how difficult?

[Clownfishie]

I've been looking for another lizard to get into keeping, and I've always thought that chams were really cool -- what's held me back before was reading all over the place about how difficult they are to keep. I'm thinking of getting a veiled, as there's a couple of people around here who have some babies... What would you guys say is a good recipe for success for successfully raising a baby? I don't know if I'm making any sense... LOL :) It's early in the morning, I'm beat, and I haven't had my cup of tea yet ;)

Anyways, basically what I'm really wondering is, how difficult ARE chams to keep -- do they require a lot of work, or just your basic lizard care with some misting added in... Also, what would you recommend for a setup? (both for a baby, and an adult...).

Thanks for any input you can give guys :)
Jen

[Trace]

Hi Jen!

I haven't finished my coffee either, so I'm not quite thinking yet!

Well they are fairly difficult to keep, but not impossible. They DO require daily attention though. These guys aren't like snakes that can be ignored if you get busy. Now by reading your post, I see that you've done a bit of research on the basic husbandry of chameleons (I like that!) so I won't repeat some of the details here.

I currently have 24 chameleons and that takes me at least 3 hours daily just to supply their basic needs. One chameleon certainly won't take that long. The hardest thing I find with chams is to keep them hydrated. I'm constantly misting around here. Keeping humidity levels high in an all screen enclosure is also difficult!

Set-up wise, babies should be kept in a small enclosure so they can find prey items easily. Cages that are 18"x18"x24" (LWH) is fine, you play with these dimensions a little bit. Adult Veiled's should really be in an enclosure that is 24"x24"x48" or larger if you can.

Some random thoughts:

Growing babies need small crickets and they will eat MANY every day! (upwards of 24) You will spend a lot of time and money keeping crickets in your house.
Try and get a male chameleon, they look nicer and you avoid all the egg laying problems of the females.
Chams need a wide variety of bugs to keep them healthy, not just crix.

I'm sure I have more tips I can give you, but my coffee is calling my name. If you have any other questions please post!

Cheers!

Trace