Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, im new to chameleons but ive been researching them for a while and i think ill probably buy a baby veiled here in about a month(after i have a complete husbandry set up for him/her. so, you'll probably see my name around the forums asking questions and things like that.

and I'm sure you will be a good cham owner seeing how your hear and doing all your research before buying one.
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From Sunny Florida
Jovana's kids listed below
1.0 Veileds
1.1 Ambanja Panther
1.1 Tamatave Panther

Well, i try to get all my facts straight before taking an animals life into my own hands.
I think i understand most of the husbandry requirements as far as cage, humidity, temp., plants,lighting etc.
but i'd like to get a cham when it is younger, what is the youngest a brand new cham owner should buy one? im guessing 4 months but the 8 week old ones are real cute.....
also, out of veilds and panthers which is going to be easier to take care of? i work at a petstore(but im not stupid and naive like other petstore employees) so im used to cleaning cages alot so my cages at home always look nice, so its not a question of which is better for lazy people.
i kinda like the look of vields better but id like to be able to handle it and i hear panthers are better for that.
im guessing i should go with a smaller cage for a baby chameleon and then buy a new one when it gets bigger? if thats the case ill just buy a smaller cage(like a 30x16x16?) and then upgrade to like a 24x24x48 or something similar, is this an okay gameplan?
thanks in advance for your input, i know i could prolly find all these answers if i did a forum search but the Kingsnake.com search thingy kinda sucks.... no offense lol

The cage idea sounds good, but why spend the extra money on a small cage to start with?

If your choice of chameleon is a great deal based on if you can handle it, then I would not get a young chameleon, their personalities change as they mature. If you want to chance having a nasty chameleon when it matures then I would recomend a panther, they are more likely to be calmer than a veiled, but ever chameleon has its own personality so its a 50/50 chance with a juvi cham. ( I had a male panther that I could not stick my hand in the cage without him charging at me open mouthed, the others I can handle, they are not happy with it, but they are ok. in the same respect my male veiled was the sweetest thing ever even at a year old he would climb right on me when I opened the cage and look around for food, then I bred him and he hisses when I walk by.)

In general panthers have a better disposition and require a little less humidity and heat than veileds. they are more colorful, but veileds are practicaly indestructable, and their casque is just so neat all up to you on how much you want to spend and what you like.

Again welcome and thank you for doing research first. if you have any questions including what you might think are stupid ones feel free to ask, there are many of us here very happy to help out.
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From Sunny Florida
Jovana's kids listed below
1.0 Veileds
1.1 Ambanja Panther
1.1 Tamatave Panther

well, i didn't know if i should be putting a young cham in a full sized cage? what size should i buy?

You can always divide a larger cage for a little one and remove the divider later. After all, it is temporary. The age you are talking about sounds good. At that age the adult colors won't be certain, and there is more variation in panthers than veileds. Neither will like a lot of handling so you need to be satisfied with whatever personality you end up with. It also doesn't necessarily matter how much handling they get when young. If you offer treats by hand and keep your activities with the cage to some sort of schedule the cham will learn what to expect from you more easily. I had a really nice veiled and have met truely evil ones too. Same goes for panthers.

>>Well, i try to get all my facts straight before taking an animals life into my own hands.
>>I think i understand most of the husbandry requirements as far as cage, humidity, temp., plants,lighting etc.
>>but i'd like to get a cham when it is younger, what is the youngest a brand new cham owner should buy one? im guessing 4 months but the 8 week old ones are real cute.....
>>also, out of veilds and panthers which is going to be easier to take care of? i work at a petstore(but im not stupid and naive like other petstore employees) so im used to cleaning cages alot so my cages at home always look nice, so its not a question of which is better for lazy people.
>>i kinda like the look of vields better but id like to be able to handle it and i hear panthers are better for that.
>>im guessing i should go with a smaller cage for a baby chameleon and then buy a new one when it gets bigger? if thats the case ill just buy a smaller cage(like a 30x16x16?) and then upgrade to like a 24x24x48 or something similar, is this an okay gameplan?
>>thanks in advance for your input, i know i could prolly find all these answers if i did a forum search but the Kingsnake.com search thingy kinda sucks.... no offense lol
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 green anoles Jaida & Jetta
0.1 brown anole - Jamaica
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta

.
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Thanks Dawn
1.1 Veiled (Kermit and Moe)
0.1 Helmeted Iguana (Louie)
0.1 Leopard Gecko (Velvet)
0.0.2 Toads

Whatever you do, do NOT buy a baby cham less than 16 weeks old. Chams are extremely delicate and difficult and babies are more so. The mortality rates of these tiny babies that people buy (often on impulse without having done their homework) are astronomically high. And buy from the best, most reputable breeder you can find. Chams are very expensive to keep and paying more for higher quality, older juvenile is an exceeedingly wise investment.
Ed

will do epollak, thanks for the advice!