got my first chameleon

[xdiversichicx]

i got my first veiled chameleon yesterday.
been doing research for awhile on them and finally decided to get one. he's a real cutie. its like having a little kid. he's only about two inches long (not including tail). he's usually a really light green, but he doesnt like seeing the iguana and turns almost black. i cant get over his feet. they feel so weird when he walks on my fingers. im gonna post some pics when i get them developed.

http://img5.photobucket.com/albums/v15/xdiversichicx/550006.jpg

[drewlowe]

Congrats on your new addition. Becareful stressing the wee one out. I wouldn't let him see the iguana and for awhile i would put him in a very low "traffic" area.

Can't wait to see those pics.

[xdiversichicx]

ill get those pics up later tonight.
the ig was on the couch and wanted to see what we put up on the counter and freaked the little guy out, so we put him up.

[Collide]

Thats great lol, what kind is he/he? how old cant wait to see those pics.

[joer]

Grats

[dank7oo]

cool ... i was the happiest in the world when i got my first cham, so i can only imagine how happy you are :)

congrats!

Jason

[CDN-Cresties]

Congrats on your new cham, best of luck with him. Post pics soon :)

-Steve-

[Trace]

Ah yes, the first chameleon touch. I remember it well, the feet, the woggley eyes, the vivid colours. Welcome to the chameleon addiction!

Trace

[meow_mix450]

hey, your in the right place to ask questions, we got tons of helpful people here, so just ask away, even if its dumb lol, its a great feeling have a first cham, congrats

Meow

[xdiversichicx]

sorry about the bad pic

cant get too close or use flash, it scares him. my friend got some better ones, ill post them when he sends them to me

[meow_mix450]

ya believe me its hard to get a good pick of a baby, ive been trying for weeks


Meow

[Collide]

Looks good from what i can see nice size its good that she / he is that big nice start. looks like a girl from the cask but still young. female male? you can tell buy the back feet does it have a little spir on the back of the feet if no its a girl. God babies are soo cute...

[nguyen_inc]

congrat! good luck with him. happy hoidays!
~John~

[xdiversichicx]

its a male.
hope to be getting a female sometime soon.
it looks so lonely in its big cage.
is it safe to house them together while they're babies?

[Collide]

its ok till they are about 3 months old then id seperate them. Id say dont put them togeather.

[Trace]

Originally posted by xdiversichicx
it looks so lonely in its big cage.


He only "looks" lonely to you... in reality he really isn't. Chameleons are not pack animals, they do not crave attention, they don't get bored, they live alone in the wild.

I'm not saying you shouldn't get a female, but you will have to house her separately eventually (costly in equipment and space) and because you already have a male, I would suggest you keep her in a different room than the male. Not all males do this, but if he sees her from across the room, and their eyesight is amazing, he will get the idea to breed and that's all he will do. He may go off his food and you may get a cranky male because of that.

He's very cute, got a name for him yet?

Trace

[gfisher2002]

Very cute, ohhh I want more now. It's harder to quit chameleons than quit smoking. Damn addictive little things. LOL

[xdiversichicx]

how old are they when they are ready to breed?
when i got home from work today my bf had already bought another one (female) before i could get a chance to get back to this board.
he bought a 65g reptarium for them to share right now.
at what age should i separate them?
and how much space do they each need when we separate them?

[Trace]

Females can start laying eggs after about 6 months of age and the males can mate... well pretty much any time, but usually at about 6 months of age themselves so I would separate them before that. If you do intend on breeding the pair, I suggest you wait until the female is at least a year old because at that point she is considered full grown. Right now she needs all the calcium and vitamins she can get to grow herself. (Bones, muscles, ligaments, internal organs, all that fun stuff) If she is bred too early, all those minerals, nutrition is going to the eggs and not her body and this REALLY shortens the females lifespan.

I think your male is about 3 months of age right? You've got another month before you really should separate them.

As for cage size... the male needs a cage about 2x2x4 when he's full grown, the female can go in something a little smaller. That 65g Reptarium would be fine for her when she is an adult.

Hope this helps.

Trace

[xdiversichicx]

thanks a lot trace!

both of them are two months. only hatched a couple days apart.

we plan to breed them later on, but we've both got a lot to learn before then. i've made plans to separate them next month, and last night i ordered several books on breeding and taking care of hatchlings.
i got a better job so now i can spoil my lizards. lol

[Trace]

i got a better job so now i can spoil my lizards.

Excellent! Nothing wrong with that.

I'm sure you've seen this book already, but here is one I like. It's a basic beginner book (<-- no offense by this!) but it's chock full of good husbandry information and has lots on the breeding of Veileds. The price is right too, I think I paid about $15.00 CAD for it and you might be able to find it in your local petshop.

Care and Breeding of Chameleons by Philippe de Vosjoli and Gary Ferguson. ISBN# 1-882770307. Advanced Vivarium Systems Inc.

Have fun!

Trace

[oiler17]

looks good.. any more pictures soon to come?

I'll hopefully be in the same situation as you within the next month :)

[xdiversichicx]

thats one of the books i ordered.
hell yea i picked out a good one.

i usually dont order them online cuz when i get them they're only like 5 pgs long and dont tell me anything.

[J-Man]

Congrats on the addition. He's a real cutie. POST PICS!

How old/big is your iguana?

Jeremy

Oh, by the way... listen to Trace! She knows what she's talking about.

[xdiversichicx]

my iguana is almost three feet long.
not sure of his age because he was a rescue. i went in out shithole of a pet store a couple months ago and there he was. someone had sold him to the store, so they stuck him in a 20g aquarium. he barely had room to turn around. so the next morning i was there with my car insurance money to get him. couldnt stand to see him like that.
they have another one there that is older, but not as big. its dropped its tail twice since its been there (about 2 months). i wish i could get him, but the lady said she was saving him for her son. all they feed them there is brocoli and cauliflouwer (sp?). ugh makes me angry!!

[sketchy4]

congrats! when i get a place of my own im gonna buy a veild.