View Full Version : Hi! About everyones chameleons...
I was just curious as to what species people had and how they cared for them? Does your chameleon have a special quirk? What caging do you use?
My chameleon is a baby male veiled, about 2 inches SVL, who live in a temperary ten gallon tank with a pothos plant and some reptile vine. No real quirk yet, but I am hoping he will develope a personality as he grows ;)
I have been having a blast researching chams and if anyone can suggest a personal website or board with good info I'd love to see it. I already read through all the links offered on adcham.com :p
Anyone have any pics of their chameleons? :)
thanks!
Wilma
Hi Wilma!
I've gotten the addiction BAD!!! LOL
I have a pair of adult veileds. My female, Maggie, is a crabapple. :) The male, Zeus, is a rescue who had been housed in an aquarium for 4 years, dehydrated, burned severely and has MBD with several old fractures. :( He is my angel. :w He is certainly not your typical, testy male veiled. He hates being in his cage - and will seek me out throughout the day. Climbs up on the couch after lights out and goes to sleep on my or my husband's shoulder. His tongue no longer shoots properly - so he has to be either cup or hand fed.
I have a pair of Jackson's approaching breeding age. Jill is the ultimate huntress - Jack is scared of worms.
I have two young male Hoehnelli (Sam and Pumpkin) - they are garbage cans that can't be filled. :p
I also have two Nosey Be females (Jewel & Jade) going through the gawky teenage stage - inbetween the "cute" and "pretty" stages. ;) We have a young "Electric Blue" male for them - he is just tiny, but already showing incredible colour!!
All of mine are housed in homemade caging - hubbie is awesome at making them with places for egg laying, automatic drainage, wired in lights and plugs ... I am blessed. And their care is all slightly different - is there anything specific you were wondering about??
Another good site you may want to check out is Chameleon Journals.
Jaylyn
Laurier
10-19-02, 12:28 AM
hey,
I have a male veiled, he is my baby boy. He grew to be small but he is still in the typical range of the adult size but at the smallest a male can get. I keep him in a 4' x 4' x 2' enclosure and well he is extremely spoiled.
I also keep 3 deremensis except I just got them so they are still new to me but every day I am learning more and more about them. I think I have 2.1 so I will probably sell on of the males in the spring if this is true.
thats all i have but i am always on the look out for lateralis (when madagascare re-opens i will get a couple pairs), and brookesia. ya dreams, but they shall come true in a few years.
Laurier
Did somebody mention an addiction to Chams? I just moved to a bigger place and can hardly wait to fill the extra bedroom with weird woggley eyed friends! Hmmmm..... Parsons? Mellors? Oustalets? Deremensis? (hint hint Laurier!)
Currently I'm mom to 2.1 Veileds, 1.0 Nosy Be Panther, 1.0 Dwarf Jackson's and 1.0 Werner's Chameleons. Of course all of them have different husbandry requirements so it is quite a challenge on a daily basis to keep up with everyone!
Fortunately most of my guys are really friendly, the Panther and one of the male Veileds are happiest if they can sit on my shoulder all day. They go everywhere with me!
Cheers!
Trace
Laurier
10-19-02, 11:47 PM
ya trace, they are an addiction. I want to get a panther but i probably will have to sell off on of the male deremensis (hint hint) before i can get one.
Laurier
I have a nice little nosey be blue panther chameleon. (Destined to be wed to Trace's! ;)
She is very pretty, and lives in an I guess 3 x 2 x 2 cage (I don't know exactly how big).
Her quirk is she hates me... lol
When I get a bigger place there'll definately be a chameleon in every room!
Zoe
Hi Jaylyn, how did you get your vieled so tame? Does he free roam since he hates his cage so much? He really sounds adorable and certainly against the norm of what i have been told to expect ;) It sounds like he still has a great life dispite his handicap... I am not too sure how intelligent chameleons are but do you think he realises he is disabled? He certainly sounds like asweety!
lol, I've got to ask... why is Jack scared of worms? Even the smaller meal worms?
I am a clueless when it comes to building, mainly I am trying to follow some of the plans I have found on websites for a juvi cage now... then will build a big 4x2x2 adult cage for him :) hehe, lucky you for having a builder in the family ;)
Ok, quick question about your chameleons... the panter and the vieled that ride around on your sholder all day? I thought chameleons got really stressed by that.. is it just a fantastic quirk yours have or did you train tehm to like being out? Sounds like you have a great relationship with them.
Heya!
Most chams do get stressed by handling, I'm just lucky I got the 2 exceptions to that rule!
The 2 of them are so demanding of my attentions that they sit on their hind legs with their front feet in the air begging me to let them out! If I don't.... they grab the stick by their tails and let go with their feet and swing back and forth in the air until I rescue them!
They are crazy!
Cheers!
P.S. I hope my new Deremensis will be that friendly! (hint hint Laurier!)
Trace
what happens if you don't rescue them? Did they always do that? Cute little acrobats so trusting that mommy will come and save them :D
Laurier
10-28-02, 07:43 PM
hey,
my veiled was a little hater when he was at his "teenager" age and he wouldn't let me hold him. once i got the guts to put my hand in near him i realized its not so bad, all he does is hiss and puff up but after a while he will just come on to my hand. its been the same, and accually i have found him extremely happy when i handle him, esspecially when he is in the sun. so with my I have found that handling them has tamed him down.
Laurier
Laurier
10-28-02, 07:45 PM
trace,
the deremensis have never hissed, but they don't like to be handled at all. Typical for a montain species. Ya but in the spring one will be ready for you.
Laurier
What happens if I don't rescue them you ask? It's never happened! LOL. That is their "last resort" tactic to get out of their cages.... and it ALWAYS works!
And I've got one word to say to you Laurier!
YEEHA! :bounce: I can hardly wait!
ok.... so that was 5 words!
Cheers!
Trace
Wilma,
Zeus came to me that tame. He had been going through a period the last couple months where he refused to eat and would scratch at the door to his cage all day long to come out. We decided to let him free roam - he would come seek me out during the day (scared the bejeezus out of me more than a few times!!) and climb up onto my or hubbie's shoulder after lights out to sleep. Trouble is - he was unsteady and kept getting himself into predicaments. We also have dogs and a cat and it got hard to supervise constantly. Zeus would walk past the bassets - hiss at them - and keep on walking!! So we played musical cages and now he's in a new cage with a great view - he couldn't be happier!! :) He spends the whole day looking out the window - but now he wants nothing to do with me. :( I did not handle him the first week and a half so he would settle in - but at least he's happy. I honestly believe that without frequent handling most chams will become almost feral. But, of course there are definite difference between the species and individuals - and exceptions to every rule!!
Jaylyn
telecomandy
10-29-02, 10:08 PM
Hi Wilma......
I myself have Veiled 1.2 and a soon to be
mating pair of blue nosy be Panthers. My male Veiled (Fred) just loves to go out on outings with me and I'm working on the others just as vigourusly. I too have them wanting to be up and around my shoulders and get LOTS of looks and people checking them out. I'm finding that the females are ALOT more sesitive and do stress the out moreso than the males. As for caging, I have a few 6'x2'x2' cages for them, a couple of 4'x2'x2' as well as an open air system that I put together using
fairly large (plastic) flower pots with with LOTS of foliage between the top and bottom. I too have be entranced by chameleons and now can't emagine not having them around. I find them to be a great stress relief when being around and handling them. Good luck with yours.:thumbsup: :bugout:
hey trace, so cool that you always rescue them ;) silly lil' lizards! How often do they usually want out of their cages?
Hi Jaylen,
lol, glad the dogs didn't mind be threatened by a territorial chameleon! It seems a shame that zeus is less interested in handling. COuld he just be mad at you?
lol, how the heck did you manage to sleep with him and not role on him????
:P
Thanks for the reply telecomandy! lol, pretty much what I am understanding from everyones posts, besides how much they love chameleons! Is to handle them consistantly but it wont help if as an individual they wont take it. :P My little Bay leaf already puffs and hisses... but I don't pay attention.
At what length does "teenagehood" usually occur? lol, will have to watch my fingers then!
My plan for now is to have him in the ten gallon till he grows another .5 of an inch then build a small cage for the small ficus plant I have out of two large pant saucers and plastic mesh. Then build a 4x2x2 adult cage when he outgrows that. Hopefully by the time I get him to the juvi cage I will have him bottle feeding so I wont need to worry about insect escape. If not then i will need to use a very small mesh :S
I would try and make both the juvi and adult cages out of fine mesh so you can freeroam his feeder crickets. Chams like to hunt their food so it gives them a little mental stimulation every day! Keep a feeding bowl for the mealies tho.
Try not to get him hooked on eating out of a bowl tho... I've heard of tongue injuries because of that.
Also, if they are only "shooting" their tongues a few inches to catch prey, their tongues actually become unfit and they won't be able to extend it the full length!
Cheers!
Trace
Wilma,
Actually I'm glad Zeus is finally content. :) I would much rather he has some typical male veiled "lizardtude" than being restless. He looks so happy when he stares out the window. His appetite has improved, as well. The old guy has had a hard life - he deserves some peace.
Oh - he would sleep with us - just on our shoulders while watching TV. We'd put him back in his tree when we went to bed.
I agree with Trace on the bowl feeding. And it doesn't take long for tongue atrophy to occur and once the damage is done ... it's hard to fix it. Zeus is the only one of mine that cup feeds - that's because he's lost his ability to zap. I love watching the rest of them hunt - especially the females. :)
Your cage size sounds good - but as always the bigger the better (except for babies).
As far as handling - stress can be subtle and cause health problems. Watch your chams carefully - they are still more like wild animals. Some may tolerate handling - but the ones that actually 'enjoy' it are few and far between. Don't mean to sound like a party pooper. :(
Jaylyn
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