Your First Chameleon
- Thread starter Brad
- Start date
hanna145fancy
New Member
I dont even have my first chameleon yet. BUT I have already bought him, from Kammerflage, so he should be ready to come here next week and I am SO excited!
Its going to be a panther male from the Mihoatra line!!!
Its going to be a panther male from the Mihoatra line!!!
BIGGUN
Avid Member
My first cham was a male veil.
I got him over 6 years ago. He lives in an open cage in our livingroom.
I'm trying to get a pair of Ambilobe Panthers. If anyone knows someone that's into Panthers and Reef aquariums I'm trying to trade my way into the Panthers. I have corals and some equiptment available.
Kevin
I got him over 6 years ago. He lives in an open cage in our livingroom.
I'm trying to get a pair of Ambilobe Panthers. If anyone knows someone that's into Panthers and Reef aquariums I'm trying to trade my way into the Panthers. I have corals and some equiptment available.
Kevin
dastone181
New Member
my first, well, i got him yesterday 
hes a male veiled, im guessing 3-4 months old he rocks
hes a male veiled, im guessing 3-4 months old he rocks I got my first chams one week before Christmas as an early gift for myself It is a younger male and an elder female. C hoehnelii and they are so wonderful!! The litte male just loves the dripper! He comes running *lol*. And still I have the dripper going a lot and also mist them.
Unfortunatly the female got sick one day after moving in here. Stress and a latent infection is my theory... First her left eye wouldn't open and then she started to take breaths occasionally with her mouth open. Now she is starting to get better I am giving her antibiotics and have read just about every thread on URI on this forum. She now eats, poops and drinks normally. The eye is open more and more. I think she is going to make it. Keeping my fingers crossed.
It is a younger male and an elder female. C hoehnelii and they are so wonderful!! The litte male just loves the dripper! He comes running *lol*. And still I have the dripper going a lot and also mist them.Unfortunatly the female got sick one day after moving in here. Stress and a latent infection is my theory... First her left eye wouldn't open and then she started to take breaths occasionally with her mouth open. Now she is starting to get better
I am giving her antibiotics and have read just about every thread on URI on this forum. She now eats, poops and drinks normally. The eye is open more and more. I think she is going to make it. Keeping my fingers crossed.
stephen
Member
my first post!!!!!!!!
Hello y'all, finally typing something in after reading the forum for 3 months. My first was a very juv. panther that i talked a breeder at an expo to sell me. Big mistake.After having a boa,tarantula,caiman,snapping turtle etc., I thought a chameleon no problem!!! Put him in a hex aquarium in front of a window.doh!!!
He/she lasted a couple of weeks.bummer. Ten years later(and wiser) and i am slowly breeding panthers.
Hello y'all, finally typing something in after reading the forum for 3 months. My first was a very juv. panther that i talked a breeder at an expo to sell me. Big mistake.After having a boa,tarantula,caiman,snapping turtle etc., I thought a chameleon no problem!!! Put him in a hex aquarium in front of a window.doh!!!
He/she lasted a couple of weeks.bummer. Ten years later(and wiser) and i am slowly breeding panthers.
Cale24
New Member
Hmmm, well I'll be getting my first veiled in a week or so. For the past 10 years I have remained content with the chameleons that live in suburban gardens around Cape Town, Cape Dwarf Chams. They generally care for themselves and I have around 20 scattered throughout my large garden. Only adult males become territorial, and they are seemingly happy to have young males and females living nearby so long as they 'know their place.'
I've seen them mate; give birth to live young (normally 6-14 or so); fight (out of my reach) until one falls out of the bush/tree (unharmed apart from a bite mark or two); pretty much everything. I've also managed to tame 2 to the point where they would come toward my hand from a high branch, knowing a hand-based food trip was on the cards! They live outside so having this relationship was all the more special- it took a few months to pull off though. One of them even became tame having often witnessed my hand picking up nearby chameleons- he came forward oneday! Depending on the weather I sometimes give them a light rain shower with the hose, which as you guys would guess they love. Also seek out some treats for them which I feed by hand- almost all will readily take an appealing meal. The larger ones also love a good Praying Mantii- watching them take on a meal bigger than they should is one of the funniest things I'll probably ever watch. Anyways, sorry about the overkill story but I love these lil guys so much I had to speak of them. I've read conflicting taming information about the species, but I'm not exaggerating my experiences at all, that I can promise.
I've seen them mate; give birth to live young (normally 6-14 or so); fight (out of my reach) until one falls out of the bush/tree (unharmed apart from a bite mark or two); pretty much everything. I've also managed to tame 2 to the point where they would come toward my hand from a high branch, knowing a hand-based food trip was on the cards! They live outside so having this relationship was all the more special- it took a few months to pull off though. One of them even became tame having often witnessed my hand picking up nearby chameleons- he came forward oneday! Depending on the weather I sometimes give them a light rain shower with the hose, which as you guys would guess they love. Also seek out some treats for them which I feed by hand- almost all will readily take an appealing meal. The larger ones also love a good Praying Mantii- watching them take on a meal bigger than they should is one of the funniest things I'll probably ever watch. Anyways, sorry about the overkill story but I love these lil guys so much I had to speak of them. I've read conflicting taming information about the species, but I'm not exaggerating my experiences at all, that I can promise.
Kent67
Retired Moderator
Very cool story Cale. B. pumilum is a species that we don't get to see here in the US. I'm sure there's a number of people on the forum who would really like to see any pictures you may have of them in your garden. Sure, it will make us all jealous, but they'd still be neat to see
Good luck with your incoming veiled!
Good luck with your incoming veiled!
Cale24
New Member
Thanks, its great to finally join a forum with this likeminded passion for chams, should have done so years ago! I'm happy to show what pics I have, on this PC at least. These are of adult males and females, both reaching fairly similar sizes. The male in the pics grew to around 7 inches or so (dwarf species). Newborns are maybe 1.5 inches full length, max. The Veiled will certainly be a change in size Pics coming...
Adult male...
A little action with earlier mentioned tame female. Their offspring live on...
Pics coming...
Adult male...
A little action with earlier mentioned tame female. Their offspring live on...
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Cale24
New Member
Thanks and no problem! The species actually varies quite significantly in colouration, I've come across many interesting looking guys. I'll happily upload some more pics of my current chams soon as I can. Maybe also try get some new shots- not so easy when you have to spend time looking for a particular cham all over an area in a garden, the sneaks...
Sepioteuthis
New Member
WOW! What amazing chameleons, Cale! Such vibrant colors. Thanks for sharing your pictures and experiences.I'm curious, were you able to get a feel for how big the territory of an adult male is?
Cale24
New Member
Hey there, thanks- some of them do have great colouration, even from a young age. Time and again I've had my knowledge (of cham characteristics) redefined by a newly discovered chameleon (they often cross gardens from neighbors, etc. Once I even had to scale a neighboring house's roof when I spotted a big guy on a telephone wire of sorts, which ran across our homes. Lol. Shrike bird could have gotten him for sure!).
Adult male territories tend to range from a medium sized bush (say a 5ft x 5ft x 8ft tall hibiscus, which they love) to smallish trees. The tree types vary significantly. As I mentioned, these males are fairly accommodating of smaller non-challengers, and happy to bask near them. A rival adult male on a nearby bush, and they can spot each other from surprisingly far distances, will definitely cause tempers to flare though. Assuming this nearby bush is around say 6 feet away, it will often be enough to entice the one male to A)plan his route to the opposition (and you can see his eyes do this, lol) then B) swiftly progress down to the grass and up the next bush. Or course the other male often does the same and a fight can ensue (If I see this about to happen I simply move them back, without their having a line of sight again). If they lose track of one another they'll often forget the plan anyways. I presume this is typical behavior for many species? As for females, adults are more than happy to be near each other. One 'pair' in particular would bask within 2 inches of the other, crazily enough. I took some low quality shots of this on my old cell-cam, simply to document my amazement. They continued to hang out for a very long time too- both later gave birth.
Edit- I should mention also that these chameleons will sometimes travel across the width of my garden (over 30 feet I think) for numerous reasons, and all in the space of a working day!- assuming there is a breeze for them to 'dance' to I have found adult males on smaller lavender bushes (as in pics), these being only 3 or 4 feet high, but wider reaching. In general, they move a fair bit.
Adult male territories tend to range from a medium sized bush (say a 5ft x 5ft x 8ft tall hibiscus, which they love) to smallish trees. The tree types vary significantly. As I mentioned, these males are fairly accommodating of smaller non-challengers, and happy to bask near them. A rival adult male on a nearby bush, and they can spot each other from surprisingly far distances, will definitely cause tempers to flare though. Assuming this nearby bush is around say 6 feet away, it will often be enough to entice the one male to A)plan his route to the opposition (and you can see his eyes do this, lol) then B) swiftly progress down to the grass and up the next bush. Or course the other male often does the same and a fight can ensue (If I see this about to happen I simply move them back, without their having a line of sight again). If they lose track of one another they'll often forget the plan anyways. I presume this is typical behavior for many species? As for females, adults are more than happy to be near each other. One 'pair' in particular would bask within 2 inches of the other, crazily enough. I took some low quality shots of this on my old cell-cam, simply to document my amazement. They continued to hang out for a very long time too- both later gave birth.
Edit- I should mention also that these chameleons will sometimes travel across the width of my garden (over 30 feet I think) for numerous reasons, and all in the space of a working day!- assuming there is a breeze for them to 'dance' to
I have found adult males on smaller lavender bushes (as in pics), these being only 3 or 4 feet high, but wider reaching. In general, they move a fair bit.
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Nicodemayo
Avid Member
cale im so jealous your have wild chams in your backyard
Aquaseafoam
New Member
My first ( and only) cham is a C. chameleon, lately I'm starting to think (s)he is a C. africanus if so, its a female
Trace
Captain Awesome
I'll second that!
I rarely see any pics of the Bradypodion from South Africa. Post away.
Cheers!
Trace
Cale24
New Member
Hehe, happy to chip in what experiences and pics I have guys. I'll start a thread once I get some more shots of the current guys, one adult male of which is really beautiful. The females here can also rival the males for colour variety, unlike the fairly plain looking female in the pic above. Her ability to maniplulate that basic green was unmatched though, with incredible saturation and patterning- almost as some sort of natural 'compensation' for no colour bars, etc.
The largest cham I've ever found was a female actually, although on average males are bigger... You guys have some incredible pets though, it must be said. For years I've wanted a foreign chameleon, only to be let down through local permit issues. ENVY! Even my 3 small tortoises were a mission to get hold of.
The largest cham I've ever found was a female actually, although on average males are bigger... You guys have some incredible pets though, it must be said. For years I've wanted a foreign chameleon, only to be let down through local permit issues. ENVY! Even my 3 small tortoises were a mission to get hold of.
