I'm a new Chameleon owner and I've been caring for mine for a few weeks now. I got her a 38 gallon completely screened cage, a UVB and UVA light and proper heat source. She's about the size of my palm right now and seemed much friendlier when I first got her. The pet store I purchased her from actually said they handled her everyday, which I know is bad, but she was fine with me holding her at that point.
Sometimes I'll switch her between two cages because another gives her easier access to several water sources and keeps hydration better. I don't switch her often so I won't stress her out, but only do it when I haven't witnessed her drinking for a while.
In the beginning she loved walking onto my hand, but recently I've noticed that she's tried to bite me. Strangely she crawled onto my boyfriend's hand right away, but still puffs up extremely when I get near her. Is there a specific way I should be handling her when I need to?
My boyfriend said she crawled onto his hand while it was palm-down in a fist. She used to walk onto mine when I had a finger perched out. Is there any better method?
And one last question. The first day I got her she ate 5 crickets in a row. I was surprised at that, but her appetite the next few days calmed down. Now I noticed she eats everything in the cage at every chance she gets. When I put in worms she'll quickly climb down to eat them. She's eaten almost 30 crickets within 4 days, and her body is only about the size of my palm. Is this healthy? Is there a limit to how much I should feed her, or a minimum?
From the time I got her to now she's gotten a bit more plump but still looks pretty healthy. I used to see her ribcage while she was just sitting, but now it's less visible.
Also, I wasn't aware they ate vegetables or fruits, but apparently they'll sample it sometimes. What types will they try?
Thank you for any help to my questions!
