Adult translucent veiled chameleon professional#

It doesn’t have a pet angle, but it will give you a good understanding of how these lizards exist in the wild. You might want to check out this article on types of chameleons as well. You can also find a lot of great care information through the websites listed above. I can’t vouch for what these breeders have for sale at any given time, but they all have reputations for producing healthy animals. Here is a list of experienced breeders who offer veiled chameleons for sale (along with helpful care information on their websites): Understanding their care requirements is the second step to success. Starting with a healthy animal is the first step to success when keeping these lizards.

Adult translucent veiled chameleon professional#

Instead, I recommend buying your veiled chameleon from a professional breeder, somebody with a reputation for producing healthy animals. So, in my opinion, your chances of getting a healthy specimen from such a store are pretty slim. I’ve seen how veiled chameleons are kept in places like Pet Smart, and they are not ideal conditions. Here are some tips for finding healthy veiled chameleons for sale by using the Internet.įirst of all, I would recommend avoiding most pet stores altogether. If you have read all of the information above, learned all about the care requirements for this species, and you still want to take on the challenge … then it’s all I can do to point you in the right direction. Ideally, you want to offer a variety of insects for proper nutrition, which means you will essentially have an insect “farm” in your home. This brings up two of the biggest challenges of keeping a veiled chameleon - you must ensure it has access to full-spectrum lighting and warm temperatures, and you must offer it insects on a daily basis.

Veiled chameleons come from parts of the Middle East, where they spend most of their time in treetops, soaking up the direct sunlight and eating a wide variety of insects. Why are they so hard to care for in captivity? Well, to answer this question, you simply have to understand how these lizards exist in the wild. But in captivity, most do not live more than 18 months because of improper care. In the words of my reptile vet, “You’ve done a lot better than most people.” In the wild, these lizards will live for five to eight years on average. I kept my chameleon alive for several years, which is far beyond the average life expectancy for a captive veiled chameleon. Granted, it was also one of the most interesting pets I’ve ever kept. I have kept a variety of reptiles as pets, and the chameleon was by far the hardest. In truth, “chams” are one of the hardest lizards to take care of in captivity, if not the absolute hardest. They must be fairly easy to care for, or the store would not sell them.”īut then the new keeper takes the lizard home and begins to realize what it takes to keep them healthy in captivity - and it takes a lot! In many cases, the keeper is unable to provide the proper care, so the veiled chameleon dies with month of being brought home. A person will see a veiled chameleon for sale on a website or in a pet store and say: “Oh, they’re so neat! I want to keep one as a pet. Every year, thousands of chameleons die in captivity for this very reason. As a result, the chameleon will suffer and eventually die. In my experience, most people who bring these lizards home as pets don’t fully understand what it takes to care for them.

While I have your attention, I’d like to point out a few things about the care and keeping of veiled chameleons. If you stumbled across this blog post, it’s probably because you’re looking for veiled chameleons for sale online.