Why are Chameleons harder than other reptiles?
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zlew
Member
Chameleons are not very forgiving of husbandry mistakes. With that said, the husbandry for a chameleon is pretty complicated and someone not already familiar with the basics of taking care of a reptile is probably not suited to have a chameleon yet. They require very specific care, and they aren't always very sociable, so they aren't as good as a companion animal as, say, a bearded dragon, which make great pets. I'm sure people will chime in with more.
OldChamKeeper
Chameleon Enthusiast
They hide their illnesses quite well for one thing, very similar to how a parrot can while in a flock.
Most species are very environment specific, meaning you as the keeper have to be spot on with your care or they degrade over time. There was a time when the average pet chameleon would not last 6 months.
They are one of the very few types of lizards that despite food in front them they will starve themselves to death if they are on a hunger strike, you have to understand that and know what to do to ge around it..and when.
Imports tend to have multiple issues needing an experienced keeper, are you familiar with internal parasites and their treatment or symptoms?
Chameleons vary in whether or not they "like" to be handled. One that doesn't like to be handled will stress when forced to be handled.
I could go on.
Now on the off chance you have not moved on and are still interested here is my advice.
- Always get a Captive hatched/born animal. Panther or Veiled
- From the breeder, learn what to do to take care of the animal.
- Use the same equipment as the breeder unless you have an understanding of the products out there to the point you can make your own intelligent choices. Never buy the animal first, always have your equipment ready and set up before getting a chameleon.
If you do those three things then you have a decent chance of doing well with a first time chameleon. You already did the right thing by just asking the question you did.
Carlton
Chameleon Enthusiast
Chams are unusual compared to many other herps. I don't know if I'd say all of the species are harder, but they are more complicated. They tend to appeal to keepers who like the satisfaction of technical details and being creative. If you are someone who wants to keep it simple and move on to other things during the day, a cham may not be the best choice. They need attention once or twice every day unlike snakes, the hardier frogs, or some terrestrial lizards for example. The learning curve is steep compared to many other reptiles that can be easily housed in a glass terrarium with an under tank heating pad. Many "easier" herps we keep are nocturnal and regulate their body temps from the ground. Chams require a lot more space for their size, they require gradients of temperature and humidity in their living space, they require correct UVB lighting, a habitat that includes live potted plants, and their diet needs a bit more care as they are sensitive to some fat-soluable vitamins. Consider them sort of a cross between a lizard and a bird. A bit more sensitive to air quality, molds and bacteria too.
This doesn't mean that a beginner CAN'T own a cham, but you'll spend a lot more time researching, testing and preparing your setup before bringing one home. Anyway, you've found a great source of tried and true information here.
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happy
Member
In my opinion,
care;
just the basic's require so much investment.
enclosure + 100(or more)
monthly food cost 20(or more) month
plants 20( or more) month
lights 100(or more) year
temperature and humidity monitoring, health monitoring, stress indicators, veterinary care,
the list for just care, could easily go over 2k a year, for a $100.00 animal.
the desire to have a happy, healthy chameleon.... its not something that every one can have or acheive..... for most people, its ah... F**k it... ima go play video games... or buy this bag of weed. and because each species is almost completely different, lets try to re-use some equipment to save on cost... except that carpet, or pygmy... not the same temp, lighting, humidity requirements... there is almost no "rule of thumb", unless you are in the same species.
i want some dart frogs, and for the most part, i can toss a few in a tank, keep it wet, and feed them. they are good to go.
i want a snake, toss it in a plastic tote, heat it, feed it... good to go...
i want a dog, ..... you get the idea....
care;
just the basic's require so much investment.
enclosure + 100(or more)
monthly food cost 20(or more) month
plants 20( or more) month
lights 100(or more) year
temperature and humidity monitoring, health monitoring, stress indicators, veterinary care,
the list for just care, could easily go over 2k a year, for a $100.00 animal.
the desire to have a happy, healthy chameleon.... its not something that every one can have or acheive..... for most people, its ah... F**k it... ima go play video games... or buy this bag of weed. and because each species is almost completely different, lets try to re-use some equipment to save on cost... except that carpet, or pygmy... not the same temp, lighting, humidity requirements... there is almost no "rule of thumb", unless you are in the same species.
i want some dart frogs, and for the most part, i can toss a few in a tank, keep it wet, and feed them. they are good to go.
i want a snake, toss it in a plastic tote, heat it, feed it... good to go...
i want a dog, ..... you get the idea....
odduc748
Member
All true statements from the members who chimed in with answers.
I have only recently come back to keeping a cham. I had 4 of them, when I was married, about 10 years ago.
But, I've noticed that there is much more knowledge available. There is much better equipment and cages, etc.
BUT, it is still very expensive and time-consuming because of the specialized care chams require.
This website is a great resource for information and I'd recommend you read a lot of it, before bringing home your new resident. I lurked on this site for a couple months before ultimately getting a baby Panther. And because I spent so much time reading through this site, I felt very well prepared. Other than the fact that I bought a female, instead of the male I thought I was getting.
Anyway, good luck!
I have only recently come back to keeping a cham. I had 4 of them, when I was married, about 10 years ago.
But, I've noticed that there is much more knowledge available. There is much better equipment and cages, etc.
BUT, it is still very expensive and time-consuming because of the specialized care chams require.
This website is a great resource for information and I'd recommend you read a lot of it, before bringing home your new resident. I lurked on this site for a couple months before ultimately getting a baby Panther. And because I spent so much time reading through this site, I felt very well prepared. Other than the fact that I bought a female, instead of the male I thought I was getting.
Anyway, good luck!
happy
Member
for most chameleon people, we will never stop. never stop reading, never stop learning, never stop trying to make it better, never stop trying to enhance the hobby... we will continue to share new idea's and be open to experiment(within reason) essentially, we become the chameleon, to adapt to the changes and overcome obstacles presented to us.
sorry if that was too.... weird... i had a weird day at work... im afraid to turn my phone on now....
fluxlizard
Avid Member
Well, there you go then!
Cheers all - so the summary is, more picky about their conditions than other lizards; more easily killed if you screw up; and more expensive, which can cause bad husbandry from people who can't or won't spend enough on their pet?
As someone who has never owned a lizard, they all look like they have a steep learning curve, weird food requirements, complex cage setups, so it is very difficult to judge why a chameleon is harder than a gecko. It all looks new and difficult to me.
I'm not in a position to own any sort of pet until September, as I'm about to move, so I will keep reading until then and hopefully have more of a handle on whether I should do it. Maybe there's someone local who might want a cham-sitter...
As someone who has never owned a lizard, they all look like they have a steep learning curve, weird food requirements, complex cage setups, so it is very difficult to judge why a chameleon is harder than a gecko. It all looks new and difficult to me.
I'm not in a position to own any sort of pet until September, as I'm about to move, so I will keep reading until then and hopefully have more of a handle on whether I should do it. Maybe there's someone local who might want a cham-sitter...
This is good feedback - clearly, I don't know a thing about internal parasites, or how to recognise a chameleon who isn't eating. However, would keeping a different lizard definitely prepare you for this with a chameleon?
I'll be the first to admit that I do not have experience with chameleons, but I'm not sure how to develop that experience without interacting with them,
if even individual breeds of chameleon are so different and complicated.
I do definitely want a chameleon rather than any other reptile, and it's not right to get a gecko "just" so I can graduate onto what I really want - that's a sure recipe for poor petkeeping - but I don't want to dive in and provide a horrible life for my new chameleon either.
I guess what I want is lessons, lectures, or a London-based owner who wants to go on holiday (is there a list on the forum of where people live, so I could contact someone? Maybe London-based breeders who I could shadow for a bit?).
yarvy
New Member
Hi,
I don't think you should be too afraid of failure to begin your chameleon adventures.
I sort of jumped into it, almost on impulse, I thought it over for maybe a week after deciding to buy a chameleon, and I did a lot of reading and research during that week. However, I had no idea how much I really still had to learn until after I began keeping my lil cham. But that's the only way to really know for sure whether or not you know what you're doing -- you have to try it out and see for yourself, just like anything else. Research will only take you so far.
Read as much as you can until you can get the cham. Read everything. Then set up your enclosure, make sure it's an appropriate size, get your UVB and daytime bulbs, set up a misting system or a dripper, buy some nice nontoxic live plants and perhaps some artificial vines, find out where you're going to be buying your crickets/worms......then just go for it, get your chameleon. That's what I say anyways. You'll do fine, and your motivation for being successful will be the desire for your chameleon to have a healthy and happy life. Once you make all your purchases and get everything set up, It's really not that hard to keep a cham. Make sure they have food each day, mist cage 2 or 3 times a day, check temperature and humidity levels, clean up their daily poops...that's about it. I'm 3 and a half weeks in and it's very fulfilling so far! Maybe I'll mess up somewhere along the way or maybe there will be some unforeseen health problem but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. I don't think you should be too scared of keeping a cham to hold off on doing it. You can only grow as a person and learn more and become a more experienced and successful cham keeper!
Cheers
I don't think you should be too afraid of failure to begin your chameleon adventures.
I sort of jumped into it, almost on impulse, I thought it over for maybe a week after deciding to buy a chameleon, and I did a lot of reading and research during that week. However, I had no idea how much I really still had to learn until after I began keeping my lil cham. But that's the only way to really know for sure whether or not you know what you're doing -- you have to try it out and see for yourself, just like anything else. Research will only take you so far.
Read as much as you can until you can get the cham. Read everything. Then set up your enclosure, make sure it's an appropriate size, get your UVB and daytime bulbs, set up a misting system or a dripper, buy some nice nontoxic live plants and perhaps some artificial vines, find out where you're going to be buying your crickets/worms......then just go for it, get your chameleon. That's what I say anyways. You'll do fine, and your motivation for being successful will be the desire for your chameleon to have a healthy and happy life. Once you make all your purchases and get everything set up, It's really not that hard to keep a cham. Make sure they have food each day, mist cage 2 or 3 times a day, check temperature and humidity levels, clean up their daily poops...that's about it. I'm 3 and a half weeks in and it's very fulfilling so far! Maybe I'll mess up somewhere along the way or maybe there will be some unforeseen health problem but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. I don't think you should be too scared of keeping a cham to hold off on doing it. You can only grow as a person and learn more and become a more experienced and successful cham keeper!
Cheers
brendan0923
New Member
I agree, the more research you do, the easier keeping your cham will be. Once everything is set up properly, it's pretty easy to keep them. Prior to supplementation, UVB, etc. chameleons were a rarity in captivity due to their specific requirements, but now (mostly) everything you need for a happy chameleon is readily available. Do as much research as you can, and once you have everything all set up, go for it!
