Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I live in a painfully dry state (Colorado) and am interested in purchasing a chameleon. I was wondering if there are certain species of chameleon that are regularly available in the pet trade that do better in drier climates. Also, what method would be better for making sure a chameleon stays hydrated, an automated misting system or a humidifier piped into the cage? One more question, how big a difference do fake vs live plants affect humidity levels? Thanks for the help.

Hey,

Humidity is ussually not that big of a factor to keep chameleons hydrated. Veileds and panthers will do great with just about any humidity as long as they have enough water provided to them. If you are getting an automatic misting system (far better than a humidifier for keeping your chameleon hydrated) you will have no problem. Live plants do help to raise humidity and are much more beneficial than fake plants. Pothos, Umbrella plants, Hibiscus and ficus all work well.

-Adam Weglarz.
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I guess I disagree with Adam about humidity. Chams who are getting a lot of drinking water, but living in very dry air can still fight dehydration. They are not very efficient in retaining water vapor that could be exhaled during respiration. Their nasal passages are short and straight so there is a lot less surface area to reabsorb that exhaled air before it leaves the body. Herps native to dry climates are much better at this. I've had chams in Bailey CO, so I know what you are facing. You can do it! I used a combination of hand spraying, an ultrasonic room humidifier cycling on a multiple setting lamp timer, and an automatic misting system to provide water when I was away. Live plants will be important and much better than fake. Don't bother with fountains or other open water things in the cage. There are some good articles on setups at www.chameleonnews.com that will give you some ideas.

Thanks for the info. What species of chameleons were you keeping in Bailey and do you think any species in particular fare better in less humid areas?

I had melleri, verrucosus, jacksoni, deremensis, and B. fischeri. Verrucosus was probably the one I worried least about in terms of humidity, but even the deremensis did fine. I built a timer controlled fogging system using a room humidifier and pvc pipe (basically you attach pvc to a room humidifier that has the right shaped spout and use the pipe to carry the fog into the top of the cage...then the fog pours down over the foliage). Large diameter tubing works also. I used a Ecologic Technologies RainMaker Jr. to provide drinking water, and did some hand spraying for particular chams who didn't tend to lick foliage. The melleri were free ranged in a room. The others were in screen cages densely packed with live plants and I also hung clear vinyl shower curtains on the back and sides of the cages.