Chameleons As Pets

[fish-r-fancy]

I've been wanting a chameleon for a while now and to my surprise I found one on craigslist today. Heres a picture of it:

http/b.im.craigslist.org/rv/0Y/cXv0eVKwY...GN8MSXzNibf.jpg

The seller says that the chameleon is 3 years old,very friendly and hand raised. The chameleion comes with the tank as you can see some of it in the picture. My first question is what kind of chameleon is this. By the picture are you able to determine if it is a male or female?I will water the tank everyday and I have a timer for the lights. I will feed crickets,meal worms,grasshoppers and waxworms. Is there anything that I have forgoten? And do you think this is a good pet?

 

[fishboy619]

i think they are great pets, i little slow, but hey...
its been a while since ive had one, so cant remebers lots about them, basics etc.
but what you have said sounds good, seems to me you have it all planned,
how much is everything?
i know from mine, lots of branches are welcomed by the chameleon.and some of them dont like being handled that much, but being handraised, i dont see that being a problem.just be careful when handling, they like to climb and be highest they can be, usally the top of your head.they will also let go and fall when scared or startled and we dont want it going splat now do we?

 

[fish-r-fancy]

Thanks for the reply. From a little more reasearch it looks like its a veiled chameleon but I'm not entirly sure. Thanks for the tip about the vines. From the pic it looks like a ton of vines are included.

 

[grahamsokel]

That is definatly not a Yemen,Its a Blue nosey-be Panther.I have 7 chams and 2 are noseys
They are not a beginers reptile and a very high Maintance animal
one of mine

 

[fishboy619]

not to be funny, or in any way offencive, but if its anyones first nosey chameleon then would it make them a begginer?
sure someone might not have much experience with chameleons, but if they are willing to put in the effort and try hard, why shouldnt they give it a go?

 

[grahamsokel]

not to be funny, or in any way offencive, but if its anyones first nosey chameleon then would it make them a begginer?
sure someone might not have much experience with chameleons, but if they are willing to put in the effort and try hard, why shouldnt they give it a go?

I am not saying just Noseys all chameleons are a lot harder than most other reptiles.
There is more to "trying hard and giving it a go"
If they dont get it right its the chams that Suffer 4 Of my 9 chams are ones that have come to me as peoples first reptiles and then they have found a few months down the line they are not as easy to look after as they thought and because they have not got things quite right they are not eating.
I kept reptiles for 15 years before i felt i was confident enough to get a Chameleon

As for the hand raised bit most chameleons are hand raised they hatch in an incubator and you look after them if they where put in with the parents they would be dinner

 

[fishboy619]

fair enough, i didnt realise you meant keeping chameleons is harder then keeping other reptiles, i thought you meant against other chameleons,
i didnt mean it quite like give it a go and see how it works out, i meant try your best and do what is needed, i researched load before buying one, and i still researched after i bought it.it helps alot

 

[oddball_lover]

To be honest, it sounds as though you'll have to spend a bit of extra money on it anyway...

They say it's in a 'tank' - that doesn't sound too promising....chameleons normally need very well ventilated enclosures, and a lot of people tend to use the mesh screen enclosures rather than tanks (i.e. the exo-terra flexariums). If the 'tank' actually has at least a side or two completely meshed, then fair enough, but the term used to describe it isn't filling me with confidence

So yeh, basically it sounds as though you'll have to get a new enclosure if you decide to go for it

It also depends on you definition of a 'good pet' - if you want an animal you can handle frequently, I wouldn't get a chameleon.

 

[fish-r-fancy]

ok i have spoke to the seller and the front side of the tank is all made of screen as is the top and it comes with a black thing so that the cham wont be able to see its reflection in the glass. Thanks for the id by the way also.