Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey, I saw some pygmy chameleons in my local pet store and was wondering how they are to take care of? They're wikkid cute and nifty... Thanks
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~Nancy
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My Pets:
9 year old West Highland White Terrier - Bridget
Slider Turtle Hatchling - Herb
Three Bettas - Depp, Shakespeare, & Jeremiah
Ghost Shrimp - Maude
Pleco - George
Ramshorn Snail - Bob
RIP:
Isis - albino rat
Jamie - Red eared slider

They're supposed to be fairly easy to maintain. If the terrarium (recommended for leaf/pygmy chams) paramters are correct, the eggs can even be allowed to incubate in the enclosure. They are less aggressive than other chams, but be weary of housing two males together.

A lot of this depends on which species you are talking about.

They are NOT recommended for beginners. They're almost certainly wild caught and carrying heavy parasite loads. I would not recommend them to anyone who doesn't have extensive lizard and reptile experience. It would be nice to know what species you're talking about but the most common are probably Rhampholeon brevicaudatus. You can read profiles of this and other dwarf leaf chams at www.adcham.com. These little guys belong to either the genus Rhampholeon (African species) or Brookesia (Madagascar species). Ed

I have to agree with Ed. Last year I got a 1:2 trio from one of the top cham breeders, they were cb and 4 monthst later they all died within 2 weeks of each other. They were my first chams. I did everything "right", had been researching for months, lurked for awhile and then became active on this board, etc. etc. They went to the vet, I was in contact with the breeder, Dr. Ivan Alphonse, Dr. Sue Donoghue and we do not know what happened, there is speculation it was due to supplementing, but no one can know for sure. At the saem time another KS forum poster had a similar experience with a couple of hers (we got them about the same time) and I know she agrees with the vote for a bad choice for inexperienced cham owners. And to top that off I wouldn;t recommend buying them from a pet store. As Ed pointed out you are asking for unhealthy animals right from the get-go. Also, a cham should never be an impulse buy, there is a lot to know about their care in advance. If you are interested in learning more about chams in general see the sites below:

Don't mean to be so intense about it but I can just can't emphasize it enough after my awful experience. I now have a female veiled 10 months old and I love her - but again, this was all after lots of research (much of it on this very board).

lele

ALL of these have info on breeding, husbandry, baby/nursery info, nutrition, species, feeders, health, vets and MUCH more:

Chameleon News
This is a top source of current information compiled and written by “tops in their field.”
www.chameleonnews.com/
article on costs involved:
www.chameleonnews.com/year2003/july2003/costs/costs.html
AdCham
www.adcham.com/

Chameleon Paradise – a site by one of our forum posters. He has FAQ, do’s and don’ts, cage building
groups.msn.com/ChameleonParadise

Chameleon Journals – www.chameleonjournals.com/

Reptayls – another site by a fellow KS poster
groups.msn.com/REPTAYLSChameleons
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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

Thanks a lot to all of you =) These little guys were born and raised in captivity. I'm going to research them and get everything I need if I decide to go for it. Thanks again!
-----
~Nancy
Email Me
My Page
My Pets:
9 year old West Highland White Terrier - Bridget
Slider Turtle Hatchling - Herb
Three Bettas - Depp, Shakespeare, & Jeremiah
Ghost Shrimp - Maude
Pleco - George
Ramshorn Snail - Bob
RIP:
Isis - albino rat
Jamie - Red eared slider

I also have 3 pygmy chams (1.2) which gained ~4 months ago. To what I observed, they're generally easy (of course with experience of chameleon) to keep if your setup is correct. High humidities and good ventilation is the key...

Good luck and let us know your progress: )

P.s You may found my setup from my old post.

i looked but could not find... feel like posting again for educational purposed? =)
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~Nancy
Email Me
My Page
My Pets:
9 year old West Highland White Terrier - Bridget
Slider Turtle Hatchling - Herb
Three Bettas - Depp, Shakespeare, & Jeremiah
Ghost Shrimp - Maude
Pleco - George
Ramshorn Snail - Bob
RIP:
Isis - albino rat
Jamie - Red eared slider

Sure, here we go...
Link

awesome thanks a lot!
-----
~Nancy
Email Me
My Page
My Pets:
9 year old West Highland White Terrier - Bridget
Slider Turtle Hatchling - Herb
Three Bettas - Depp, Shakespeare, & Jeremiah
Ghost Shrimp - Maude
Pleco - George
Ramshorn Snail - Bob
RIP:
Isis - albino rat
Jamie - Red eared slider

Hi nancy - just curious about these being CBB - did the pet store tell you that? My suggestion would be to ask to be put in contact with the breeder so you can get a history. To my knowledge there are not all that many breeders that successfully raise these.

Here is an article on Brookesia which is a similar species and can give you some info. Just keep in mind that if there is a health issue you will be hard pressed to find a vet who can do much or even knows anything about them. Due to their size they can be difficult to treat. Again, I don't recommend them as your first cham but just do your homework and ask lots of questions. Also check out AdCham's profile - once you determine which species these are. best of luck!

lele
brookesia

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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

Alright I'll try to do that. Thanks a lot!
-----
~Nancy
Email Me
My Page
My Pets:
9 year old West Highland White Terrier - Bridget
Slider Turtle Hatchling - Herb
Three Bettas - Depp, Shakespeare, & Jeremiah
Ghost Shrimp - Maude
Pleco - George
Ramshorn Snail - Bob
RIP:
Isis - albino rat
Jamie - Red eared slider

Another thing to realize. These little ones have a very short lifespan naturally (about 2 years according to one successful breeder here). If collectors select the wild larger animals they are most likely older. By the time they get to holding facilities, exported, into more holding facilities, shipped, through any quarantines, to wholesalers here, shipped again, etc. they are probably near the end of their healthy life anyway.