it stresses them out, but from my experiences and what I have read panthers and veileds are *easier* to care for and *more* hardy (not that any of them I would really describe as being easy).

Most people use crickets as the staple in their chams diets -- but they need to be gut loaded. Silk worms are also very good for them. Wax worms are often used as a treat, and there are other insects out there that people use. Chameleons will also sometimes eat fresh greens -- either live plants in the cages or greens and fruits that are put in, though unfortunately my two never did.

I'm not very familiar with panther care but with veiled chameleons you have to have some sort of a dripper for water or other such misting/spraying system set up, as they usually will only drink moving water, and they also need temperature gradients (I'm pretty sure that a good veiled gradient is 95-100 on the hot end and 70ish on the cold end) and a UVB light, which is REALLY important for calcium absorption.

Crickets need to be dusted at least a few times a week with a multivitamin supplement (I use reptavite) and a calcium supplement (I use repcal). If the chameleon isn't going to be living outside in direct sunlight it will need a calcium supplement with vitamin D in it also.

Those are just some basics ... I am sure that more people (that have more knowledge than me) will chime in with advice.
 
Veiled Chameleons. Not "Veil".

Many chameleons are aggressive, some are extremely shy, and some will tolerate handling. No matter their disposition towards you, handling needs to be limited. It varies from chameleon to chameleon, not species to species. No chameleon "Enjoys" being handled, they will only tolerate it. Handling will undoubtible cause stress, and stress leads to health problems and shortened ages. If you are looking for a pet you can handle, then you should rethink your choice on chameleons and look into other species of lizards. Maybe arboreal Skinks.

Some can bite hard enough to draw blood. They wont hesitate to bite if you do not show them respect. There are chameleons that will even charge at you if you come close to their enclosure. I'm sure they could do even more damage if you are working with the larger species. No chameleons will tail whip, as their tails are prehensile unlike species of lizards that will whip.

They will eat crickets, however, their diet should not be limited to only that. They should have a decent variety or feeders to cover all their nutritional needs. Each food source has different values, uses and rules on using them.

Cages should e appropriately sized for the chameleons size. So a baby youngue juvinile should not be housed in a cage that is as large as you mentioned. This is beacause captive housing and their natural habitat are so radically different, so you cannot expect a youngling to survive given that much space.
 
It is not bad grammar, it is incorrect spelling. How is someone going to find trustworthy information using a search engine if they are only finding sources that spell the species common name, incorrectly. They aren't.
 
i was just shortening it down like how people say chevy not chevrolet. so dont jump on me so quick. i was just wanting to know some info that i couldnt find ongoogle searchs.
 
Have you found the info that you were looking for or do you still have more questions? Feel free to ask more if you have them! :) I know how hard it can be to sift through internet info ... there is so much out that there that is contradicting or doesn't cover the bases properly.
 
dilbert said:
i was just shortening it down like how people say chevy not chevrolet. so dont jump on me so quick. i was just wanting to know some info that i couldnt find ongoogle searchs.
Click to expand...

What?! There is information you can't find on google search? NO WAY!!!
:p
 
hmmm ....

pessi·mist n.- A tendency to stress the negative or unfavorable or to take the gloomiest possible view. see also: any of Will's posts.
 
Last edited:
exoticpetluvr said:
What?! There is information you can't find on google search? NO WAY!!!
:p
Click to expand...
what i meant by i couldnt find it on google is that i can only be on the comp for about an hour aday because i have work and i also ahve other animals to care for. if you didnt know im 15 and i work 2 jobs. so im busy alot of the time and if im not busy im taking care of my animals or doing hw
 
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