Post by SWRR on Apr 15, 2009 11:24:11 GMT
Introduction : For decades true chameleons have thrilled hobbyists with their unusual body shapes, brilliant color changes and fascinating behaviors. But there has always been a dark side to keeping chameleons. They die. True chameleons (or old world chameleons) are highly evolved and delicate reptiles. They require extensive housing, special vitamin and mineral supplementation, exposure to UV lighting, a varied diet, and unusual watering in order to thrive in captivity. True chameleons are arboreal, insectivorous lizards which are found throughout much of the tropical old world. They are quite different from the Carolina Anoles which are sometimes sold in pet stores as 'chameleons', probably because of the anoles limited ability to change colors. True chameleons have evolved many striking adaptations which allow them to fill their special niche in the wild. Dramatic color changes help true chameleons regulate body temperature, communicate with other chameleons, and camouflage themselves in their natural habitat. Their long, extendable tongues, which are as much as 1.5 times the length of their body, allow them to grab food they otherwise would not be able to reach. Their globular, independent eyes help them to survey the world almost 360 around them - without moving their head or body. Their feet are ideal for grabbing and holding branches. But, in general, chameleons are awkward and clumsy on the ground. These special adaptations are what make chameleons so magnificent to watch. They are also what make them so difficult to care for. Every year tens of thousands of wild caught chameleons are imported into the United States bound for wholesalers and pet shops, many of whom are unaware of the special requirements of true chameleons. By the time these animals arrive in the United States, they have already been deprived of food, water and adequate shelter. Many arrive dead or near dead, heavily parasitized, malnourished and dehydrated. Those that survive the trip to the United States are often sold to pet shops that house them improperly. By the time their new owners have taken them home the chameleons days are already numbered, especially when the new owner has not been informed, or has been misinformed about the care their new pet requires. Fortunately, this is changing. Organizations, like the Chameleon Information Network (CIN) have been working to distribute quality information about the husbandry and propagation of true chameleons in captivity. New laws have been passed making it more difficult to import chameleons from the wild. This increases the demand for captive bred animals, which tend to be healthier and better adapted to life in captivity.
Choosing One : When you choose a chameleon, it is essential that you pick a healthy one. Because of their delicate nature, it is unlikely that a sick or injured chameleon will survive. The animal you choose should be active and alert. The eyes should be bright and full-looking. They should display at least some ability to change colors, depending on the age and species. Make sure the animal is captive bred and from a respectable breeder. Because of their high mortality rate, wild caught chameleons should not be considered. Age, species and the gender of the specific animal should also be part of your selection process. If it is not your intention to breed chameleons, it is probably wise to select a male. Female chameleons are more delicate and have special needs, due to the large numbers of eggs many captive animals produce. Females need more calcium supplementation than do males. For these reasons, a female chameleon should not be considered as a first chameleon.
Housing : A properly designed, built and furnished cage is one of the most important aspects of chameleon husbandry. The ideal cage should provide for the animals physical as well as their behavioral requirements. The essentials for a true chameleon cage are: 1) A large enough space so the animal may conduct all of its natural behaviors including, basking, hunting, feeding. It should also provide a variety of perching surfaces at different temperatures so the animal can regulate its body temperature by moving to an appropriate spot in the enclosure. 2) Good ventilation. Poor ventilation, like that found in a typical glass aquarium, will allow the air to become stagnant and provide an opportunity for fungus and bacteria to grow. These things can cause great problems for your chameleon. 3) Good lighting sources, including at least one incandescent basking light, one fluorescent full-spectrum light, and exposure to natural sunlight. Although chameleons are slow-moving animals, they require a lot of space. They need this for their physical and emotional well-being. At least 2 sides and the top should be constructed of coated screen. Standard aluminum screen should be avoided, as should fiberglass screen. There have been reports of foot injuries in chameleons from these materials. The cage should be furnished with branches of different diameters so that the lizard can easily navigate the entire cage. Live plants will provide good hiding places and add to the beauty of the enclosure. Because many chameleons are known for eating vegetable matter, only nontoxic plants should be planted in their enclosures. Hibiscus are ideal plants for true chameleon cages. They are beautiful, nontoxic plants which the lizards will love, for food and navigation. Pathos plants are also a good addition. Although they are considered mildly toxic, many reptiles, including some chameleons love them and have no negative side effects from eating them. One commonly recommended plant which should be avoided are ficus trees. These plants are mildly toxic and excrete a white milky substance. This secretion has been connected to a number of eye infections in captive chameleons. So this plant should be avoided. The arrangements of lights, plants and branches should be such to allow for at least one basking site where the temperature will reach the upper limits of the animal's comfortable temperature range. Other basking sites with slightly cooler temperatures may also be built into the cage. The temperature in the rest of the enclosure should be still lower allowing the animal to thermoregulate by moving around the cage. Most chameleons do best with a 10 degree F to 15 degree F night time temperature drop .
Water : Few chameleons will ever learn to drink water from a standing water dish. In the wild, chameleons lick dew and rain droplets off of leaves, or are attracted to moving water. This means that in captivity, special watering techniques need to be used to keep chameleons healthy and hydrated. Chameleons are naturally attracted to droplets of water which are reflecting light, and pendulous drops of water hanging from leaves of plants. Keepers of these lizards can take advantage of this by designing water systems which take this natural behavior into account. Drip systems are the most common form of chameleon watering system. They generally consist of a container of water which sits above the animals enclosure. A plastic tube runs from the water container and into the chameleon cage. Water slowly drips out of the end of the plastic tube. Pre-made drip systems are available at many reptile-oriented pet shops and generally include some sort of adjustment to control the rate at which water drips from the tube. Other, simpler drip systems are also used. Some as simple as placing ice cubes inside a container on top of the chameleons cage. When the ice melts, it drips through a hole in the bottom of the container and into the cage. If a drip system is used in a chameleon cage, care needs to be taken to pevent the cage from becoming too wet. This is easily accomplished by placing a container inside the cage which catches the dripping water. Make sure the chameleon can not get into, or get trapped in, this container of water. The water can then be emptied every day. Another method of watering your chameleon is to simply mist the inside of the enclosure once or twice per day. Chameleons will eagerly lick water off plants, as well as the sides of the enclosure.
Feeding : Many true chameleons will eat a bit of vegetable matter, along with their diet of live insects. With every feeding, your chameleon should be offered a variety of nutritious fresh fruits and vegetables, including: collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, sugar snap pea pods, bean sprouts, slices apples along with others. Vegetables to avoid include spinach, lettuce and cabbage. All captive chameleons require calcium and vitamin supplementation. The specific reason for this is beyond the scope of this document. But in short, chameleons need vitamin D3 in order to metabolize calcium for growth. Many 'basking' reptiles naturally produce vitamin D3 in their skin when they bask in the sun and are exposed to UV radiation. Since the UV output of most human-made full-spectrum lights do not provide the same UV exposure as the sun, additional supplementation is ESSENTIAL.
Feed your chameleon(s) daily by placing live insects and with fresh vegetables into a glass jar which is large enough to prevent the insects from escaping. Vitamin & mineral supplementation can then be sprinkled on the insects and vegetables. Shake the jar to evenly coat the vegetables and insects with the supplement. On a favorite perch, but below the chameleon suspend the jar. Do this in such a way that it is easy for the lizard to reach the food in the bottom of the jar. The insects will eat some of the vegetables. So the chameleons will benefit even if they do not directly eat much of the vegetable matter themselves. For very young hatchlings, a baby food jar makes a nice food dish. Insert a small stick into the jar for small youngsters. The stick should extend far enough into the food container to give the hatchling the ability to reach the food, but the stick should not reach the bottom of the jar. If the stick reaches the bottom of the jar, insects will easily climb the stick and escape. The same vegetable mixture that is fed to your chameleons should also be fed to the insects you will feed to your chameleons. This will ensure the insects are healthy and full of nutrition by the time your chameleons eat them. Following is a list of the different insects you can use to feed your chameleon:
Adult Crickets - Crickets are readily available at most pet shops. When fed a proper, vegetable-based diet, they are nutritious and can comprise up to 80% of your chameleons total diet. Crickets, however have a low Calcium/phosphorus ratio. So additional calcium supplementation should be included with every meal of crickets.
2 - 3 Week Old Crickets- Like adult crickets, but are small enough to be fed to juvenile chameleons.
Pinhead Crickets- Very small crickets which can be used to feed newly hatched hatchlings.
Mealworms - Mealworms are inexpensive and, like crickets, easy to load with valuable nutrition by feeding them a quality diet of fruits and vegetables.
Superworms- Superworms look very much like mealworms, but much bigger and are a slightly different color. These should only be fed to chameleons when they are large enough to eat them. Like crickets and mealworms they should be fed a diet of fresh fruits and vegetables prior to feeding them to your lizards.
Waxworms- Waxworms are sometime called grubs. They are nutritious, full of moisture, and easy to store. Chameleons LOVE them. Unfortunately, there are some negatives. They are difficult to nutrient-load prior to feeding them to your chameleons. They are also high in fat, so some people speculate they should only be a small part of your chameleons diet. Without knowing the breakdown of the 'ideal' chameleon diet, however, this may or may not be accurate.
Wax Moths- Waxworms turn into moths, which your chameleons will love to eat. And you will enjoy watching your pets 'zap' them out of the air with their tongue.
Roaches- Non-infesting forms of tropical roaches can be ordered from some suppliers. They are VERY good for your chameleons!
Wild-caught Insects- Many chameleon owners set up insect traps during the summer to catch their own insects. Grasshoppers, flies, crickets, centipedes, and spiders will all be devoured by your chameleons. This also helps offer a diverse diet necessary for the health of your lizard. It is important, however, that the insects be collected from areas where insecticides are not used.
Pinky Mice- Some people also supplement their adult chameleons diets with newborn mice. These are also available at many pet stores.
The following supplement schedule is recommended for your adult chameleons:
Calcium: Every feeding should include a calcium supplement which has little or no phosphorus. One popular brand is called Rep-calª.
Multivitamins: Add a good dose of a safe reptile multivitamin 2 - 3 times per week. Herptiviteª is highly recommended. It is a good source of vitamin D3. Herptiviteª also contains no vitamin A. This is important, because hypervitaminosis A (an overdose of vitamin A) has been linked to edema (excessive fluid buildup) in many species of chameleons. Instead of vitamin A, Herptiviteª uses beta carotene, which your chameleon's body can convert to vitamin A, if it is in need of vitamin A. Many herpetologists speculate this will dramatically reduce the number of cases of edema reported in captive chameleons every year.
Bee Pollen: The author of this paper has been supplementing his chameleons with bee pollen every day. This can be done by purchasing bee pollen tablets from a health food store. The tablets can be ground to a fine powder in a blender and added with equal portions of the daily calcium supplement. Many wild insects are covered with pollen when they are eaten by chameleons. Bee pollen is a good, safe source of vitamin B, protein, amino acids and enzymes. Vitamin B is often used as an appetite stimulant with anorexic animals. By supplementing with bee pollen, it is possible that some chameleon 'hunger strikes' could be avoided. For more information, see Hunger Strikes in the trouble shooting section.
Trouble : Parasites: Chameleons, especially wild caught chameleons are very susceptible to internal parasites. It is wise, therefore, to have your chameleon's stool sample checked for worms periodically. Parasite eggs are present in captive as well as wild-caught insects. They can easily be passed on to your chameleon, especially if your chameleons is experiencing stress. Since it is impossible to prevent exposure to parasite eggs, reduction of stress is an important factor in maintaining your pets health. Stress: All captive chameleons experience some level of stress related to their captivity. Stress can be fatal to chameleons. Chronic stress can suppress their immune systems, making them more suseptible to parasite infestation and other illnesses. The successful keeper of chameleons will do everything in their power to minimize stress. 1) Keep their cage in a low (or better yet a NO) traffic area of your home. 2) If weather permits, build a sturdy outdoor enclosure for use when temperatures are appropriate. 3) Put up visual barriers between your chameleons and human activity. 4) Chameleons think people are their predators. Every time your chameleon sees you, they will be stressed. 5) When you want to spend time observing your chameleon, remove the visual barrier, and sit still. The less you move, the more calm your chameleon will be. 6) Only handle your chameleons when ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY.
Hunger Strikes: There are many reports of chameleons refusing food. This is, in fact, a common cause of death in captive chameleons. They starve themselves to death. The lack of eating is likely a symptom of some other problem. Stress can cause an animal not to eat. Internal parasites can cause a loss of appetite. Lack of an essential vitamin or mineral could be at work. Sometimes chameleons will refuse one food item, but gobble up others. Therefore, it is important to have multiple food sources available all of the time.
Sun Light: In many areas it is impractical to house chameleons outdoors (where they are the most happy!) And normal glass filters out about 100% of the sun's UV light. However, natural sunlight can still be made available indoors by placing the chameleon cage near an east, south, or west facing window. During nice weather, the window can be opened to allow your lizards to bask in unfiltered sunlight. Full-spectrum glass (often referred to as low iron glass) is also available. By replacing the panes in the windows with low iron glass, you can provide your chameleon with a wonderful, energy-efficient source of natural UV light. They will be happier and healthier!
Choosing One : When you choose a chameleon, it is essential that you pick a healthy one. Because of their delicate nature, it is unlikely that a sick or injured chameleon will survive. The animal you choose should be active and alert. The eyes should be bright and full-looking. They should display at least some ability to change colors, depending on the age and species. Make sure the animal is captive bred and from a respectable breeder. Because of their high mortality rate, wild caught chameleons should not be considered. Age, species and the gender of the specific animal should also be part of your selection process. If it is not your intention to breed chameleons, it is probably wise to select a male. Female chameleons are more delicate and have special needs, due to the large numbers of eggs many captive animals produce. Females need more calcium supplementation than do males. For these reasons, a female chameleon should not be considered as a first chameleon.
Housing : A properly designed, built and furnished cage is one of the most important aspects of chameleon husbandry. The ideal cage should provide for the animals physical as well as their behavioral requirements. The essentials for a true chameleon cage are: 1) A large enough space so the animal may conduct all of its natural behaviors including, basking, hunting, feeding. It should also provide a variety of perching surfaces at different temperatures so the animal can regulate its body temperature by moving to an appropriate spot in the enclosure. 2) Good ventilation. Poor ventilation, like that found in a typical glass aquarium, will allow the air to become stagnant and provide an opportunity for fungus and bacteria to grow. These things can cause great problems for your chameleon. 3) Good lighting sources, including at least one incandescent basking light, one fluorescent full-spectrum light, and exposure to natural sunlight. Although chameleons are slow-moving animals, they require a lot of space. They need this for their physical and emotional well-being. At least 2 sides and the top should be constructed of coated screen. Standard aluminum screen should be avoided, as should fiberglass screen. There have been reports of foot injuries in chameleons from these materials. The cage should be furnished with branches of different diameters so that the lizard can easily navigate the entire cage. Live plants will provide good hiding places and add to the beauty of the enclosure. Because many chameleons are known for eating vegetable matter, only nontoxic plants should be planted in their enclosures. Hibiscus are ideal plants for true chameleon cages. They are beautiful, nontoxic plants which the lizards will love, for food and navigation. Pathos plants are also a good addition. Although they are considered mildly toxic, many reptiles, including some chameleons love them and have no negative side effects from eating them. One commonly recommended plant which should be avoided are ficus trees. These plants are mildly toxic and excrete a white milky substance. This secretion has been connected to a number of eye infections in captive chameleons. So this plant should be avoided. The arrangements of lights, plants and branches should be such to allow for at least one basking site where the temperature will reach the upper limits of the animal's comfortable temperature range. Other basking sites with slightly cooler temperatures may also be built into the cage. The temperature in the rest of the enclosure should be still lower allowing the animal to thermoregulate by moving around the cage. Most chameleons do best with a 10 degree F to 15 degree F night time temperature drop .
Water : Few chameleons will ever learn to drink water from a standing water dish. In the wild, chameleons lick dew and rain droplets off of leaves, or are attracted to moving water. This means that in captivity, special watering techniques need to be used to keep chameleons healthy and hydrated. Chameleons are naturally attracted to droplets of water which are reflecting light, and pendulous drops of water hanging from leaves of plants. Keepers of these lizards can take advantage of this by designing water systems which take this natural behavior into account. Drip systems are the most common form of chameleon watering system. They generally consist of a container of water which sits above the animals enclosure. A plastic tube runs from the water container and into the chameleon cage. Water slowly drips out of the end of the plastic tube. Pre-made drip systems are available at many reptile-oriented pet shops and generally include some sort of adjustment to control the rate at which water drips from the tube. Other, simpler drip systems are also used. Some as simple as placing ice cubes inside a container on top of the chameleons cage. When the ice melts, it drips through a hole in the bottom of the container and into the cage. If a drip system is used in a chameleon cage, care needs to be taken to pevent the cage from becoming too wet. This is easily accomplished by placing a container inside the cage which catches the dripping water. Make sure the chameleon can not get into, or get trapped in, this container of water. The water can then be emptied every day. Another method of watering your chameleon is to simply mist the inside of the enclosure once or twice per day. Chameleons will eagerly lick water off plants, as well as the sides of the enclosure.
Feeding : Many true chameleons will eat a bit of vegetable matter, along with their diet of live insects. With every feeding, your chameleon should be offered a variety of nutritious fresh fruits and vegetables, including: collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, sugar snap pea pods, bean sprouts, slices apples along with others. Vegetables to avoid include spinach, lettuce and cabbage. All captive chameleons require calcium and vitamin supplementation. The specific reason for this is beyond the scope of this document. But in short, chameleons need vitamin D3 in order to metabolize calcium for growth. Many 'basking' reptiles naturally produce vitamin D3 in their skin when they bask in the sun and are exposed to UV radiation. Since the UV output of most human-made full-spectrum lights do not provide the same UV exposure as the sun, additional supplementation is ESSENTIAL.
Feed your chameleon(s) daily by placing live insects and with fresh vegetables into a glass jar which is large enough to prevent the insects from escaping. Vitamin & mineral supplementation can then be sprinkled on the insects and vegetables. Shake the jar to evenly coat the vegetables and insects with the supplement. On a favorite perch, but below the chameleon suspend the jar. Do this in such a way that it is easy for the lizard to reach the food in the bottom of the jar. The insects will eat some of the vegetables. So the chameleons will benefit even if they do not directly eat much of the vegetable matter themselves. For very young hatchlings, a baby food jar makes a nice food dish. Insert a small stick into the jar for small youngsters. The stick should extend far enough into the food container to give the hatchling the ability to reach the food, but the stick should not reach the bottom of the jar. If the stick reaches the bottom of the jar, insects will easily climb the stick and escape. The same vegetable mixture that is fed to your chameleons should also be fed to the insects you will feed to your chameleons. This will ensure the insects are healthy and full of nutrition by the time your chameleons eat them. Following is a list of the different insects you can use to feed your chameleon:
Adult Crickets - Crickets are readily available at most pet shops. When fed a proper, vegetable-based diet, they are nutritious and can comprise up to 80% of your chameleons total diet. Crickets, however have a low Calcium/phosphorus ratio. So additional calcium supplementation should be included with every meal of crickets.
2 - 3 Week Old Crickets- Like adult crickets, but are small enough to be fed to juvenile chameleons.
Pinhead Crickets- Very small crickets which can be used to feed newly hatched hatchlings.
Mealworms - Mealworms are inexpensive and, like crickets, easy to load with valuable nutrition by feeding them a quality diet of fruits and vegetables.
Superworms- Superworms look very much like mealworms, but much bigger and are a slightly different color. These should only be fed to chameleons when they are large enough to eat them. Like crickets and mealworms they should be fed a diet of fresh fruits and vegetables prior to feeding them to your lizards.
Waxworms- Waxworms are sometime called grubs. They are nutritious, full of moisture, and easy to store. Chameleons LOVE them. Unfortunately, there are some negatives. They are difficult to nutrient-load prior to feeding them to your chameleons. They are also high in fat, so some people speculate they should only be a small part of your chameleons diet. Without knowing the breakdown of the 'ideal' chameleon diet, however, this may or may not be accurate.
Wax Moths- Waxworms turn into moths, which your chameleons will love to eat. And you will enjoy watching your pets 'zap' them out of the air with their tongue.
Roaches- Non-infesting forms of tropical roaches can be ordered from some suppliers. They are VERY good for your chameleons!
Wild-caught Insects- Many chameleon owners set up insect traps during the summer to catch their own insects. Grasshoppers, flies, crickets, centipedes, and spiders will all be devoured by your chameleons. This also helps offer a diverse diet necessary for the health of your lizard. It is important, however, that the insects be collected from areas where insecticides are not used.
Pinky Mice- Some people also supplement their adult chameleons diets with newborn mice. These are also available at many pet stores.
The following supplement schedule is recommended for your adult chameleons:
Calcium: Every feeding should include a calcium supplement which has little or no phosphorus. One popular brand is called Rep-calª.
Multivitamins: Add a good dose of a safe reptile multivitamin 2 - 3 times per week. Herptiviteª is highly recommended. It is a good source of vitamin D3. Herptiviteª also contains no vitamin A. This is important, because hypervitaminosis A (an overdose of vitamin A) has been linked to edema (excessive fluid buildup) in many species of chameleons. Instead of vitamin A, Herptiviteª uses beta carotene, which your chameleon's body can convert to vitamin A, if it is in need of vitamin A. Many herpetologists speculate this will dramatically reduce the number of cases of edema reported in captive chameleons every year.
Bee Pollen: The author of this paper has been supplementing his chameleons with bee pollen every day. This can be done by purchasing bee pollen tablets from a health food store. The tablets can be ground to a fine powder in a blender and added with equal portions of the daily calcium supplement. Many wild insects are covered with pollen when they are eaten by chameleons. Bee pollen is a good, safe source of vitamin B, protein, amino acids and enzymes. Vitamin B is often used as an appetite stimulant with anorexic animals. By supplementing with bee pollen, it is possible that some chameleon 'hunger strikes' could be avoided. For more information, see Hunger Strikes in the trouble shooting section.
Trouble : Parasites: Chameleons, especially wild caught chameleons are very susceptible to internal parasites. It is wise, therefore, to have your chameleon's stool sample checked for worms periodically. Parasite eggs are present in captive as well as wild-caught insects. They can easily be passed on to your chameleon, especially if your chameleons is experiencing stress. Since it is impossible to prevent exposure to parasite eggs, reduction of stress is an important factor in maintaining your pets health. Stress: All captive chameleons experience some level of stress related to their captivity. Stress can be fatal to chameleons. Chronic stress can suppress their immune systems, making them more suseptible to parasite infestation and other illnesses. The successful keeper of chameleons will do everything in their power to minimize stress. 1) Keep their cage in a low (or better yet a NO) traffic area of your home. 2) If weather permits, build a sturdy outdoor enclosure for use when temperatures are appropriate. 3) Put up visual barriers between your chameleons and human activity. 4) Chameleons think people are their predators. Every time your chameleon sees you, they will be stressed. 5) When you want to spend time observing your chameleon, remove the visual barrier, and sit still. The less you move, the more calm your chameleon will be. 6) Only handle your chameleons when ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY.
Hunger Strikes: There are many reports of chameleons refusing food. This is, in fact, a common cause of death in captive chameleons. They starve themselves to death. The lack of eating is likely a symptom of some other problem. Stress can cause an animal not to eat. Internal parasites can cause a loss of appetite. Lack of an essential vitamin or mineral could be at work. Sometimes chameleons will refuse one food item, but gobble up others. Therefore, it is important to have multiple food sources available all of the time.
Sun Light: In many areas it is impractical to house chameleons outdoors (where they are the most happy!) And normal glass filters out about 100% of the sun's UV light. However, natural sunlight can still be made available indoors by placing the chameleon cage near an east, south, or west facing window. During nice weather, the window can be opened to allow your lizards to bask in unfiltered sunlight. Full-spectrum glass (often referred to as low iron glass) is also available. By replacing the panes in the windows with low iron glass, you can provide your chameleon with a wonderful, energy-efficient source of natural UV light. They will be happier and healthier!