Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everyone,

I just recently bought a veiled chameleon. He is about 2 1/2 inches long not including tail. Can any tell me about how old he is. Also, when he was at the pet store he was nice and green (I've only had him for not even a week). when I put him in the tank he turned dark almost purple. All the temps are fine, could it be just the branch he likes to hang out on is dark?? Last question of now, how can I get him to eat his veggies? I keep a bowl of nice veggies all the time and he just ignores it. He is a good eater when it comes to insects.
Thanks for the help
Chris

Hi, I'm no expert, but from what I've read, they can get full grown in 6 months, I'd bet he's a month or two old. When I moved my female to a new cage she was dark for a week. Their territorial and I think the change upsets them. She was an adult when I did this. I also brought how an adult male and it took him about a week to ajust to the new space. If you see him gaping his mouth, then he's probably too hot, or too high humdity and not enough ventilation. The ventilation problem really came into play once they mature. Hope this helps and i hope I'm not giving you bad advice.

You need to do some reading about veiled care. Rather than repeat the basics, here are some good quality sites you can answer a lot of your questions with. There are recent articles on veileds at www.chameleonnews.com, as well as care and species info at www.geocities.com/ccicenter, www.adcham.com, www.chameleonjournals.com.

Dark color is a sign of major stress. If he's in a tank he could be stressed by seeing his reflection as well as being upset by the new home. You will need to get a screen cage setup pretty soon, as tanks and chameleons don't go together. He will have to learn to eat veggies, and having them just sit in a bowl may not attract him. You can put his insects in with them and he will get some on the tongue and try it. Try clipping leafy greens to his perches or climbing branches. Most veileds don't eat veggies at a very young age. Some never do, but it seems to be an acquired taste. Don't handle him too much or watch him too long. Most chams get defensive if they feel they can't hide for security.