Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hello all. i have owned reptiles for about 12 years now. i have never owned a chameleon. i have a 38 gallon reptarium and was wondering what some good starter species are that i could keep in it for a lil bit. thanks in advance.

~JQ
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0.1 flame race sandboa
0.1 anery 2/3 het albino sandboa
1.0 cal kingsnake
1.1 betta
0.1 ferret
1.1 hypo male, albino female cornsnake

The 38 gal is not very large, so you could keep a juvenile of most species in it initially. Eventually you would need a larger cage for almost all species, so I'd suggest you choose the species based on what appeals to you, what your house climate and seasonal temp and humidity range is normally, and what you can afford to keep. I would not suggest a baby...try to find a juvenile of several months old. Babies need pinhead crix or fruitflies and a Reptarium won't keep them contained. Also, babies can be very sensitive to dehydration and the learning curve. The best starter chams are considered the veiled Chamaeleo calyptratus and the panther Furcifer pardalis. Often people try a jackson's as a first cham, but they require a lot more humidity and cooler temps to do well. This can be harder to deal with (and more expensive if you need misting systems, foggers, or cooling at night) depending on where you live. Any other species offered for sale is most likely going to be wildcaught, so I would not recommend them for a newbie unless you are ready to deal with intestinal parasites, stress, dehydration, infections, and the difficulty of recognizing health problems before they are too far gone. To give you a good idea of species and caring for chams, here are the good sites to read:

http://www.adcham.com
http://www.chameleonnews.com
http://www.chameleonjournals.com
http://www.calumma.com