Reptile & Amphibian Forums

It is my dream to owm a chameleon, it is also my dream to own a house so I can give my cham his own room, maybe turn a walk-in closet into his cage or something. I do not think I can affor a house anytime soon, and in my present house the only place for a chameleon cage is in the living room where kitty will be roaming around and people watch tv in there, is it possible for me to keep a chameleon (panther or veiled) in that situation or do I have to wait until I can have a seperate room for the reptiles.
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Debi

1.0.0 Tremper giant albino
0.2.0 albino leos
0.0.2 hypo pastel leos
0.2.0 fat tail geckos
1.0.0 Bearded Dragon

it is possible to own one in traffic areas but your gonna need to fix its cage up specialy for him. Make sure it is extreemly well covered with plants and vines so it can hide at will. You might also need to put plastic up around the cage when there is alot of activity in the room. Some chameleons will not be phased by people in the room, others will freak out and stress real bad, its the luck of the draw.

btw... do you have a porch or yard you could put the cage in? that would be absolute best for a cham.
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From Sunny Florida
Jovana's kids listed below
1.0 Veileds
1.1 Ambanja Panther
1.1 Tamatave Panther

I live in Olympia, WA so I would only be able to keep them outdoors June-Aug maybe Sept. but it tends to go down to 50 at night even if it is 90 in the day around here, maritime climate, I would try to take them outside during sunny days and I would leave them out all night only if the temp is not going to drop too much. otherwise I only have the living room. and we have a room built into our garage but it is not heated. I don't want to go and buy one and then have it die of stress. Do you think I could be successful with this.
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Debi

1.0.0 Tremper giant albino
0.2.0 albino leos
0.0.2 hypo pastel leos
0.2.0 fat tail geckos
1.0.0 Bearded Dragon

the best thing I can tell you is to read articals on here, check out websites. decide if your willing to spend the money to keep your chameleon happy and healthy.

out of 6 chameleons I've only had one that had a problem being around people to the point where it would effect his health. he would not eat or drink if he could see a person.

Like I said, do research, if you decide to get one get everything ready ahead of time just incase it becomes stressed out.
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From Sunny Florida
Jovana's kids listed below
1.0 Veileds
1.1 Ambanja Panther
1.1 Tamatave Panther

What species was the chameleon that stressed? L~

I guess it also depends on your cat's personality. I own a cat too. He is very used to having different species around him and is very mellow so I have no problems with him. Still, I can easily imagine having problems if he were a more inquisitive or mischievous fellow. You know, aside from terrorizing the chameleon, the possiblitly of him turning over the enclosure if you go with a reptarium against a sturdier cage, etc. How does your cat behave with your other lizards? L~

np
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From Sunny Florida
Jovana's kids listed below
1.0 Veileds
1.1 Ambanja Panther
1.1 Tamatave Panther

My cat is 6 years old and declawed (I didnt do it i got her like that)With the other lizards she is really more interested in the crickets than anything and she is very good about not knocking things over. If I do get one would a veiled or panther be a better choice.
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Debi

1.0.0 Tremper giant albino
0.2.0 albino leos
0.0.2 hypo pastel leos
0.2.0 fat tail geckos
1.0.0 Bearded Dragon

A panther or veiled would be your best bet, I personaly think that a veiled would be less likely to stress over seeing people, but I've only owned 2 veileds you might want to get more oppinions on that one.
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From Sunny Florida
Jovana's kids listed below
1.0 Veileds
1.1 Ambanja Panther
1.1 Tamatave Panther

If the cat is declawed it should OK. The cage should be as high up in the room as possible and be very heavily planted to make the cham feel more secure. The situation you describe is certainly less than ideal but might work with luck.

BTW, night time temps in the 50s are perfectly fine for most of the commonly kept chams.
Ed