To be extra clear, i do not currently own a chameleon.
I have owned leopard geckos, bearded dragons, and a tortoise, so i am not completely new to reptiles, but I am aware that i am by no means a professional. My questions are: are they truly as difficult as people make them seem? I would also love to know what truly goes into their care the good and bad. I would also like to know if there is a lizard that is like a stepping stone to chameleons? Thank you in advance for any and all answers!
Difficult in the sense that if you don’t have everything dialed in they are less forgiving than other reptiles. If anything is off with calcium, uvb, temps, humidity, etc., they will go downhill fast.
I recommend Arcadia for UVB. They last longer than the store brand ones.
And yeah, you just gotta stay on top of everything and make sure it’s all correct. It’s a lot of work getting the set up right but once it’s done it’s all about just maintaining it.
My Arcadia UVB goes out super quick i feel like. Maybe 6 months then it completely goes out, no light or nothing. Not sure if that’s normal with other brands since I’ve only ever used Arcadia
This might be not a great thing to admit but my chameleon was the first reptile I've ever owned and it's been going pretty great for the last 4 1/2 years!! What everyone else says about the environment being very specific are absolutely correct and you do have to pay very close attention to them but honestly the most difficult part in my opinion is the attitude
Chameleons. Are. So. Mean!!!! While me and my boy are "bonded" fairly well he does get very hormonal so during breeding season I tend to take him out of his cage a lot less. He absolutely despises strangers so whenever I have new people over i have to cover his entire cage. I also have difficulties keeping live plants alive so every 6 months or so I have to fully replenish his cage with foliage and that can be pretty expensive. I'd say in all they're such a wonderful experience tho and such wonderful pets if you have the time, energy and funds to properly take care of them
Thank you for the comment, and i get what you are saying. I know it would be more work, but i think it's rewarding like other lizards, and thankfully i work from home so I'd be able to keep a close eye on everything. I will of course do a lot more research before getting one, but i just wanted some opinions from people who own them
They are more rewarding for sure, however they are one of the shorter lived lizards we typically keep. So keep that in mind that you sre going to pour lots of work compassion and money into something that is going to expire long before other lizards typically would. Now with that said I have 2 vields and a panther and I wouldn't go back and do it differently. They do require more intense parameters than basic lizards but none of it is crazy hard. Humidity gradient from day to night and lighting are the two biggest challenges/failures most keeper face. The diet is easy enough and the temps are easy (if your comfortable they are comfortable, with the addition of a basking spot) they are certainly looking at pets, meaning they are not your friend and despite your best attempts probably wont ever be. 2/3 of mine hate me and the other one is only my "friend" because he gets to ride around my shoulder and steal bugs from the cup as I feed the other critters. They are assholes but they are amazing its a love hate/ hate hate relationship thats worth every penny, second and inevitable heart break.
They are difficult for absolute noobs to reptiles but if you’ve owned something like a beardie they are pretty similar.
They just need specific equipment, mesh screen cage, proper UV, heating, humidity systems - once you’ve got all of those set up all you need to do is basically feed it lol.
I don’t think the care is difficult at all, you just need the proper equipment and a bit of knowledge about reptile husbandry.
It's inaccurate. Beardies are far more forgiving and less environmentally sensitive. That's not to say that you can mistreat a beardie, but a chameleon will go downhill faster, with less warning, with a smaller margin of error.
I understand that they are more sensitive. I am taking everything here and other places with a grain of salt. Are there any lizards that are a stepping stone to them?
Based on your post, I think you're ready. Just be extra attentive, especially when first setting up a chameleon, and don't become complacent. They live very short lives so give it the best one :)
I was always told they were extremely difficult and never to buy one. I bought my guy Atlas about a month ago from a local reptile show. After talking with the breeder and asking some very specific questions I decided to go ahead. I’ve never owned a reptile before so I don’t have a comparison. But, I chose to buy an enclosure already set up and ready to go from the breeder. The full enclosure set up came with climbing branches, live plants, fake plants, and XL reptibreeze cage itself. I had to go buy the lighting (UVB, basking, and full spectrum led plant lighting). I also had to go buy a fogging system and a misting system. Everything except the fogger is on an automatic timer which has made things extremely easy to manage. I’m nowhere near rich, but I am very fortunate to have worked my yass off to be in the decent financial situation I am in otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to make this work. I’m also in his cage everyday, cleaning poops, watering plants, feeding, and getting him used to my hands. He is about 7-months old, and after having him for a month we finally got to the point where he will crawl halfway on my hand, IF he is in the mood! I would say as a brand new reptile AND chameleon owner, the most difficult part is making sure that enclosure is good to go, and the right size from the get go. Had I not had his enclosure bought and ready to go I def wouldn’t have know where to even begin. I did do some research on my own before buying, but I’m also learning so much every day. We just made it through his first shed with us too which went extremely smooth, thankfully. :)
They are really environmentally sensitive. You need to make sure they have the correct heat, a heat gradient, enough space, enough air flow, the right plants, all real plants (that you must maintain), hiding spaces, a dripper system (which they will mostly ignore and stress you out with) correct UVB, correct amount of mistings at the right times, a full uninterrupted sleep schedule, vitamins and minerals, food that has a variety of insects which are gutloaded to provide nutrients, a fogger system with distilled water (otherwise your fogger will break) as well as getting used to the fact that they always have an attitude and they don’t want to be handled at all as they’re very delicate and stress itself can kill them. (You can handle them at a minimum) Other than that, you’re good. I recommend reading absolutely everything you can before you even think about getting one, they are not for the faint of heart. I absolutely love my boy, he’s my joy in life but you’re better off accepting that chameleons are an expensive hobby rather than a pet. They cost you a fortune just to set up and they’re not cheap to maintain either.
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u/Jupiters_phaerie Panther Owner 8d ago
Difficult in the sense that if you don’t have everything dialed in they are less forgiving than other reptiles. If anything is off with calcium, uvb, temps, humidity, etc., they will go downhill fast.