Original Message:
1) Personality:
Im looking for a chameleon with the best personality upmost. Id like one that would be very happy to sit on my shoulder climb up my arm all that sort of stuff. My hondo's are pretty fiesty, so im not too bothered from a personal point of view. But seen as im breeding them id prefer to have lizards with a bit of life to them.
Response: Personality is not very species-specific. You will get to know their personalities very quickly. (Thank god they have their way of talking)
In my opinion, chameleons aren't shoulder dwellers. I would rather suggest putting a nice tall ficus tree in the room that you are working in and let the chameleon hang out with you in the comfortable branches of the tree.
Chameleons are FULL of life.. you will not be a disappointed spectator.
Original Message:
2) Size:
not too concerned about the size of the enclosures, dont really fancy anything too huge. But ultimately its only going to effect how many i can keep. I was initially wanting to keep a breeding pair, so if there are any chameleons that could be housed together as a pair for life it would be cool.
Response: From the insanely small, to the very large. Chameleons species come in all sizes.
Original Message:
3) Colours:
I prefer the colours of the panthers to say the normal looking green ones, but then again the jacksons look really cool.#
Response:
There are a ton of chameleon pages out there with great pictures. Panthers carpets and veilds offer some great colors. Take a look around and you'll find something that you like.
www.calumma.com has a cool gallery.
Original Message:
3) Maintenance:
Im not to concerned with taking on a chameleon that requires a misting system. I allready have RO/DI for my Discus, so id be more than happy to extend the use of an allready owned piece of equipment. And feeding wise, ill give em whatever they want, no hangups there.
Response: Misting systems are awesome. They play an importand role in watering, humidity and hygeine for the chams. They can create a mess and make any enclosure a breeding ground for bacteria. You will find yourself cleaning cages several times per week when you have a misting system. But, it is well worth it.
Original Message:
So what do you all suggest. Jacksons, Panther, Veiled?
Response: There are coined "starter" chameleons that will help you get used to the "type" of chameleon you are interested in. Usually these startes are hardy, and can endure a few flubs and are relatively inexpensive. Chameleons are from all over the place and live in different places. So, they all require certain climate setups. As an example, I started with Jacksons.. After I was successful with them, I got into quads.. My next adventure will be panthers, but since I have only worked with montane - cool weather chameleons, I decided to get a few veileds to get aquainted with the warmer weather chameleons.
Original Message:
Which would be the more profitable to breed?
Response: There are a ton of factors that play in profitability. The most important is how successful you are at keeping and breeding the species. The more exotic of species, the bigger the pricetag of the offspring. Also, is demand. The prettier chameleons are easiest to sell. Thats primarily why panthers are such a great breeder.
Original Message:
Which would be the easyest to look after?
Response: In my opinion, there is no chameleon that easy to look after. They all require a considerable amount of time to keep. As stated, the starter chameleons can tolerate the learning curve more then other species.
Original Message:
Which would you reccomend and why?
Response: I would recommend veileds as a starter for the warmer climate and jacksons for the cooler climate.
Mostly because they are readily available, relatively inexpensive and can tolerate flubs. Make sure to study the species chameleon you choose. There are a ton of great articles on the internet that will assist.
