I Need Convincing!!

[Baby "G"]

Alright here's the scenario...
My boyfriend really wants a chameleon and I'm not to fond of them..So..i'm asking for your help, could someone tell me just what's so good about these guys and help convince me to let him get one.

Though I'm pretty sure we'll get one either way...I just need to hear some good things about them first.

Thanks ahead of time.

Baby "G"

[Zoe]

There's tons good about them!

They are amazing... for starters, they are gorgeous. They come in all shapes, colours, and sizes, including BLUE, PINK, YELLOW, LIME GREEN, ORANGE. Many of them are tame and can be handled (some even enjoy it!). It is sooo cool too watch them eat... imagine watching a lizard nailing an unsuspecting cricket with a tongue longer than the lizard's body!
These guys never hide... mine are always out and about, being cute. That makes it easy to make a really nice display-type enclosure.

And Lastly...

http://www.indiepool.com/privateftp/archermultimedia/zoestevens/images/cham/panther03.jpg

http://www.indiepool.com/privateftp/archermultimedia/zoestevens/images/cham/panther09.jpg

http://www.indiepool.com/privateftp/archermultimedia/zoestevens/images/cham/panther0201.jpg

How can you resist them? :D

[reverendsterlin]

I love observing these guys, they move and color so differently it just capivates me.

[Youkai]

Look at it this way - he'll be te one taking care of it, right? So you get to just observe it for the most part! What you will find is that they are incredibly captivating and interesting animals. I love them, but can't build a tank that I think is large enough for the species I want. Space limitations, ::sigh::

Anyway, I'd say let him do it. Observe them, and make your decisions anout them then.

[Leo-Land]

http://www.leo-land.net/hand2.jpg

enough said...

[Trace]

All righty, it appears while I was composing a post about all the positive things about chameleon ownership, a few other members have beat me to the punch!

So I'm going to play devil's advocate here for a change and ask... does your boyfriend know the cons about chameleon ownership? The long hours watering the beast? The endless search for varied bugs? The high price of proper UV lighting? The huge amounts of space a chameleon cage takes up in your house? The quest for proper humidity? I could go on at length!

Don't get me wrong, I love these woggley eyed creatures to death and agree with all the replies you've gotten.

Cheers!

Trace

["Red-eye"_Matt]

There's still just something about them I don't like....I think it's their feet....and maybe their eyes..

Though I must admit..Zoe the first two pics you posted are some of the cutest i've seen..what kind are they?

["Red-eye"_Matt]

oops sorry I was logged in under my boyfriends acount.

Baby "G"

[Zoe]

The first two pics are of my female nosey be blue panther chameleon. So is the male (3rd pic).

They are readily available - but if you like the pink I'd go with a female :] just make sure you are ready for eggs.

Zoe

["Red-eye"_Matt]

OK . . my girl is in the bath right now so I thougt it would be time for me to put in my 2 cents. I was thinking of getting a 260 gallon "reptarium" and possibly installing a misting system; one that I would either build or buy. Plus I'm thinking of going with a panther or a couple of pygmy leafs. So as of right now this is not a inquiry o anything, it's just a couple of ideas that I'm kicking around. We are by no means prepared for a cham and the fact that we are getting another red-eye next week is really limiting the amount of room we have. We are moving in together this summer and we are setting up a herp room so that we can have more space for our little ones.

Trace: The UV lighting isn't a problem as we are already using it for our frogs and it will be going into the beardie enclosure that we are planning for this summer. The biggest problem I could think of would be bugs but I would still have a LOT of research to due before I would actually consider getting one. Just right now I'm trying to convince her that they are not "ugly" little things and that we need one :).

Thanks for the help in convincing her. She keeps telling me that I can have one if I'm willing to have 3 kids. lol. I don't really think that is a fair trade off though.

Matt

[Trace]

Hi Matt! :D

Again my post was not meant to disuade you from owning a chameleon! I'm usually the first person to say "go for it!" I just wanted to add a little spice to this thread. Panthers are a great choice for a good starter chameleon. I find they are generally fairly calm and friendly, although I have met the odd exception to this rule!

I can see by your post that you are doing your research on chams before you bring one home, and that is great! If you do have any questions at all though, don't be shy!

And Baby "G"... their feet are the best part! Just wait until you hold one!

Cheers!

Trace

["Red-eye"_Matt]

I guess that I'm gonna have to take her to a pet store again (darn!) so that she can hold one. She agreed to give it a shot so we will have to wait and see how it goes.

Matt

[Zoe]

they are generally fairly calm and friendly, although I have met the odd exception to this rule!

Are you talking about a certain pink little lady with a heart-shaped mark on her side, Trace? ;)

[Trace]

Are you talking about a certain pink little lady with a heart-shaped mark on her side, Trace?

Ummm..... Errrrrr.... perhaps! o> LOL! I'm sure she has a sweet personality with you... it's too bad poor Calypso is emotionaly scarred for the rest of his life by her.

Cheers!

Trace

[Zoe]

Hehe... Poor Calypso, I do fear sorry for him :(

She's not that friendly with me... the male is even worse... He's always showing off the inside of his mouth and giving me his "evil eye".

Silly boy.

;)
Zoe

[reptilesalonica]

I didn't imagine that there would live a herper out there that didn't want...CHAMS?! :rolleyes: ...i learn something new every day...
~Greg~

[Lisa]

I found this totally cool kennal watering system at the petstore, thought we would use it on our high humidity snakes... when I get home from work i'll try to scan in the box.

[Baby "G"]

Reptilesalonica- I love Frogs, bearded dragons, snakes and a lot of other herps...but chameleons are just not my thing.....though maybe I just need to be around them more.

Lisa- My boyfriend is looking foward to seeing it.

[reptilesalonica]

Ok Baby "G", i hope you will love them because they are loveable lizards, with veeery interesting behavior
Take care~Greg~

[Baby "G"]

I was wondering if anyone has any pics of these guys eating?...I do think that would be neat to see

Baby "G"

[Trace]

I DO, I DO!!!!

See this link (http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=12456) for some interesting eating pics. There may also be some more in my gallery.

Cheers!

Trace

[Lisa]

Those eating shots are so cool. do chams eat alot of pinks?

[Trace]

I don't feed my chameleons pinkies that often... maybe once a month, once every couple of months? I use the pinks as a treat mostly.

Cheers!

Trace

[Lisa]

one thing i'll never forget is the video of a cham eating a snake (i cry when ever i see something eating a snake). I forget which nature show it was on...

[Baby "G"]

Thanks Trace for the pics...it is pretty interesting to watch!
Their tongues remind me of those sticky things that kids throw at the wall/ceilling and they get stuck there....everyone's had one some time in their life i'm sure...

It's probably even more amazing to watch them eat, I still don't think I want one yet though...but it's not totally out of the question now at least.

[Tim and Julie B]

Yeah the snake eating thing was really bizzare! I'm pretty sure it was National Geographic-The Desert Chameleon. It was pretty funny though after she ate the poor snake, she could barely waddle around her belly was so full. I really like chams and I do think they would make wonderful pets. Some day::sigh:: I hope to get some armoured chams. Don't think it'll be too easy to track some down either, but I am in love with the little guys! Research, research, research! That's the key to starting off on the right foot with any reptile. You'll just need to find the right cham that makes you say, "Oh my god, you're the cutest thing EVER!" I'm sure that you can find one Baby G. You just gotta shop around(girls like that right?) Good luck and happy herping.
Julie B.

[SnowSnake]

Awsome pics Trace!! If I could have 1 I would take Zoës' orange cham!! She (i think it's a she) has such a nice orange color!! hmmmmmmm

[Lisa]

Ok here's those photos of the box for that misting system I was talking about.

http://snakes.geekgrrl.ca/snakes/mistor1.jpg
http://snakes.geekgrrl.ca/snakes/mistor2.jpg
http://snakes.geekgrrl.ca/snakes/mistor3.jpg
http://snakes.geekgrrl.ca/snakes/mistor4.jpg
http://snakes.geekgrrl.ca/snakes/mistor5.jpg

[Baby "G"]

Thanks Lisa.
We might look into something like that for our frogs too...I know we eventually want to breed them.

[Trace]

Wow Lisa, a big thanks from me too! I don't think it will work for me inside, as I don't think I can hook it up to any of my faucets upstairs. GRRR. I move all my cham cages outside for the summer, and that just might be the perfect (and cheap) watering solution for me.

Cheers!

Trace

[ReneeB]

WOW Lisa!! that would be perfect for us.. I think I'm gonna search the net to see if I can find one!

[Tim and Julie B]

Baby "G" It is ok not to like chams. I have been around a lot of them and yes Trace I have held one. But I am sorry they just don't do it for me. I think they are boring. Sorry all Cham keepers. But if Matt likes them then you have to compromise. That why when you want something he dosen't you can say "but you have the Cham!":D-Tim

[stormyva]

It seems that I have missed or over looked a little bit of information about Chams in this thread. I have heard Chameleons referred to as the fish of the lizard world. They tend to stress easily and do better when left alone. There are some exceptions to this rule as many of the posts here show. As for a "display animal" they are that to an extent. A Chameleon can stress if the cage is placed in an area with an extreme amount of traffic. Again there are exceptions to this but most of the ones I have seen fair best in a room away from heavy traffic.
There is no doubt that they are really cool, that tongue is awesome! They are a lot of work and are not an animal to get if you want something to handle frequently.

[Lisa]

I'm thinking if a faucet isn't handy then a bucket with a spigot on it would do. make sure the bucket is higher then the cage or you won't get any pressure.

[Baby "G"]

Well the deal originally was, he could have a cham if we had 3 kids...(he only wants two)...lol...
..but seriously..I'd like something I could handle unlike our froggies and i've been wanting a bearded dragon for a couple months now...and since he's letting me have one (though I think he wants one as much as I do, if not more)...and he's making me the cage and everything...I say before next spring we'll have a Cham.

["Red-eye"_Matt]

Darn right we will Baby "G"

Matt

["Red-eye"_Matt]

PS. I'm just foolin with ya

Matt

[Beejay]

Originally posted by "Red-eye"_Matt
Thanks for the help in convincing her. She keeps telling me that I can have one if I'm willing to have 3 kids. lol. I don't really think that is a fair trade off though.

Matt

LMAO

Hahaha, I don't think that's a fair trade-off at all!

I've been looking into getting a chameleon myself and I've decided they're not for me. I actually finally decided on another animal after a good bit of deliberation...and discussing it with my family. I still haven't told them I already bought it though, or that he's in the basement--lol....

Anyhow...my question is, why can't you and your girlfriend just have different interests, different animals? It's not like you'll be expecting her to take on the burden of caring for your new pet...that you'll be getting anyhow because, really...they are beautiful and she's already said she's willing to give in (in the first post!)

But seriously, don't expect it to be easy to continue to care for high-needs animals with ease after you've got three kids :P If you are looking for a long-term pet...keep that in mind.

Bj

[Baby "G"]

Bj- We both know we can have different pets...that was never an issue...we're not always going to like the same animals.....he likes rainbow boas....I like ball pythons so (eventually) we'll probably get both..

But I started this thread to hear everyone elses point of view on chams...to hear some good and some bad...just trying to get to know more or less the personality of chameleons..
If i'm gonna be living with one of these creatures..lol...I just want to know what they're like and how they act kinda thing.....

And the kids thing...that's a long ways away yet...

Oh what was the animal you decided on after?

[Beejay]

I got a BCI, nuno picked him out and Aaron named him Eddie :P

btw, I have three kids, and a stepson. I'm not just blowing hot air! lol

Bj