Reptile & Amphibian Forums

can you hold camelions? (take them out and handle them)

what do you feed them?

how do you tell if they are healthy when buying?

what find of light do they need?

You can hold them for short periods depending on the chameleon.
They need both a heat lamp (depending on location) and uvb which gives off rays like the sun (maybe).
They feed on various insects such as cricket's, roaches, silkworms etc;
You start by purchasing from a reputable breeder or seller.
You look for sunk in eys, missing nails, damaged tail, activity level, unshed skin etc;
From your post you need to do a search by typing in chameleons.
Ask others read books.
Don't believe everything you read or hear as at times you will get bad info.
Good Luck

Below are some quality sites for reading. Read these first, and if you have any specific questions let us know. First, don't buy the first baby cham you see at the local pet shop. Non-specialty shops usually don't give them proper care and won't be able to set you up correctly. A low price is usually not a good deal, and those "special package" deals on large herp vendor sites are not the best either unless you are experienced enough to know the pitfalls. Most of what you get is not state of the art and you'll end up replacing almost all of it. Spend more time (and $) researching and buy an older cham (such as a juvenile 3-4 months old) instead. Here are good reading sites:

www.adcham.com, www.calumma.com, www.chameleonjournals.com, www.chameleonnews.com

Species that are usually captive bred include veiled, panther, Jackson's, and sometimes quadricornis. Species you will often see in shops that are almost ALWAYS wild imports include Meller's, flap-necked, graceful, Fischer's, Comoro Island. Stay away from them unless you are ready to deal with health problems and major stress.