I've done a little bit of reading around and my optimism is growing. I used to have only heard horror stories about owning chameleons and how hard they are to raise. Is this true? I would love to get a chameleon in the future, what is the hardiest? And is the care really that intense?
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I've only heard horror stories...
sebastian924
Mar 04, 2005 05:45 PM
Replies (2)
muskratman
Mar 04, 2005 05:53 PM
other than a house fire, i have never had any real trouble. just be informed and know what you're doing. i'd start with a veiled, or a panther if you have the dough.
i'd say the reason people always thought they were so hard would be because of lack of uvb lighting, and water. find articles on these aspects and you will be fine. live plants help alot too.
check this site out for much better info than i can give
www.chameleonnews.com
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1.0.0 Bourkes Parakeet "Kerpal"
0.1.0 Eublepharis macularius "Claire"
1.0 Chameleo calyptratus "Bruno" (eggs due to hatch any day now)
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Misc. Saltwater Fish
Carlton
Mar 07, 2005 11:50 AM
Chams are relatively more intense to care for compared to other herps. They need daily attention unlike snakes, need complicated watering unlike most ground dwelling lizards. You can't just take a weekend off due to their need for sprayed water. Their housing needs to be fairly complicated due to live plants, screening, size, control of bacteria, etc. Actually, to bird keepers they would seem "normal". So many of the horror stories still exist though, due to really poor care info being given out from petshops where newbies first see a cham. Their nutritional needs are complicated by the need for correct lighting, and we still don't really understand all this. Most chams kept over the years were wc and arrived stressed, seriously dehydrated, full of parasites, and simply being unable or unwilling to adjust to captive life. You can still hear the horror stories, as newbies still end up making the same mistakes, but some stories are not as common these days. There are several good websites now and some decent recent books. Good sites include:
http://www.chameleonnews.com
http://www.adcham.com
http://www.chameleonjournals.com
http://www.calumma.com
