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[Wayne Potgieter]

Just bought our first chameleon.

My son calls it a dragon

Male, 2 years old (actually that applies to my son and the chameleon)

Anybody else have these critters as pets, would love some good advice.

Internet has loads, but quite a bit of it is contradictory and i want to make sure the little guy is looked after.

[The Drongo]

Dude.

You 'bought' a Chameleon?

Care to share a pic or 'the critters' species name???

[Reg Lizard]

I have about 20 in my garden Very interesting creatures and after some research I discovered that they lay eggs

[Wannabe]

Grew up in the Northen Cape. Had loads of chameleons in the house, almost every potplant had it's own resident chameleon. (caught outside and then relocated inside)

Can't tell you much about caring for the crittters, all I can remember is how tame some of them got, actually came out of its hiding / resting place in the plant when you call. Had loads of fun walking around with them on my hand and watch it zapping and then devouring insects.

Some of them even had babies (lays eggs)

Edited by Wannabe, 23 January 2012 - 07:39 .

[Caerus]

My wifes old boss bought two chameoleons, spent over a grand or something, and thought it was a good idea to let them roam in her garden, needless to say they went walkies

I used to see loads of them in our garden as a kid, sadly one has not been spotted in years.

[Wayne Potgieter]

The Drongo, on 23 January 2012 - 07:33 , said:

Dude.

You 'bought' a Chameleon?

Care to share a pic or 'the critters' species name???

Yep, a mate of mine had one, and he was moving into a flat, wanted to give it away to his maid.

Wasnt so sure that was a good idea, so i gave him some moola for it, now i want to look after it.

[BioMouse]

Hi I've got a flap neck cham. Lot of work actually and it doesn't really do much lol. But they are awesome in their own way. Just make sure they get lots of sun if there isn't a lot of sunlight, or behind a window get a UVB light

[johannrissik]

Your local snakepark or one of those huge petshops (e.g. Panorama Pets in Bellville) is usually a good place for real advice.
And giving it to the maid? Chances are she would have run through fire to avoid going near it, many people are terrified of them.

[The Drongo]

Wayne_Potgieter2, on 23 January 2012 - 07:47 , said:

Yep, a mate of mine had one, and he was moving into a flat, wanted to give it away to his maid.

Wasnt so sure that was a good idea, so i gave him some moola for it, now i want to look after it.

Surprised his maid wanted it!

Still lots of superstition they have about Chameleons. Local folks usually kill them if they see them (much like ANY snake).

Will just say upfront - for purposes of this thread - that I am opposed to the 'purchase' of creatures like this for the simple reason that demand = supply.
Chameleons are under serious threat due to habitat destruction, cats, cars etc. Whilst you have 'bought' yours from a 'legitimate' source, it is not something to encourage.

As one of the posters has already said, you can keep him/her on an indoor plant (pref shrubby), add some small pieces of fruit (apple/banana etc.) to end of some of the branches to attract insects.

They are fairly territorial. We had a big boy on an indoor plant for about 6 years. He was sadly killed when the plant was left outside in a hailstorm! We used to see one a week at least in our area. I had not seen one for ages until yesterday. Almost ran over one on our local cycle track!

Try identify the species. Then find out a little more on their habits / habitat. Google should help.

[Wayne Potgieter]

Here is pic of the guy and his enclosure.

Attached Images

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[King_Crispy]

Have you got a licence to keep him?

[Wayne Potgieter]

King_Crispy, on 23 January 2012 - 08:10 , said:

Have you got a licence to keep him?

You need a license?

[The Drongo]

wayne,

have emailed a prof. who works in this field.

will let you know what she says

[Reg Lizard]

Out my way the crows also catch them. I've seen baby ones on my plants which are almost "see through" and not much longer than the nail on my thumb.

[Reg Lizard]

If I may ask what did you pay for the chameleon? I might be starting a new bussiness

[The Drongo]

Reg Lizard, on 23 January 2012 - 10:04 , said:

If I may ask what did you pay for the chameleon? I might be starting a new bussiness

Reg.

You want to think about that for a bit - nubbin.

Instead of assisting in their demise, do something positive and provide info to these people.

https://sites.google...ciationproject/


Thanks