Chameleons are truly amazing animals, but they often end up being misunderstood and go under miserable conditions.
It usually ends up wrong, and therefore chameleons have gained a reputation that they are hard to keep and not for anything but highly trained reptile people.
In the article here, I have tried to find facts and dispel myths, so you get a quick and safe overview of what it takes to have a chameleon.
What does a chameleon require and how t care for it?
Chameleons are quite frankly a piss fat animal that changes colours according to their mood and concerning temperature. They are enormously beautiful animals, their eyes can see at an angle of 360 degrees, they move slowly, but have a fast tongue.
However, I do not think that quite a few people know how delicate chameleons are and how much such an animal actually requires.
It is therefore important that before you acquire one, you actually know what it requires.
Chameleons can grow between 23-45 cm. Long, this depends overall on gender and race.
A Jackson chameleon can grow between 23-33 cm.
Long, a Panther chameleon grows to about 23-43 cm. Long and a Yemeni chameleon grow between 35-45 cm. Long
Just as size depends on species and sex, its lifespan also depends on species – and in some cases, also on sex.
A Jackson chameleon can be 5-10 years old, a Panther chameleon will be around 2-up to 8 years for a male, and a Yemeni chameleon will be approx. 5 years.
Therefore, it is important that you remember to consider whether you have space for one and whether the lifespan may be a little too long.
What do chameleons eat?
An important thing to keep in mind when it comes to food for all reptiles is to find something as close to it as they also eat in the wild.
Primarily chameleons eat insects. It can be flies, chickens, grasshoppers and cockroaches. This depends on the size of the chameleon.
In fact, the space between the chameleon’s eyes indicates how large an object it may have in its mouth.
So you would primarily be able to assess from the space what kind of insect is intended for your chameleon.
When the chameleon needs to eat, it rolls out its long tongue.
The chameleon tongue is as long as the animal itself and is shot out of a strong muscle.
The tip of the tongue is also a muscle that grips the prey.
What about light and heat in the terrarium?
For most chameleons, the lighting is essential because they are “stimulated” by the light.
Most people do not have the ability to give their chameleons access to natural sunlight, so you have to make do with the various electric light sources.
There must be a heating area in the terrarium where the chameleon can be allowed to warm up his body.
In this case, it would be a good idea to use a spot bulb, as it centres the heat somewhere and allows chameleons to find cooler areas.
Remember to place the heat lamp in a place where the animal cannot reach it, as it may cause it to burn. An alternative could also be to use a lamp grille.
No matter how many fluorescent tubes you get into your chameleon’s terrarium, you’ll never be able to give it too much light.
You can only give it too much heat / infrared radiation because there is just no room for this.
If, for example, you were to imitate the sun’s strong rays, then there should be about 80 pieces—40W fluorescent tubes per m2.
If you want as natural lighting as possible, then go for bulbs where kelvin is around 5000-6000.
Like other reptiles, chameleons also need UVA and UVB to thrive. UVA increases appetite, activity and the desire to mate, whereas UVB helps in vitamin D3.
There are several options for making heat and UV lighting in the terrarium, and I will get into the 2 solutions that I think are the best.
Solution 1.
A heat bulb and a UVB / UVA bulb or tube for the terrarium.
This solution is quite excellent but be aware that you must remember to choose the right bulb as some bulbs do not reach quite far down in the terrarium.
Solution 2.
I would definitely recommend the HID solutions for chameleons where you have UVA / UVB and heat in the same bulbs.
HID are the bulbs where you need ballast in front of the bulb to work.
I would recommend HID because HID starts up slowly and seems a bit like the sun quietly rising above the horizon.
In addition to this, HID also provides better activity and better well-being, clearly seen in the change of heart and growth.
Remember that UVB light cannot penetrate glass and must be mounted either inside the terrarium or on top of the terrarium’s net.
The heat during the day should be 25 – 28 degrees at the cold end and 37-40 degrees below the heat lamp.
The night temperature should be at normal room temperature approx. 20 degrees, the humidity should be around 40-60%; however, this varies depending on where the animal originally came from.
Desert animals should have lower humidity.
Keep in mind that this guide covers Yemen chameleons and panther chameleons. Other chameleon species may require lower temperatures and other conditions related to humidity, day and night temperatures and other things.
Important terrarium content in chameleons + decor
In addition to light and heat, several other important elements belong in a chameleon terrarium.
Chameleons cannot drink from a bowl of water.
They drink when it rains or from the morning dew that lies on the leaves.
Chameleons should not be moist like frogs, but they should have ample opportunity to drink during the day. This task you can solve with a spray system.
The terrarium is sprayed 1-2 times a day.
Also, you must ensure good ventilation in the terrarium so that you avoid stagnant air.
The optimal solution is clearly a net terrarium as it ensures the absolute best ventilation for the animal.
Plants, either artificial or living, can be a good idea to collect the water and give the animal access to it.
Of course, chameleons must also have a bottom layer, as so many other reptiles can also use a sterile bottom layer, which is easy to clean.
There are a lot of options for bottom layers when it comes to chameleons.
Something you need to be aware of is that it would be a really good idea to have sunk in the bottom of the terrarium so that the excess water can be flushed out.
In that chameleons live in many different places on the planet, you must get as close to their natural conditions as possible.
A bioactive bottom layer with bench bites and springtails is an excellent idea to fit into the animal’s way of life.
In the case of a desert animal, a moist rainforest is not the issue.
Therefore, decide whether you want sterile conditions or you want bioactive conditions that suit themselves.
The terrarium design should consist of many branches of different thicknesses, the majority of which sit horizontally.
There should also be shrubs, trees or climbing plants.
The plants’ primary purpose is to provide a shelter for the chameleon, collect drinking water, and increase the airiness of the terrarium.
Since some chameleons may eat the plants, make sure that the plants you put in them are not poisonous or made of plastic.
The sides and back wall of the terrarium can be covered with, for example, cork boards.
How big should my chameleon terrarium be?
How big a terrarium you need for your chameleon depends a lot on the size of the animal.
Yemen chameleons, for example, can easily walk in a large reptibrezee terrarium, and in the case of a female, it is typically not necessary to replace the terrarium.
If, on the other hand, it is the larger species such as the panther chameleon or a large male of the Yemen chameleon, it will be necessary to use a large one while the animals are small or half-grown.
When the animals get bigger, it will be necessary to buy a bigger terrarium.
It is therefore also important to remember that when the terrarium gets bigger, the heat will also have to increase, and in hot summers, it may be necessary to be able to change down in watt size.
If you doubt what size terrarium to choose, a good rule of thumb is that the animal’s body must be able to be approx. 2-3 times so that the animal will be able to turn and have optimal space.
Worth knowing about chameleons?
Chameleons are solitary animals.
Chameleons are solitary animals, so they live alone.
They should, therefore, always go alone unless you can offer them a huge terrarium with several heating places and hiding places.
Some chameleon breeds can be very aggressive but can get used to being handled.
A healthy chameleon is often very aggressive and may find himself puffing up, hissing, changing colour and perhaps trying to bite.
Cleaning the eyes
One thing to keep in mind is that chameleons wash their eyes when it rains.
The cleaning of the eyes can take up to several hours, and it is therefore important that you allow the animal to wash its eyes.
It is recommended to have a rain system as it provides a more constant rain in the terrarium. The rest is not achieved with a hand atomizer.
Easy to stress
The chameleon is an animal that stresses very easily, so the terrarium must be decorated with lots of plants to have peace.
Signs of illness and reasons
Things that can primarily make your chameleon sick are things like poor lighting, stress and uniform feed.
Some classic signs of a chameleon are closed eyes, dark colours, broken/bent bones and decreased appetite.
If the terrarium is not adequately sprayed, problems such as dehydration and eye problems will occur.
It is best to give water a few times, but this should preferably be a minimum of 1 min for a longer time.
Stimulation and exercise
Chameleons are stimulated by i.a. light, wind and feed insects etc.
A large terrarium allows chameleons to hunt, which is a natural behaviour.
It is also possible, and several offer their animals that they can get out in plants or ropes in the room where the animals stand.
Many also choose to feed the animals outside by holding the given feed animal up in front of the animal to shoot the given feed animal.
Choosing the best vitamins and minerals
There are many vitamins to choose from.
It can be difficult to figure out what one’s animal needs and what will do any good.
You can therefore read up on here what a chameleon needs.
Chameleons’ need for vitamins and minerals is more complex than other reptiles, so you must know how to choose the right vitamin.
Here at ReptileStartUp.com, we have put together a guide to vitamins where you get advice and guidance on which vitamin and minerals to choose for your animals.
However, the recommendation is clear from us that you choose Nekton Rep for your chameleons.
This is because Nekton Rep contains a large amount of vitamin A that chameleons need.
Along with the vitamin, calcium must also be used both with and without vitamin D3.