Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have always been fascinated by herps of all types and am enamored with Chameleons especially following darts which I keep. Could you advise me:

1. Am I correct in choosing either a Vieled or Panther as a first Chameleon?

2. Is the Vieled the MOST hardy? Is there only the two morphs of the Vieleds? I love the intense blues and yellow contrasts. Any suggestions on a breeder with exceptional quality and unusally beautiful viels of that coloration?

3. IS IRBA a good place to find my first? And how old should I be buying the first one, keeping in consideration my lack of experience but desire to tame it intensely?

4. How does one go about finding one of great temperament? I understand they can not take too much handling. But still some sites talk about some that can take it more then others and some folks talk about the sweet personalities of their Chams. The temperament will be of high priority to me-Comments much appreciated?

Thanks and Happy Thanksgiving-Maggie

Hi Maggie! Happy Fowl Day!!

I am very partial to Jacksons myself. I have just recently acquired some Nosy Be (Panther) and Veiled pairs. My Jackson male is very friendly and mellow. He never runs from my hand and gladly (well, as close I can tell) lets me handle him. Of course, I never handle him more than to take him from inside to outside caging or when I clean his cage. He will eat worms from my hand readily. Of course, Jacksons dont have the striking coloration that panthers or veileds have, but, they do have those beautiful triceratops-like horns. I have heard that Veiled chams can get ornery when older, but, I only have relatively little experience with veileds. Panthers, while having some of the most striking color patterns, get quite expensive for the better looking individuals. All chams are expensive to keep, so, if you're gonna spend the money on setup and care, i would say get the one that appeals to you the most.

Every cham is different when it comes to temperament so you can end up with ornery chams with any type you get. it's hard to tell what you're gonna get with young chams so be sure you get a relatively older one for a better idea of its temperament. By old, I dont mean years, but maybe 6-8 months or older. This is when they begin to show their temperaments in general. My Jacksons male and 2 females are all very mellow. My redphase female, Lucille, can be ornery at times but not to the point where she attempts to bite me or anything, she just knows when she doesnt want to be handled and she lets me know. Both of my jacksons are gravid. One on her 2nd clutch and one on her first.

Hope this helps you....in my opinion, get the cham that you like the best and be sure you are prepared to keep acquiring chams. One or 2 are never enough!!! I love my 7 chams and will probably get even more once these guys grow up a little. Since my Jacksons are live-bearers, I love to see the perfectly formed baby chams once the female drops them. They are so darn cute!!! I am looking forward to my Nosy Be's breeding but that is a while away as they are only 4 months old.
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Raf

1.2 Jacksons Adults (Frank, Patty, Lucille)
0.0.1 Jackson's baby (George, R.I.P. 11/17/2003)
1.1 Nosy Be's (Mars and Roja)
1.1 Veiled - No Names Yet
0.1 Adult Sulcatta (POOPIE,I bought it from Victor at Kobey's in SD)
0.0.2 Baby Sulcattas (frick and frack)
1.0 Home's Hingeback Tortoise (SPEEDY, From Victor as well)
1.2 Red ear slider babies (Hingis, Dingis and Dorkus)
0.0.1 3 toed box turtle - No Name Yet
0.0.1 Gulf Coast Box Turtle - No Name Yet
1.0 Red Siberian Husky (Harley)
0.1 Black Lab (Krissy)
0.1 English Bulldog (Alice)
0.1 Blue Merle Great Dane (Wednesday)
Saltwater Fish and Inverts too

Ok I'm going to try to remember all of your questions to answer.

If you are looking for better personality I'd go with a panther. As the other guy said, Veileds can get nasty when they are older.

There are not 2 different "types" of veileds. they are just color morphs. They are bred to have more of a certian color. There are blue, turquiose ( I dont know how its spelled and thats the color mine are lol) High yellow, high orange, sunburst. I think thats it.

To begin with I'd get a chameleon at least 4 months old. Like I said earlier their personalities change when they get older. So you might want to get an older one, something over 6 months.

Yes the reptile shows are good places to get your chameleon, you can see and handle the chameleon before you buy it and get to know its personality alittle better.

You are correct, panthers and veileds are the best chameleons to start with. and AS ALWAYS please read up on the care of chameleons before buying one and make sure you are going to be committed to it.
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From Sunny Florida
Jovana's kids listed below
1.1 Veileds
1.0 Ambanja Panther
1.1 Tamatave Panther

Raf has a good point with Jacksons. We have never had an aggressive Jackson. We currently have about 25 pairs of Jacksons and many babies. The jacksons seem to accept handling far better than other species. Some are even personable that way.

As for Veiled for a first cham, several years ago I may have said yes. However, after over 5 years of raising them I have my doubts. First they can be very nasty and difficult to handle, both male and female after they become sub-adults. In-breeding with Veiled have been way too prevelant, so you need to know who the parents are and the grand parents if possible. You could raise your veiled up for 6 months and have it just drop dead. Reason: a genetic defect. Another problem is some keepers hatch their clutches out at 6 months by keeping the eggs at higher temps, this tends to make weak babies. They don't seem to be as developed neurologically as the ones that go 8-9 months.

Panthers are great chams but a little more difficult and more expensive. Expense can vary greatly with the age of a panther. If the cham is younger than 6 months you will have to get several enclosures prior to adulthood. Also babies are harder to raise, anything under 3 months is a real challenge.

Hope this helps,
Yosemite
Reptayls, Ltd.

So, if I were to pick a vieled Cham at 6-8 months old, would I be fairly certain of its temperament? I like the vieled for its looks, hardiness(since i'm a beginner), and lower price(since I'm a beginner) but the temperament thing and inbreeding stuff really concerns me. So the question is: how, if at all possible, do I make certain of temperament and genetic competence. Thanks! Maggie

There is no way you can guess what temperment a veiled cham will have after growing up. We have had some that were great when small and sub-adults, a month later you couldn't handle them.

You have to trust the breeder you are buying from as far a genetics go.

Yosemite
Reptayls Ltd.

Just like reptyles said there is no way to say for sure that if you get a veiled at 6 months old, it will have the same temperment at 1 year.
If you are going to get one from a show also your most likely not going to find a captive bred veiled over 4 months at a show. I've never seen one at any florida shows. only wild caught above 4 months.
You could get one from the classifieds here, your just going to have to trust the person who sells it to you that it has a nice temperment because you wont be able to see it first.
Good luck in whatever you decide.
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From Sunny Florida
Jovana's kids listed below
1.1 Veileds
1.0 Ambanja Panther
1.1 Tamatave Panther