Caring for Chameleons 101: The Basics You Should Know

If you're blessed enough to have a Chameleon for a pet - congratulations! You now belong to the Reptile Fan Club, and we applaud you for having one of the most uncommon choices for a pet.

However, a chameleon will need just as much love and care as any other animal. In fact, looking after a chameleon is a lot of hard work, and there are many factors you need to keep track of.

From feeding and handling to ensuring the right temperature and humidity, pet chameleons are a handful. To make things easier for you, here's an essential guide on how to care for your color-changing lizard -

What to Feed a Chameleon? 

Chameleons primarily feed on insects like crickets, locusts, giant mealworms, flies, grasshoppers, moths, dubia roaches, and waxworms. However, waxworms should be an occasional delicacy as they're high in fat, and yes, even chameleons have to worry about this.

Feeding should take place daily but only give your chameleon as much as it can eat. Also, make sure to remove leftover insects, or they'll end up biting your pet throughout the night. These insects should also be dusted with vitamin and calcium supplements, or the chameleons might suffer from bone problems.

Chameleons may be insectivores, but they too need their greens. So, add in some kale, watercress, dandelion, pears, and apples to the mix also - but in limited amounts. Make sure to wash these thoroughly, and cut them into pieces your chameleon can swallow.

How do Chameleons Stay Hydrated? 

As with all living things, chameleons need to stay hydrated. However, they don't drink water directly from dishes like other pets. These creatures tend to lick water from surrounding leaves and their skin.

So, it's essential to keep their habitat misted at least two times a day. This will also ensure that humidity levels stay up. You could also opt for providing water through droplets from a drip system instead.

If you do want to use the latter, make sure the system's location doesn't change. This way, your pet will always know where the water source is. The drip system can be a fancy one from the store, a DIY water container with a whole or even just a few ice cubes melting and dripping into the cage.

Humidity should be somewhere between 65 to 80% in the terrarium. You can monitor the humidity using a hygrometer.

Accommodating Your Chameleon 

Now, for chameleons, their natural habitats are trees. So, when you keep them as pets, their cages need to have lots of foliage. Also, the terrarium needs to be big and spacious, with proper ventilation. It's also a great idea to screen the sides with material like poly mesh or vinyl-coated wire.

Your chameleon needs privacy and suitable branches to climb. You should also place coconut fiber or reptile bark on the floor. Make sure the layer is at least 2 to 3 inches. This reptile carpet will have to be replaced every month.

If you have multiple chameleons, you'll need to keep them separately because these creatures prefer being alone. This means each of your pets needs a separate terrarium, or they might start fighting. What's more, the juveniles may grow quite a lot, so keep that in mind when choosing the cage size.

Temperature 

Chameleons are reptiles, and therefore, they are cold-blooded. They'll need help with maintaining their body temperatures, so this is something you have to be careful about. Essentially, they'll need the terrarium to have a thermal gradient.

What this means is that the bottom should be hotter than the top. As a rule of thumb, the cooler side should be at 26-28C, while the warmer side should be 35-40C. At night, the temperatures can be lowered to 16-18C to recreate their original habitats. The ideal ranges will vary with different chameleon species.

Make sure you're keeping track of the temperature in the terrarium. You can always install digital thermometers at both ends and control the temperature using a thermostat. You can also add additional heat using spotlights, heat lamps, or heat mats.

Light 

Having ample light for chameleons during the day is important since they're diurnal. They need UVB and UVA lighting of high intensity to absorb and make use of calcium in their food.

You'll have to keep the lights on for around 12 to 14 hours every day and replace the bulbs regularly. Add in a heat lamp for light but also to allow it to bask in the sunlight, in case it feels cold. You should also let in natural sunlight into the terrariums, in order to actually keep your pet happy.

Cleaning 

You'll need to clean your chameleon's cage every day. Get rid of its droppings and uneaten food daily. The bowls should be cleaned, dried, and refilled regularly. Also, the terrariums need to be adequately cleaned with a disinfectant quite often.

Recognizing Your Chameleon's Colors 

If you've got a pet chameleon, it's important that you are able to tell its behavior. Your pet can't speak to you directly, but its colors will tell you a lot about how it's feeling. 

You see, chameleons change color as a reaction to stressful situations, environmental changes, excitement, and other such situations. Up until 5 months old, chameleons tend to be dull gray or brown in color, with a slight shift in shades occasionally. 

However, after this age, they develop the unique ability to change colors. Soon, you'll see your pet turning to interesting shades of green, blue-green, turquoise, and black.

Usually, the brighter the chameleon, the better its mood. Dark brown and black indicate a response to stress.

How to Handle Your Pet Reptile 

When you first get your chameleon, try not to touch it within the first 3 to 4 days. They need that time to adjust.

Not all species will like being handled. However, if your pet is one that is okay with handling, it will help to build a bond.

Let your chameleon walk to your hand and refrain from picking it up. Also, be careful about maintaining personal hygiene after touching your pet. Reptiles are carriers of a type of Salmonella that can spread to humans.

If your chameleon is not liking being handled, it might hiss or bite. Their bites are painful but not toxic. 

Final Thoughts 

Chameleons are an exotic and exciting pet to have. They are pretty high maintenance and expensive. 

In fact, it's not wise for a person with no experience of reptiles to get this as their first pet. However, once you get the hang of things, having a chameleon is totally worth it.