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Can anyone help me.........................

charma1979 Aug 07, 2003 05:31 PM

Hi i have to baby Taveta chameleons and im new into this hobby, i just need someone to give me some ideas in looking after these fasinating creatures, they are both 4 months of age and where 2 inches when i got them, they are eating well and love there tiny crickets and flightless fruit flies, is there any other things i can feed them?
Ive always wanted a chameleon since a young age and now i have 2 babys, and want to learn more about them, i got myself a book but it doesnt really help much, i just need someone out there with experience to give me advice please.

Thankyou

Replies (2)

Joel_Fish Aug 08, 2003 10:17 AM

Hmmmm....

This is a cham that is not often seen in the pet trade. I'm just curious, did you get it from a pet store, reptile show, or direct from an importer/mail order?

I think it would be very interesting if you could post a picture as many here have probably never seen them. I've never had one, and you aren't getting any other responses, so we can only do our best here.....

Do you know if they are wc or cb? either way, you may want to take them to your vet for a fecal sample. This is so that you can make sure that they don't have too many parasites. Especially if they are wild caught.

Stress is a big killer of chams. It can lead to other problems as stress weakens their immune system. Signs of stress can be very difficult to detect. With this in mind, I WOULD HOUSE THEM SEPARATELY IN SCREEN CAGES. Don't worry, they won't be lonely. They will be much happier and healthier apart and not in view of each other. I would use lots of live plants with them such as ficus benjamina, schefflera arboricola and pothos.

Here is a page with some minimal care information.
http://www.adcham.com/html/taxonomy/species/btavetanum.html

Also, they are what we call a 'montane' species, so the care for C. jacksoni xantholophus should apply in general. You should get a thermometer and a humidity gauge. They need a basking light for warmth and a light like a reptisun 5.0 for uvb. These types of chams need higher humidity than is usually found in our homes so you may need to use a cool mist humidifier to keep the humidity around 80-90%.

For food, crickets are good - also silkworms. Some of us raise roaches and the smaller nymphs would work great for these guys.

Good luck and please let us know how they do.
hth,
Joel Fish

PatrickB Aug 08, 2003 01:17 PM

Here is a link to a species profile for Bradypodion tavetanum.
Bradypodion tavetanum

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