Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hi jim kendrick here
i have been on the kingsnake.com forum for some time now with my clan of collared lizards. i have been knocking around the idea of getting a pair of chameleons, but i really don't have the luxury of providing plants and the time to constantly mist the lizards.
i have always had great luck with my desert species of lizards and was afraid that even though they are a neat lizard to observe are they really high maintenance?
what would a breed of chameleon would be great to provide crickets, super worms year round and grasshoppers, june bugs and moths during the warmer seasons or are there any out there that eat such insects?
my biggest problem is that i may not be available sometimes for 2 or 3 days and if moisture is a big issue with these it would probably be better not to get them.
well, any suggestions of breeds and their care would be helpful.
take care

Yes, chameleons do take quite a bit of work. My golden advice to you is to get a CAPTIVE BRED chameleon. I had a CB Jackson's and it was alot of fun having him until I sold him to a friend's dad who needed a male for a breeding project.

Now I have a Werner's three-horned Cham (which kinda looks like a jackson's... brings back fond memories =) BUT this Werner's is "Wild Caught" and so far he is not acclimating very well. He drinks a bit of dew water but refuses to eat anything for 6 days so far (today he sort of threw up some saliva? while bobbing his head side to side). I have his setup hooked up textbook perfect. Mesh cage, UVB, Heat Lamp, his cage gets misted 2-3x a day at least. bowl of fresh mealworms under his perching stick, live non-toxic plants, crickets, lots of climbing and hiding space... it seems like a captive Cham's paradise.... but he is not acclimating well at all. I bet just a couple of weeks ago he was in Africa happy in a tree or something.

I am having some restless sleep thinking about him. My local exotic vet isn't open till tuesday which I plan to call and make an appointment.

Please get captive bred. It's a safer bet.

may be he doesn't recognize mealworm as a food. try give him free ranging insects, some like he was hunting in the wild: grasshoppers, flies, some butterflies, and gradually move it to crickets

hey guy.thanks for the response........sorry to hear that about your chameleon..hope is okay. i think i might stick to my collared lizards........
take care

It doesn't sound as if chams will be good options for you. Even the more "hardy" species will take daily misting (2-3 times per day depending on your particular climate), routine maintenance of LIVE plants, and live prey feedings at least every 2 days. Chams setups aren't really low maintenance...there are too many variables and they are very sensitive to the proper temp and humidity gradients. If you are gone that often you could either automate your misting/dripping system or have someone check the setups daily. You would have to have a large enough water reservoir for the misting system to last the length of your trips or have someone refill them. Chams don't tend to gorge on a lot of prey and then fast. They do better with meals every day while they are juveniles and every other day as adults. They need a pretty high variety of feeders too. Either way, if you planned on getting a pair of any chams except the little pygmy leaf chams you wouldn't be able to house them in the same cage...at least 2 separate setups.

hey carlton........thanks for the response........yes, i have made up my mind that i will stick solely with my collards.......if you can't give the guys the proper care and attention then you don't need to mess with the chams or any lizard for that matter.
again...thanks for the message.