Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am going to a reptile show this weekend and my daughter wants a pair of chameleons. I've never kept chams and was wondering what the best beginner cham would be that we could keep together as a pair. I've read that veileds sometimes prefer to live alone. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanx
Scott

Hi there:

Pygmy leaf chameleons are a great first chameleon! Adults measure only about 2 1/2 inches, and are really cute! They are social, so a pair is a really great idea! You can keep two in a tank as small as 10-gallons, and they live easily in glass better than other chameleons. They eat fruit flies, small crickets, soft fruit and small wax worms. They tolerate handling great and make amazing display animals. They are also very inexpensive. However, if your looking for more of a challenge, a larger chameleon just might be your cup of tea!

DAVE

you'll want to do alot of research before you make this purchase or your daughter will have a pair of dead chams which aren't much fun as they tend to be rather sluggish and don't show alot of coloration....most beginners on the forum start out with veileds as they are readily available, are beautifully colored and will tolerate a little inexpierience/ignorance (that's not an insult)...keeping a pair of veileds is pretty much out of the question...they also will not appreciate being handled and you can read a few posts down about all the folks who have been bitten by various chams....read the posts on this forum and you will find many links to good caresheets...some of the breeders listed on this page have caresheets also.

one other thing to keep in mind is what access you have to prey items...if you can't easily get your hands on fruitflies and pinhead crickets you might want to stick with the larger chams like the veiled, jackson or panther