Reptile & Amphibian Forums

*I THANK YOU VERY MUCH AND PLEASE I NEED PEOPLE WHO HAVE.OR HAD EXPERIENCE WITH CHAMELEONS thank YOU AND IT IS FOR THE BEST=) I apologize for spelling*

I have read most sites and a book or two but I need some stuff that needs to be cleared up.In Inches what is the size that a adult veild chameleon needs(what do yours in? what kind or where di you get it? and did you have alink to it and a picture?)

PLease I need answers from experienced chameleon owners that havd or had chameleons in the past.I am looking to purchase a baby chameleon (WHEN ALL MY RESEARCH IS DONE AND I GET THE STUFF) but I STILL do not know what species I am leaning over towards the veild but I dunno know anymore becuase of the enclosure it needs when it is an adult.I am little bit limited on space but I do have some space in my closet in my room I can move my dresser in the corner and I have about 20 feet wideX 3 1/2 feet longX 6 feet High.Will having it in the closet cause a problem?Also I have read they NEED to be outside is this all the time or an I use a mercury vapor lamp instead?If not how could I house them outside when it rains and such.(I LIVE IN FL)I also need kind of a full supplie list of what to get I know I need foliage put I have read that you can use branches and LIVE ficus plants.And just put a list of everything you have in your chameleons cage and what you do (misting and cleaning).

I have read also about feeding that they need at least 5 diffrent kinds of insects to maintain thier diet I only have crix that I get monthly and do well here.If this is true how and where can I get these other insects (mealworms,kingworms anymore?).

I would like to bring up the species of chameleon that would be the best If the veild needs something bigger than the measurements that I have then what other chameleon ,THAT IS AVALIABLE AND REALATIVELY CHEAP (no in the hundreds),would be good?

*I THANK YOU VERY MUCH AND PLEASE I NEED PEOPLE WHO HAVE.OR HAD EXPERIENCE WITH CHAMELEONS thank YOU AND IT IS FOR THE BEST=) I apologize for spelling*
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1.1.0 Leo Geckos

1.0.0 Collard Lizard

Hi there – glad to see you are doing your homework!

Not sure what sites you have gone to but here are a few of the best:

Chameleon News
This is a top source of current information compiled and written by “tops in their field.”
www.chameleonnews.com/ be sure to check out their article on the Costs of Keeping a Chameleon (look through their past issues)

AdCham
www.adcham.com/ info on husbandry, species profiles and more

Chameleon Journals – www.chameleonjournals.com/

Kammerflage Kreations has a setup check list you might find helpful:
www.calumma.com/Setup Checklist.htm

I can only speak about veiled’s b/c that is what I have. My adult female is in a 2x2x4 screen cage. You can get them at lllreptile, reptiledepot.com, exoticlizards.com to name a few.

Some folks like the reptarium (you mentioned in an earlier post) but many find the zippers to stick, crickets chew through the material. I love my big aluminum screen cage. (reptiledepot for about $89 from what I recall) sometimes you can find them on eBay.

I love my veiled. Panther, veiled and Jackson’s seem to be the best for beginner chams. Panther’s can be very pricey but you have lots of colors to choose from! Lol!

If you have it in a closet you will have to make sure you can manage the lighting, humidity and ventilation. I think it would get difficult. The large screen cage only need 2sq' of floor space and some headroom for lights. It can’t be in a tight corner b/c you may not have adequate ventilation

If they had to be outdoors all the time none of us northerners would be able to keep any! I live in NH and Luna gets outside a few hours a day on nice days in the summer. The rest of the time she gets her UVB rays from lighting. Since you live in FL I will let other warm climate members give you advice

Feeder variety is great but it does not mean you always have to have 5 different ones going. Crickets are usually the main one. you can also offer silkworms, superworms (do not get giant meal worms they are treated with a growth hormone), regular mealworms, etc. These are available through many online sources: www.reptilefood.com, www.herpfood.com, silkworms can be gotten a few places including www.californiasilkworms.com

I hope this helps for now - I am sure I forgot some things! Oh, a note on buying. In my personal opinion you are best getting a cb (captive born/bred) rather than a wc (wild caught) and no younger than 3-4 months old. Best to get it from a reputable breeder such as Kammerflage – there are certainly other it’s just that I have had personal experience with them.

Hope this helps!

lele
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta
1.0 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.5 Mad. Hissers
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula (no name yet)
?.? Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula (no name yet)

I own an adult female vield and i have her in a 1 1/2 x 1 1/2x2 ft enclosure mine is also alumminum. if u live in hillsborough county by brandon thier is a store called Scales. they don't have a web site but the address is 1223 kingsway road brandon,flroida 33594 u might be able to call them, the # is
813-661-7700.

the way i feed my chameleon is one month i will give her sticktly crikets and the next month i will give her super worms.
Also about once a week after she gets done eating her main course i will give her 1 or 2 wax worms as a treat. wax worms to chameleons are like candy for human so don't give it to them often.

I live in florida as well and with karma i take her out only a couple of times out of the month. this isn't really nessisary if u buy a UVB light and keep it on at least 9 to 10 hours everyday. also don't take her out this time of year because it's to cold.

( Also that store Scale if u do deside to get a cage from them, i bought my for about 30$) And i'm sorry about the spelling as well

Good Luck hope everything turns out good.

no judgement here, just an observation, but that is a rather small cage for an adult veiled. If it is only two feet high she does not have much room to wander and to keep the temps far enough apart. You may want to consider getting her into something bigger - i am sure most would agree with me...

lele
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta
1.0 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.5 Mad. Hissers
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula (no name yet)
?.? Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula (no name yet)

Yes, Lele, I agree with you and I would also like to mention the feeding of Superworms over a months time, not good. Yes, Wax Worms are high in fat and should be given as treats but Superworms also fall into that category. I would recommend changing your feeding schedule so that you feed Crickets maybe five days a week and Superworms on the other two days. There are other food items that are much more benefical than the Superworms, such as Roaches,Termites, Silkworms or even Mealworms. Again, I'm not on here to critcize you, I just want to help. Save the Superworms for your old cantancerous Panthers that won't eat anything else.

Okay, here's my two cents. I've owned Chams for about 8 to 9 years now and I would recommend that you go with a Veiled as your first. As far as having them outside, I think there is some truth to it for keeeping Jacksons healthy. I think Jacksons need to stay outside far a good part of the year to continue in good health. All Chams will benefit from natural sunlight including the montane species such as Quadricornis (Four Horn Chams) that prefer cool temps (60s) and high humidity (90 % ). Break up their time in the sunlight with plenty of time in the shade.

Veileds are very hardy and can forgive many mistakes and remain healthy. If you are to get a baby, then you will need a small cage at first because babies get lost in larger cages where they are not near their food source. They can even starve to death if they are unable to find their food. Also, I would get a male Veiled, then you won't have to worry about egg development and associated problems. The males usually have a longer life cycle than the females, and they are usually more colorful, but this is really your call.

There is probably several good breeders for Veileds in Florida (I've even heard about a wild population in southern Florida). I would recomend looking into the upcoming events on this web site and see if you can go to a reptile expo somewhere in Florida soon. This would be your best bet to buy a healthy Veiled because you can see the animals first hand and purchase directly from a breeder.

If you decide you want to purchase your cham online Tyler Stewart of Blue Beast Reptiles breeds some very nice Veileds as does Kokopelli Reptiles at PardalisCham@aol.com.

Then there are the Panthers. These Chams are hardy but maybe not as much as a Veiled. The males are very colorful but are much more of an initial investment. They are usually priced at $200.00 and upwards. You would need to get a slightly older cham if you went this route. The baby Panthers are smaller than Veileds when they hatch and don't grow very fast for the first couple of months. A good breeder wouldn't sell them before they are three months old but that is just my standard. If you go this route expect to pay a lot more. There are a few breeders I can recommend such as Kammerflage Kreations at www.calumma.com and Legend Cham in Florida. Tyler Stewart has nice Panthers as does Amazing Blue Reptiles, Screamelons and Cham Paradise. Try Kokopelli Reptiles also at PardalisCham@aol.com. Okay hope this helps.