Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I got my veiled recently and cannot contact the breeder (got it 3rd hand). Based on size, is there any way to tell how old she is?

ALSO-- when people say how big their chameleons are, are they including the TAIL? The tail is almost as long as her body. Anyway Please help!

her body is about 4.5 inches, including tail, she could easily be 8.5" or so.

Also, her head is about 1.5 inches, can she eat a 2" superworm?

Thanks for the help!

After veileds are 6 months or so old you really can't age them very exactly. They vary so much because of genetics and the quality of their early care. She sounds about 8 months to a year old based on her size. She should be able to eat a superworm, but try offering her a smaller sized one at first to see how well she handles it. Smaller newly shed ones are best anyway as they have more gutload to surface area volume.

Carlton is right, you really can't age them after they get to a certain length. Plus you need experience in raising two or three from hatchlings to get a 'feel' for telling their age.

As for lengths, most people say Snout to Vent length, this is basically the end of their nose to their bum. Then they may add if the tail is in tact or if it has the tip bitten off etc. It's not always an exact length, usually just rounded to the nearest inch by placing a measuring device next to the chameleon.

-Brock

Here's a full grown female in comparison to a person (me). Males are much larger than females for the veiled species.

Here.

THATS full grown????

I was told they can get up to 18" or more...!

they tend to average a bit less than 18", and the females are usually smaller than that. it does take a little over a year for the average veiled to reach full size, my male is about 16" or so at around 10 months old.
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groups.msn.com/JEChameleons
1.1 Chameleo Calyptratus
1.1 Furcifer Pardalis (Diego Suarez)
1 Chameleo Melleri

My female veiled is pretty big, for a female veiled (probably the biggest or close to it that I've seen). She's about 12 inches long total. She's large too, even though alot of it is air. It really is hard to tell from about 6 months on, but if it helps, try weighing her in grams.... Mine was 112 g before she laid eggs (at about 10 months old) and dropped down to 60 grams after laying. I don't know if that will help, because you probably don't know where she is in her egg laying/developing process.... At 7 months old (before breeding or laying) she was 46 grams. If she's larger than about 60 grams, she could really be any age from probably 8 months up.
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Tyler Stewart
Las Vegas NV
1.2 Nosy Be Panthers
2.2 Sambava Panthers
1.0 Tamatave Panther
1.0 Nosy Be X Unknown Cross
1.1 Veiled Chameleons
0.0.2 CBB Desert Tortoises
0.0.1 Sulcatta Tortoise