Reptile & Amphibian Forums

We are interested in obtaining a chameleon to add to our collection. Which species makes the best pet? I know the panthers, veileds, and jackson's are the easiest to care for, but I am interested which is the calmest and easiest to handle? Is there a species that will readily accept human interaction? Does anyone know about the Oustalets (sp?) ? Due to their size this species interests us but do they make good pets? Thanks and I hope to hear from someone soon.

Everyone's going to have their opinions, but I think that the veiled would be a bad choice for pet of the year.... Panthers maybe, since they're typically calmer and are hardy enough to be interacted with a little bit. I would have to say personality wise, try a montane species, sich as a Jacksons or a 4-horned chameleon. Ostalets aren't as popular probably because their coloration is usually just not as spectacular as other species.... If you want large, though, a CB or CH Mellers chameleon would be a good choice.... Give it about 4 months and there will be lots of babies available. They're not as easy to keep as the other species mentioned before, but mostly because the majority of them are wild caught.

-----
Tyler Stewart
Las Vegas NV
www.BLUEBEASTREPTILE.com

the best chameleon pet will be determined on the chameleons personality. i have a chameleon that doesnt mind being held at all and seems to liek the interaction. but he is my exception. the rest of my chameleons(trio of jacksons and 8 other panthers) would rather be left alone.

dennis

"veiled would be a bad choice for pet of the year.... Panthers maybe, since they're typically calmer and are hardy enough to be interacted with"

Meric, my veiled cham is probably the temest cham in the world. I got him when he was a sub-adult, and handled him often. I went against the rules of handling and did my own thing. I'm glad I did.
I believe that the more that a cham is handled when young, the nicer and calmer they will be when they reach a mature stage in their life.
Meric never bites, hisses, or anything of that sort. He loves everyone. He is not a bit afraid of people. People that Meric doesn't know will handle him, and he will be just fine with it.

Please don't give veiled's a bad wrap. The only reason why some are more agressive is because of potential bad owners. If you spend a good deal of time with them, you can break all of these myths of "Aggressive" and "Should only be handled at most, once per week". I believe these statements are from inexperienced cham owners. Many people choose not to go against the norm because they are afraid their cham will die if they don't follow the rules that are currenly mandated by a hobbyist society.

Unfortunately I have to disagree with most, if not all, you have said.
I wouldn't not call rules anything that is said about chameleons. They are guidelines to follow, tried and proven by many keepers and breeders alike and that have proved true over time. Handling chameleons is not taboo but it is certainly not recommended. Chameleons are very antisocial by nature and handling them only causes them stress, regardless if high or low stress, and forces them to change their secretive behavior. If you feel you have a success story with your Veiled then that is great, but do not try to tell new keepers that it is ok to handle their chameleons excessively because it is an advise that could lead to a lot of premature deaths.

Now, Veileds do have an excessively bad reputation and I think it is really exaggerated. However, they are one of the most aggressive species and that is just their nature. As far as the fact that they are aggressive because of "bad owners", I don't think so. We are not dealing here with a Pitbull Terrier or a domestic animal for that matter. There is no way you can train a veiled to be aggressive, it is their natural behavior and as such, it should be respected. That doesn't mean you can't handle them or at least interact with them in a limited basis, but attributing the aggression to a "bad owner" is not true at all. An owner that leaves his/her Veiled do his own thing and is content with feeding, watering and providing for him is not a bad owner just because he/she refuses to handle them.
By the same token, I am not saying a bad owner is one that handles them a lot. Everyone follows their own path as you did with your veiled and as I and others have done with our chameleons.
I am not saying people should follow rules but the guidelines should be followed if you want to enjoy your chameleon for many years to come.

Best regards,
Ivan

I never said veieds were without a doubt "not the pet of the year." I said I woudn't think that, which is true. They are in fact one of the most agressive species, whether or not you handle them. Yes, some can be camler than others, but as a generalization, they are agressive. There are people that try day in and day out to calm down their veileds and often it just doesn't happen. It has nothing to do with being a good or bad keeper or owner. Also, I never said they should only be handled once a week, which I agree can be a bad rule to live by, but obviously if handling the chameleon is making it upset, put it away. I have nothing against veileds, and I have 8 of them right now. If you got one that is calm, you're lucky and congratulations, but having an agressive chameleon doesn't mean that you're a bad keeper or that you didn't try.
-----
Tyler Stewart
Las Vegas NV
www.BLUEBEASTREPTILE.com

"I have 8 of them right now."

In seperate cages? How old are they? Can they see eachother? (Their eyes are equiv. to a 120mm telephoto lens (From what research has shown)) You do know that they should be kept in seperate cages, correct? If they aren't, well, there is your source of aggression!

I will probably get blasted for making this comment on the forum,
I usually do. I would STRONGLY urge you to not purchase a chameleon for a pet! Chameleons in general do not adapt to captive conditions, and that includes captive born and raised ones. I consider them a living, breathing masterpiece of art!
They are not wired to adapt to captivity. Most, if not ALL breeders
have encounted their fare share of failures, which are directly
caused by captivity. I am not saying that all chameleons will
die because of captive conditions, but that more like the exception rather than the rule. The requirements to just maintain
these unique reptiles in captivity are stagering, and much is still not understood. Just read this forum, and you will see just
how difficult it is to try and maintain these wonderful reptiles.
I do maintain a colony of panther chameleons, plus a few Jacksons. I am conducting studies on these reptiles along with
the seahorses that I maintain. The chameleon is not of the novice
reptile keeper, and any responsible breeder would tell you that up
front, before taking your money! Legendcham

If you want a herp to handle, get a bearded dragon. Under no circumstances should a novice get a melleri. Anyone who tells you that chams can be tamed by early handling is almost certainly someone who has had experience with one or two animals who've kept alive for all of a year (maybe two) and now thinks he's an expert. All the experts (people who've had dozens of chams they've kept alive and healthy for 5-10 years) will tell you that these are "look but don't touch" animals.
Ed

"Please don't give veiled's a bad wrap. The only reason why some are more agressive is because of potential bad owners. If you spend a good deal of time with them, you can break all of these myths of "Aggressive" and "Should only be handled at most, once per week". I believe these statements are from inexperienced cham owners"

haha, wow!

WITHOUT EXCEPTION everything I have ever read by a reputable expert about Veiled Chameleons usually starts out by saying " A naturally aggressive
species" or "One of the most aggressive species of Chameleons."

I've also talked to people who tried handling their baby Veileds frequently and after a year or more the animal still flares up, hisses and lashes out at them.

I agree with EPollack completely. I completely disagree with sucoyant. No matter what you convince yourself of, a Veiled or any other Chameleon will always see you as a large animal that will eat it if given the chance. You are a large predator to them, period. It's instinct. They will probably never develop an attachment to you. Reptiles have tiny brains. They are very unlike mammals. After 10 years of keeping Jackson's off and on, I have handled mine minimally. I have also learned that they will almost always choose avoidance rather than interaction. Chameleons are delicate, asocial creatures that are best kept as display pets only. This, accoring to EXPERTS (herpetoligists, breeders, zooligists, super-experienced keeprs) whose advice I have followed in depth. People who happen to get one atypical, somewhat placid Veiled Chameleon that tolerates handling and blame the natural aggression of the species on "bad owners" should reconsider handing out advice.

As stated before, if you want something to cuddle with, you will have more success with a Bearded Dragon or Iguana. Or a cat.

"I have handled mine minimally"
From the above quote, you are in no position to say anything that you just said.
Ignorance is bliss, eh?