Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ive been meaning to get a chameleon and have been researching different types, but i thought it would be easier just to ask around first. im looking for a very small chameleon that grows up to 6 inches that turns incredible colors with a relatively docile nature. can anyone help me with this? thanks in advance.

Good to hear that you've been doing your research. Make sure you have an environment set up for the chameleon before you purchase it, and after you know which type you're getting.

Any chameleon that grows under 6" with good colours (most chameleons under that size are veru docile, no worries there) are definetly not for beginners. Try one of the three "beginner" species: Veiled (chamaeleo calyptratus) panther (furcifer pardalis) or jackson's (chamaeleo jacksonii).

The smallest of the three is the jackson's, but they are very delicate. Any large changes in temperature or humidity (their humidity requirements are very high, so your house/climate may not permit this species) can make them very sick or even kill them.

Veileds are the largest, (usually) most agressive, but the hardiest. I live in eastern Canada and we got hit with a huge hurricane last fall (dunno what class, but winds were 130mph ) and we didnt have power for 6 days. The single veiled i had at the time survived without a single problem. I just had to keep my eye on him afterwards.

Panther chameleons are by far one of the most colourful species of chameleon in the world. THey come in many different morphs, and are somewher in between jacksons and veileds for hardiness.
Only thing about them is they can cost anywhere from 150-500$ depending on morph and size. (veileds: 40-100$, jacksons are similar.)

To conclude, please do not get a chameleon that grows to be under 6" when fully sized, you will be wasting your time and money, it will have a low chance of survival in the hands of a beginner, wether or not you've been keeping reptiles before. I wouldn't get any smaller chameleons species even after keeping veileds for over a year now. Others who have been keeping for 5 years still don't touch the things. EXPERTS ONLY

Why dont you do some more research on the three cited species and tell us how you'll set up your enclosure before you get him/her, so we can make sure its all good.

If space is your worry, the chameleon is not a good reptile to keep. (veileds and panthers need acg. 4'tall x 2'wide x 2'deep, jacksons need 3'x2'x2')

good luck on your learning/research, and hope you get the right chameleon for yourself!

hmmm....thats a hard question
there are a few that come to mind though
the first one that pops in is a female carpet chameleon
the second is the male meru jackson
as far as the temperment goes i am not totally sure of theirs
also its a very good idea to research any chameleon you get
before purchasing from as many different sources as you can find!!!
hope this helped

There are problems with the two recommended here. These are VERY hard to find captive bred, if not near impossible...and a first time chameleon owner should definitely not have wild caught. Acclimating them, treating for parasites, etc. is not something that you'd want to be doing the first time around.

Even if you do find them captive bred (big time longshot), these are both very touchy chams that can just drop dead on you without warning. Carpets have fairly short life spans when compared to other species of chameleons.

I would definitely look into the other three...Jackson's, Panther and Veiled. Veiled's tend to be the most hardy, then Panthers and then Jackson's...if you're going to try to order them that way. However, Jackson's are the smallest out of the three. Panthers can have the most gorgeous colors, but they, like Veiled's, get pretty large.

Good luck!

Kristen
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1.2 c. quadricornis
1.2 c.j. merumontanus
0.0.2 neonate c.j. merumontanus
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