Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Thinking about getting into chams and am wondering which species may be best for the inexperienced keeper.

I would say that it should be unanamous that the veiled chameleon is by far the best one to start out with. They are very hardy (for a chameleon) will tolerate moderate handeling and are the cheapest (out of the captive bread species) They do get rather large at 24" total length for males though
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"You can take the snake out of nature, but you can't take the nature out of the snake."
1.2.2 Crested Geckos
1.0 Spiny Hill Turtle
2.6 regular Leopard Geckos
0.0.6 blizzards
1.1.1 leucistics
0.0.4 carrot tail jungles
2.6 high yellows
2.0 albinos
0.1 tremper albino
0.1 Sulcata tortoise
1.3 dogs
2.1 cats
1.0 horse
0.2 sea horses
and 5 fish tanks with too many animals to count.

Hi,
Chameleons in general arent easy to care for. Some may seem rather easy, but they need the correct diet, lights, heat, nutrients, and of course a big all screen cage for ventilation. It is very easy to make a mistake, like not having the correct lighting, for a first time cham owner. Most chameleons also dont deal well with handling. It stresses them out. The MOST you want to handle a chameleon is 1-2 times a day, if the chameleon approves. But for a first time cham owner, I would recomend either a veiled or panther chameleon. Panthers are quite a bit more expensive than veileds, but if you raise them correctly, they can be a joy to have. Panthers usually accept handling more than male veileds, and can be more colorful. I have a male veiled chameleon, and yes they do grow to be quite big (mine is almost 20 in.) and quite mean. I was lucky, and my chameleon turned out to be a very freindly male. I hope this has helped. Any Knowledgable chameleon owners, please correct me if I am wrong! Thanks
Michele
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2.0 veiled chameleons (zebu and godzilla)
4.0 cinnamin blue face button quail