Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, I'm only 15 and My Mother says that after My Father gets his Promotion (Big one) They will get me a chamillion, We already have a large amount of animals in the house such as Snakes, Dogs, Cats, Guinea Pigs, Spiders but the only one in my room is my Legless Lizzard, I'm hoping to get this Chamillion, I need to know what I need and about them befor I get it, What are they afraid of, How can I tell if they are scared, What lighting/Heating they need and How loud My music has to be befor it scares them, I'm researching on them and I think they are Pretty cool (Btw I saw the baby ones and they are pretty cute) But anyways, Can someone Please help me out here?

Thank you,
Jacob.

Congrats to your father!

You said..."We already have a large amount of animals in the house such as Snakes, Dogs, Cats, Guinea Pigs, Spiders but the only one in my room is my Legless Lizzard"....are these all yours?

You said.."I need to know what I need and about them befor I get it"...here are some sites that have good information about chameleons...
http://adcham.com/
http://www.chameleonnews.com/
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/skintests.htm#discussion

You will need a cage, UVB tube light (Repti-sun 5.0's come highly recommended)(the UVB cannot pass through glass or plastic), some branches for it to climb on, some foliage for it to hide in, something to mist it with, thermometers, insects to feed the chameleon, something to keep the insects in, phos.-free calcium, vitamins, if the chameleon gets no direct sunlight you will likely need a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder, a dripper (once the chameleon is 3 or so months old), and I'm sure I've missed a few things.

You asked..."What are they afraid of"...they are usually afraid of things that could be a predator or that they think could be a predator.

You asked..."How can I tell if they are scared"...their posture and color will likely tell you that they are afraid. Its hard to be more specific until I know what species you will be getting. They will hide or run away sometimes too.

You asked..."What lighting/Heating they need"...they all need UVB light (as I told you above). The ambient temperature and basking temperature will depend on the species.

You askde..."How loud My music has to be befor it scares them"...I can't tell you for sure...but music that is not loud doesn't seem to bother them. Some of the chameleons sense the vibrations and I don't know how loud it would have to be for them to be bothered by it if it did even bother them. They all have relatively poor hearing.

You said..."Btw I saw the baby ones and they are pretty cute"...yes, they are....but for your first time owning a chameleon I would look for one that is several months old at least.

Please don't rush into this...it doesn't take long for problems to develop if you don't keep them properly.

A couple of other things to consider before you decide:

What do you expect from the chameleon? If you want an animal that you can handle and carry around a lot this will NOT work out. Most chams don't like handling, so you will need to be content with an animal to look at but not be very social. Don't assume you will be able to teach it to accept this. Also, you will need to make sure the cham won't see any other of your pets or too much house activity. It will cause a lot of stress. As for your music, chams are sensitive to low frequency sound such as bass speakers, woofers, or very intense vibration. If you play your music loud and it is heavy in bass, this could cause it some stress.

How much time do you have each day to care for it? Chams need more daily attention than most other herps. You'll need to pay attention to the cage temperature, the humidity level, hand spray the foliage several times a day, take care of the live plants and all the feeders too. You can't just skip a day or two if it isn't convenient.

Please read the information on the websites already listed and ask any other questions you need to.

Are you refering to Chamillionare the rapper, or a Chameleon?

Sorry couldn't resist. I went to the vet and they spelled it wrong there too, so don't feel bad.
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