Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello all
I dont know if you shall recall I posted about my sick little dwarf Fischers Chameleon Murphy?,well sadly he did not make it!.
I took him to vets, syringed fed him,gave him Hydrolife, he loved that & it helped him for a while, but then he went so down hill, he died in my hands!!!,I have grieved his death so bad & it made me question myself as an owner,I have over 20 other reptiles & they are all happy & healthy. The reality is as a first time Cham owner I should have never had Fischers, although I dont regret it as they truly were a joy to own*Im a bit suspicious that my Chams were never that healthy enough when i bought them in the 1st place, as the female was too skinny & the male never showed colours the pics normal happy Fischers do!.
Anyway I must say in my experience Fischers are wonderful affectionate little Chams & if I ever know I honestly one day have the precise knowledge to own them again, I will*

What I really wish to ask here is for a 1st time Chameleon owner, what is the best species to own????, as I know Veileds & Panthers is what most people mention,but which 1 truly is best,
I miss my Chams so much Im dying to own Chams again, but I want to make the right choices this time!
Please help, thank you*

Here is a pic of my little Murphy, he shall always be in my heart*

That depends on a lot of things...Most will tell you a Veiled or a Panther.

However - the other reptiles you keep...what kind are they?

Are you the type to work with your cham and make sure his environment is "just right"? Would you rather have one that is extrememly hardy and can handle variance in its environment?

My first cham was/is a Jackson (got a second one now). I like them just fine. You have to either keep up on his spraying (or do what I did and set up a automisting system).

The reason for the Jackson? Well his temp is around where I keep my room normally. In the same room I have Poison Dart frogs (high humidiy and same temps), one tree frog, and one mossy leaf tail gecko. So I am used to the environment and such. It makes it easy to care for species that way....I dont think I would put beardies or Uros or any Hot/Arid species in the same room.

Jacksons are a lot like your Fischers for their environment. I was actually thinking of getting one in the future. Since they like the same temps and require the same humidity it is a natural choice.

Also - if you get a Jacksons female - you should not worry about eggs. Kind of a bonus.

anyhow - I would not suggest a Jackson to a first time herp owner (nor would I suggest ANY cham), but if you have kept herps in the past and were successful, they are not as difficult as people make them out to be.

I know i rambled..but hey - it is Friday

-adam

Thank you kindly for your response*
I currently own:
4 Leopard geckos
2 African fat tails
1 Bearded Dragon
1 Dubia day gecko
1 Gold dust day gecko
2 Jewelled Curly tailed lizards
4 Sand skinks
1 Royal python
1 Tiwanese Beauty snake
1 Brazillian white knee tarantula & 1 Black cat!

I am the kind of owner who loves to make sure my animals are getting the best of everything, always monitoring they are happy & healthy, I give them all Nutrobal vit&min powder, its fantastic stuff, I do my best to tame my animals as much as possible, by patiently working with them to gain my trust*My little Cham i had went bright green when i held him & licked my fingers with his little forked tougue all the time*, the normally hyper nervous curlys and day geckos let me stroke them at times!.
Its funny you mention Jacksons, thats what my boyfriend likes, I got to admit, Im really into the Veileds!.But i think its because ive held one, they are a lot bigger stronger & heavier than the Fischers, but the one i held is a sick female, she cant move her back legs & everyone told me at the pet shop to be careful with her because she is vicious & bites!, when I held her she hissed a little while, then settled down cuddled in my jumper & went all bright coloured, greeny yellow*.She is gripping now with her back feet, as Ive been training her muscles to pull & grip, I dont know if she shall ever walk again though!, you see she is not egg bound, but she has to pass or reobsorb them, or she will need surgery, sadly she is owned & I have unfortunately fell for her!,I wish so badly I could own her as we have bonded*, my boyfriend does not want me to incase she is too sick!,I hope she gets better, does it sound quite hopeful?, I got her to eat 10 wax worms, when she could not catch her crix & they kept bitting her!!!,she is under vet supervision, so no more can be done, for now!,I know that the owner has over 30 beardies & was considering not taking her, because they wont have time for her, I know I would have time for her!, but its up to the owner!, Im sad, I know, I even picked a name for her Serenity*
Hey dont worry about blabbing on, its great to talk to someone with a lot to say***
Thank you again*

One of my favorite reptiles was a very sick AFT gecko. Lost a leg and was VERY thin. He was a rescue from a guy that thought it waould be ok to keep it with his baby Savannah monitor! He gave him to me right after the leg was lost...he also just threw crickets in there and assumed the gecko was getting his share.

Although he died about 2 years later due to an infection of the "stump", he was a wonderful little guy to have around. He ended up getting VERY fat! Bred once too! He tried his best to eat, but had a tough time catching the crix...so I eneded up feeding him daily in his own shoe box - often by hand.

It is amazing - the more work you put into a reptile, the more attached you are to them. And when they leave you - It is that much tougher - but in the end - it is WELL worth it! I still have his feeder box in my closet.

A few tears wont stop me from getting attached.

Good luck!

-adam

this is one of my many soppy lizards, his name is Cypher & he is a real sweetie, i was touched with your story on your aft*, they are wonderful little animals***

np

this is one of my many soppy lizards, his name is Cypher & he is a real sweetie, i was touched with your story on your aft*, they are wonderful little animals***

Hope you like the pic?

Even though I had mine for months, I cherrish the fact I got to own such darling little animals*, they used to have times were they would hint to me they wanted a cuddle, by pawing at the viv at front!,if they had to be put back too soon, when I had things to do, they went a little dark, as if telling me they were in a huff!!!LOL, but they soon went brighter!.
I know with my female she choked on a wax worm in her viv!, but with my male, i dont know what went wrong I always misted their vivs right, but my male I found one day unable to walk, his back legs had no movement,he would not even grip with his feet,I took him to vets, and they gave him Baytril, I asked if it could be MBD,but I did not understand how, as I always powdered their food & they had UV!, the vet said he either fell & broke his legs or spine!, what do you think???
Sorry Im giving you more to deal with!!!

You may have over powdered. I powder my Jacksons once a week or so..sometime 10 days between. However I gutload my crix very well. The powder is only a suppliment to a great diet. Sometimes I feel that the crix in my home get better treatment than anything else!

Perhaps the real issue here is what you've suspected: maybe you started off with a sick chameleon to begin with. It's makes things tougher than they should be.
You are right. They are very endearing.
Veiled, panther, Jackson - whatever you decide to go with- make sure you get your next chameleon from a reliable source. Preferably direct from a breeder! Try to get a CBB chameleon. But most important of all, talk to the breeder.
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Victor Gomez
gomezvi.tripod.com/sdchamkeepers/
gomezvi@yahoo.com

Panthers are hardy too but my Veileds are easier in my opinion.