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Pet Chameleons
Most chameleons are from East Africa and Madagascar. There are about 130 species known, ranging in size from about 2 inches to 2 feet long.
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Chameleons are interesting and specialised animals, so you must do some reading and thinking before taking one home as a new pet.
Facts
- If you want a friendly, social pet, this is not a good choice.
- Don't handle them too much, petting them is very stressful
- Buying all the equipment for the cage will cost more than the chameleon
- Most die from stress and improper care
- Few veterinarians can treat them, and it can be expensive
- They need special lighting or direct sunlight
- They eat live bugs and insects only, and need food and water every day
- and they need high humidity and special water systems in their cage.
The Chameleon Itself
Many chameleons are still captured ni the wild for pets, though most of these die from stress, disease, and improper care.
Imported wild chameleons are often sick before you ever see them in store. Captive bred animals are healthier, tamer, and adapted to living in captivity. They must be re-treated for parasites periodically.
Housing Your Chameleon
Chameleons live in trees and bushes. They are adapted for climbing, and will need live plants and branches in their cage to feel secure.
Screen cages are much healthier for them then an all glass terrarium. They need space, so the minimum size cage for an adult Jackson's chameleon is 3ft high, 2ft wide, and 2ft deep... and remember to set up the new cage before you bring your pet home.
Each species has specific temperature and humidity requirements, so find out before you buy. You will need a thermometer and a good humidity gauge in the cage to keep track of the environment for your pet.
A good cage setup will cost you more than your pet, but it's worth it, and necessary if you are keen to keep a chameleon.
Special heat spotlights and ultraviolet fluorescent tube lights must be used. Don't use heat rocks as chameleons can burn their feet on them.
Let your pet bask outside in sunlight for a few hours a week in warm months, there's no good substitute for real ultraviolet light from the sun.
The cage must cool off at night to at least 10 degrees lower than during the day so the chameleon can sleep properly. Humidity must rise at night also. Raise humidity by spraying the plants with water in the evening.
Feeding Your Chameleon
Most chameleons eat live bugs and insects only, and lots of them. They shoot them with their long sticky tongue. If the bug is not moving the chameleon may not see it.
They are fussy eaters, and will often stop eating if only offered one type of food. So give them a variety, such as crickets, mealworms, superworms, and waxworms.
Wild caught bugs from a pesticide-free yard are nutritious and a real treat. Feed adult chameleons every 1-2 days, but don't leave crickets loose in the cage overnight as they can chew on and hurt your pet while it is asleep.
You are what you eat! Most insects are missing some vitamins and minerals. Feed any bugs you buy fresh salad, cereals, and fruit for 3 days before they become lunch for your pet.
Once or twice a week you should dust crickets with calcium and vitamin powder before you give them to the chameleon. Vitamin deficiencies are common, so read up on what is needed.
Pet chameleons often die from slow dehydration. They live in humid places in the wild, and a lot of climates are much too dry for them. Just putting water in a bowl in their cage will not work! Water must be dripping or running for the chameleon to see it and start to drink.
They lick rain or dew off leaves and branches in the wild, so you must mist or spray water on the cage plants 2 times a day so they will drink. The spray will also raise the humidity of the cage.
Use live plants instead of artificial ones to keep the humidity up. Breathing humid air is important for your pets lungs, but don't keep the cage wet all the time as molds can make your pet sick.
Make sure you see the chameleon drink each day!
Chameleon Personality
Chameleons are shy and slow-moving. They are easily startled and need a quiet place for their cage. They are loners, so they don't want to share a cage or see another chameleon (even their own reflection!).
They have very sharp eyesight but poor hearing. Because handling and petting causes them fear, they don't make good pets for children. To a chameleon, you are the predator.
If their captive environment is too different to what they are used to in the wild, they don't adapt, they die. But, if you accept and understand it's personality, a chameleon can be a gentle friend.
Chameleons change colours for several reasons, not just to match their background. They can turn dark to absorb heat when cold, turn light when too hot, and show bright patterns when frightened or angry.
Each species has its own pattern and colour range. Your pet can tell you how it is feeling by its appearance. When frightened they will puff up with air and hiss loudly.
Forcing your chameleon to display its bright colours too often will lead to great stress and can kill it over time. Some large chameleons will bite hard enough to cause bleeding, so be careful.
The chameleons tail is prehensile, and vital for climbing around in trees and bushes. They can't drop their tail like other lizards.
Their feet are adapted for clinging to branches, and are quite strong. Never pull a chameleon off a branch by force. You can break their toes or legs and damage their claws. Claw damage can lead to serious infections. Move slowly and gently coax your pet to climb onto your hand instead.
Signs Of Sickness
- Not eating or drinking
- Eyes that are closed, sunken, or look flat against the head
- Swollen toes with black claws and swollen legs
- Heavy breathing with mouth open (other than a quick hiss)
- Drooling, a lot of sticky saliva, yellow or white stuff at the corner of the mouth
- Thin looking ribs and pelvic bones showing through the skin
- Skin is wrinkled and dry, not supple
- Does not change colour when picked up
- Lumps or coiled bumps under the skin (parasites)
- Does not react to lights and movement around the cage
Chameleons hide signs of illness until they are very weak. By the time many of these symptoms show up, survival is poor. Veterinary treatment can be difficult and expensive. It is best to buy a healthy animal and do all you can to keep it that way.
If you don't know what a healthyone should look like, ask an expert for help.
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Please only take the information given in any of our caresheets as general advice. They may not provide an exact answer to your particular reptiles problem and are to act as a general guide and 'heads-up' to keeping reptiles.
We cannot be held responsible for any problems your reptile encounters following the reading of these pages.
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