Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have been thinking of getting a dwarf chameleon but I want some insights from experienced hobbyiests on if they make good pets and how to care for them...also is it a good buy or a pass up...so far I have experience w/ a Bearded Dragon...the reason I am asking is I think they are cute and they are also inexpensive...bout $40 bux...thx for replying

We live and not live for. ~ Bruce Lee

I have never had any luck with them past a couple of months.
I have seen many people have problems with them too.
I agree that Veiled's and Panthers are your best bet.
In the long run you will spend less and they are a better value because having a cham you spend $100.00 or even $200.00 and having it live years (My oldest is 5 years old) is a better value than spending $40.00 and having it die after a couple of months. Just do your home work and research them first with good care a Veiled or Panther you get from a reliable breeder can live for years.
This is just my opinion but ask LeLe about her dwarf chams and how hard they were to keep. I do think there are one or two people here that have the dwarf chams so maybe you can ask them exactly how they care for them and have better luck than I had with them.

It depends alot and what kind they are
There are several types of dwarf chams out there some require more care than others!
If you have your heart set on Pygmies or dwarfs then try to get the cb NOT wild caught
I beleive the key is to research these in advance and make sure your set-up is running before you order them
But if you get a c.b. and properly care for it then i say go for it
I havent had one die on me...yet
If im not mistaken dwarfs and pygmies are different
Could you get a specific name for the cham(s)you want or even a pic?

You are right to ask first. A few folks have kept them successfully, but they can crash for no really obvious reasons. I think part of it is that they are so small they can be overwhelmed by disease before we notice. They are very hard to treat for parasites, illness, etc. again because of size. Almost all will be wc, and they live a very short life even in the wild (about 2 years). The trappers tend to find and catch the larger ones and these are most often older adults to begin with. Tank setups seem easy, but get one bad bacteria or mold going and you could lose your group quickly. If this will be your first cham I would NOT fall for the $40 lure. Poor little things are very cheap for shops to buy and losses don't hurt their profits much. I have kept 6-7 different cham species and don't feel ready to try these neat little ones...I tend to beat myself up when I lose any animal, my fault or not.