Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok just a few questions for a newbie at chams:
1.) I have running water and have misted my terrarium, but the humidity level won't seem to rise?
2.) I havent bought my chams yet, and was just wondering what is the best kind, ive narrowed it down to either a veiled, a flapneck or a carpet?
3.)Is it possible to house two feamale carpet chams together or will they fight like males?
4.) I heard that a 6 inch bucket of sand is needed with a feamale cham because in all cases they will eventually produce eggs?
Thanks a lot
-Josh

1)you should get plants..live or fake to hold onto the water as you mist/use dripper..also its winter,soo i went out and bought a humidifier,which helped alot..i also had humidity problems when i first got my lil guy..couldn't get it over 50..but the humidifier has made it at a all time high of 50-70..
2)my first and only cham ive ever had is a panther..people suggest panthers or veilds for first timers since they don't have as high of demands as others might..i'd suggest you get a veild out of your choices..they are the most aggressive cham,but can be tamed..
3)i wouldn't suggest housing any 2 chams together,bad things could happen..
4)it'd be best to do that,just incase..but you will see signs in the cham if she is about to lay eggs alot of the time..she could get gravid coloration on her,which would be color patterns you've never seen before on her..
hope i helped
jonny blaze

You said.."I have running water and have misted my terrarium, but the humidity level won't seem to rise"...real non-toxic plants (washed well...both sides of the leaves)will help with the humidity. By "running water" do you mean a dripper or something like a waterfall?

Flaps can be difficult to keep in captivity. They come from such a wide range that its hard to know what the one you buy needs to do well. Carpets are fairly short-lived. Veileds are not the friendliest of chameleons but they are not difficult to keep compared to most chameleons. Although veileds are sometimes able to be handled and some will come out of the cage onto you, they only tolerate the handling....as is true with most (if not all) chameleons. Even when they don't appear to be stressed by the handling or by being out of the cage on you, there is always some level of stress for them during this time.

I can't answer your question about carpets, but most chameleons will not do well with more than one to a cage regardless if its two females or a male and female. One will almost always go down hill....sometimes both.

I recommend a container of washed playsand be kept in all sexually mature egglaying female chameleons' cages. When you are new to keeping chameleons, its easy to miss the sometimes subtle indications that a female needs to lay eggs...so why take the chance?

Whether the female will lay eggs or not also depends on the species. Some chams are live bearers and do not need a laying box. Some species have a defined breeding season when they may mate and produce eggs once a year, others can produce fertile or infertile clutches more than once a year. Veileds are egg layers. Occasionally a female who has never seen or been around a male will never produce any eggs. Carpets or flapnecks will almost always be wc, so they can be trickier to acclimate than a known cbb veiled. Females are trickier to keep healthy because of their egg laying cycles. For your first cham, I'd suggest either a male veiled or male panther. Not all veileds are mean. My first cham was a huge male veiled and he was very mild tempered. They are really individual and the amount of handling doesn't always change or "tame" them. One of many nicer things about cbb animals is that you could pick a juvenile (about 4 months old if this is your first...they are more established and easier to feed) that is mellower, not shy or aggressive. If you want a herp that will allow handling, no cham is a reliable choice. If you are able to accept the personality you get (and will be content to have them as a display animal), all chams are great.