Are chameleons easy to keep? Things to note for beginners keeping chameleons
Chameleons mostly appear in rainforests and tropical savannas, while some live in mountainous areas and are very rare in cold grasslands. They are very peculiar, and their skin color changes with the background, temperature and mood. This color-changing phenomenon is similar to the protective coloration and warning coloration of other organisms. Many people like to keep them as pets. Let us take a look below at whether chameleons are easy to keep!
Can chameleons be kept?
Chameleons originally lived in the wild, but in recent years, due to human favor, chameleons have been kept as pets. However, note that when artificially keeping female veiled chameleons, they easily die when laying eggs. Generally, beginners are not advised to keep female chameleons; the mortality rate during the production period is very high.
Are chameleons easy to keep?
1. Terrarium: Chameleons should be kept in a terrarium that is large, not too short, and has climbable branches and plants. For species from tropical rainforests, proper ventilation is indispensable. But avoid wind blowing directly in through the ventilation holes, and also avoid moisture accumulating and causing humidity to be too high. Letting air pass through a tray of water before entering the terrarium is usually very helpful for chameleons. At the same time, try to ensure the terrarium has natural sunlight. The ideal condition is 30 minutes of sunlight per day for the chameleon, with the best sunlight time in the morning and before meals. Under natural light, the chameleon's color will be brighter and more vivid.
2. Temperature: The main condition for keeping chameleons is maintaining temperature. The chameleon is a cold-blooded animal, and its temperature requirements are very high. Usually the daytime temperature should be kept at 28-32°C, and the nighttime temperature can be kept at 22-26°C. If kept at low temperatures for a long time, the chameleon's appetite will decrease and growth will slow, and it may even affect its health. Also, because chameleons come from different places, the keeping temperature varies: for species from tropical rainforests, the daytime temperature should be adjusted to between 24-28°C, while for mountain species it is 22-25°C. Nighttime cooling is necessary, and the appropriate temperature is 10-15°C. A heat-emitting light source is also needed, because chameleons like to gather under the lamp to warm up at dawn.
3. Food: Chameleons mainly feed on insects, and they like a variety of different foods. If fed a single food, they will become anorexic or refuse to eat, and may even starve themselves to death. Therefore, when keeping chameleons, you must provide them with sufficient and rich food.
From the above two aspects, the chameleon's keeping environment and food, it is not difficult to see that its keeping requirements are relatively high and troublesome. In fact, keeping and breeding chameleons are both very difficult, mainly because it is hard to obtain healthy individuals. Most imported species have many parasites, and long-term transport and adaptation to a new environment make the situation worse, eventually becoming uncontrollable.
How to keep chameleons?
1. The staple food of chameleons can be crickets, cockroaches and grasshoppers, etc. Other types such as mealworms, corn worms, silkworms and pinky mice can only be used as secondary food. Pinky mice are only suitable for feeding adults, and no more than one should be fed each month. But finding food for chameleons is still difficult for some friends. Many friends cannot even find crickets and can only find mealworms. If mealworms are used as the main food for chameleons, it is equal to letting them slowly wait for death! Mealworms have low nutritional value, are difficult to digest, have too high fat and low moisture, and are not suitable as a staple food. Problems that may appear from long-term feeding of mealworms include indigestion, various nutritional diseases, refusal to eat, and so on.
2. Adults can be fed once a day, each time about equal to the amount of 8-10 adult crickets (in winter it can be reduced to 5-7), with feeding stopped for 1-2 days each week (in winter they can be fed every other day). Juveniles can be fed 2-3 times a day, each time limited to 15 minutes, and feeding should also be stopped once a week, or the amount reduced on 1 or 2 of those days. The actual amount can be adjusted according to the individual; it is best to feed until they are 70-80% full, which can greatly reduce the chance of indigestion or anorexia toward a single food. In addition, calcium and vitamins need to be supplemented regularly. For adults, 2 to 3 times a week is enough, while juveniles need to be fed every day.
3. The best feeding time is at noon. A normal chameleon defecates within 1 hour after absorbing heat each day, and after defecation its appetite will naturally increase. Avoid feeding in the evening, because the temperature is lower at night and it easily causes indigestion. Observing the chameleon's feces can help you understand their digestive condition. If you find that much of the food in the chameleon's feces is undigested, you should immediately reduce or stop feeding. If the feces passed are watery, it means the digestive tract can no longer work normally, and all feeding must be stopped immediately while supplementing water for it.
4. Chameleons need a fairly large amount of drinking water. In the wild, chameleons generally drink dew on leaves in the morning, or directly drink rainwater when it rains, so when we provide a water source we should also consider these two aspects. The best method is misting. Generally, a misting system or spray bottle can be used. It should be sprayed at least twice a day for at least 3 minutes each time, preferably with warm water, and when spraying, try to avoid spraying directly at the chameleon (especially the eyes). Once in the morning just after the sun comes out and once in the evening; morning misting is the most important, because chameleons all like to drink water in the morning. Evening misting is intended to replenish the water lost while basking in the sun at noon, and it can also increase nighttime humidity and lower the temperature. In hot weather and during dry winter periods, spray once or twice more.