Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am thinking of owning a chameleon someday. Would like to ask you chameleon owners whats best out there. I heard that veileds are the most popular of all the chameleons, easy to take care of, breed and are better pets then the rest. is that true?
I see plenty of veileds, panthers and jacksons for sale. any one better than the others?

any info will help

To ask a bunch of cham keepers which is the "best" is tough. We all have our preferences based on our own experiences. Also, "a better pet" is a bit vague. There are many characteristics of chams that make them poor pets: they are expensive to set up correctly (big cage, live plants, UVB lighting, misting or humidifier systems). I find that the keepers who enjoy them most are those who get a lot of satisfaction out of technical setups and those who are detail oriented. If you are the type who does not want to worry about a pet every few hours or daily, a cham will not be for you. If you want a pet that is social and likes attention, this isn't it. If your house life is busy, noisy, active with other animals, the cham will be easily stressed. They are not very social and won't like much handling. They need lots of live healthy insect food (so you have to care for not only the cham, but all the bugs too). Most vets can't treat their health problems. On the other hand, chams are: beautiful, fascinating to watch, figuring out a good setup is interesting and rewarding, they can't really harm you when they bite, they don't need a fenced yard, shots, or to be walked every day.

I don't mean to be flippant, but I do mean that you will have to get a better idea of what YOU want in a reptile pet. Veileds may be the best of the chams to keep because there are simply many more of them in captivity than the other species and breeders and keepers know more about their needs. But, they can also be produced cheaply and have health problems due to poor care and inbreeding. A cheap tiny month old veiled baby from the local pet shop won't be a good idea. Veileds can be aggressive and hate handling. Some are mellow, but there is no real way to predict the personality you'll end up with despite handling when young. Some species known to be more mellow are also shyer and easier to stress. They just don't show their stress in aggression like a veiled might. I've had nice veileds, nasty jackson's, nice melleri, evil melleri. They are really individual.

The climate where you live is a thing to consider too. If you live somewhere that's cold in winter, hot in summer, or very dry, you'll have to spend more to set up the habitat that will keep one healthy. Winter heating will dry out the room the cage is in causing dehydration. Hot summer nights will stress them as they need at least a 10 degree temp drop at night. If your house doesn't cool off, you'll need to find a way to cool the cham's habitat every night. They do best with some time outdoors in mild weather for "true sun" basking. There are ways around all this, but it will be more expensive and complicated. If you travel or are away from home a lot, you'll need to automate misting, dripping, lights, etc. as chams need fairly rigid daily routines.

I've kept 7 different species since 1997 and enjoy them for different reasons. My favorite is melleri, but most keepers wouldn't want to cater to them or turn over an entire room to them. I'd suggest doing some reading in a recent chameleon book (like Petr Necas' books) to learn more about the different species and their climatic needs. You may find that one simply appeals to you above the rest. That is the one to focus on.

Carlton:
What a fantastic reply to a difficult but often asked question! BTW, what factors in a Melleri make them so attractive to you (other than the challenge to keep a rather difficult species healthy). Happy New Year!
Diane
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dianedfisher@yahoo.com

My 3 CWD-Avanyu, Tripod and Drago
Valentino, Veiled Chameleon
Chyam, Nosy Be Panther Chameleon