CHAMELEONOCULTURE: Chameleon Captive Husbandry

Again and again people ask questions how to keep cats and chameleons together and prevent the latter from trying to entering the cages of the exotic lizards.

It is well known, this local form is extinct now.

Chameleon urates are one of the best indication of the level of chameleon hydration.

I am very happy that with the times I work with many groups, focused on beginners, some rules seem to be hewed like in a stone and presented as an axiom. One of these, applied fir INDIORS keeping is:

If the position of the otherwise relevant sources of heat and UV is too close to the position, which the chameleon uses for basking or it can simply reach, thermal and UV burns happen. They are one of the most frequent injuries of chameleons in captivity.

It is not business! These are living creatures. Whether you are receiving a replacement for unhatched ones or not is totally irrelevant! Apply this rule when you order lamps or equipment, NOT when dealing with living creatures.

Aka. How to make your chameleon lame til the end of his days. The tongue is for the chameleon one of the most important organs for its body. It has the spectacular function of being shot for a quite a distance to catch the prey to bring it back to the mouth, where it is crushed by powerful jaws and...

How to grab a grumpy chameleon so that it does not bite you?

The oviparous chameleon species lay their eggs at the end of several weeks of gravidity different ways. We have still very dew data and observations about egglaying aspects from the wild. There are few types of species concerning the way how they lay the eggs:

Have you noticed any strange, unusual, as yet unregistered behavior of your chameleons?Do they drink more?Have they changed colors, are they dark or light colored?Do they dig deeper into the vegetation?Are they hiding?Did they stop eating?Are they nervous, shy and biting?Do you mist as usual, yet the chameleon still has significantly more orange...

You all know me well. I am a bad boy. I shout on people because of chameleons. There's one day or better to say one night in a year when I can do it legally LOL. So I do. I have compiled the most frequent shouts of myself as they represent also the most frequent mistake in Chamaeleon husbandry...

I am sorry to not be enthusiastic about gutloading, and this comment is made not to offend anyone but itnis finally time to face the FACTS and NOT continue with the gutloading nonsense that has spread as a fashion accross internet...You get recommendations how to feed apples, papaya, orange, lettuce, collard greens and spirulina and rosted almonds,...

Very often, we read reports on captive chameleons becoming very picky and selective in food, refusing this or that food item...

Let us be candor now.The keeping of chameleons in captivity is, with the exception of a handful of species that are well established in breeding programs, and with the exception of few top specialists, actually a disaster. Most of the chameleon species do not survive the after-import adaptation process and very few reproduce. On contrary, once we...

If the branches become:
> too moist or
> too small or
> poisonous or
> bleeched or
> poisoned or
> mossy or
> contaminated with germs or
> the soles of chameleons get injured.

To study veterinary sciences needs high intelligence, endurance and passion. Not everyone can do so. The studies last for many many years, to be continued with continual education and certifications afterwards - during the practical phase of their profession.Exotic animals are taught as a separate subject at some universities only and...

A very common question is: "How to feed pollen to chameleons?"

The Climate Of The Homecountry Of The Majestic Yemen Chameleon In Detail

Breeders, keepers and even VETS often recommend showers, baths it soaks or wraps in warm water...

Besides right temperatures, humidity and hydration, the air quality is one of the key abiotic factors influencing comfort and quality of life of the chameleons in the wild and consequently, it is a crucial vital factor in chameleon naturalistic husbandry.

There is nothing better for Chameleon than staying in the fresh air and in the natural sun.

Sometimes, people get shocked looking into the mouth of a chameleon, and scream: he has a cleft palate!

Very often chameleon keepers panic because they find a scar on the belly of the chamaeleon.

Why do Yemen chameleons bask in captivity at extremely high temperatures even over 40°C/100°F, why they burn their casques and back and why this is all unnatural?

...and we are poisoning our chameleons.

I want here to be a devil's advocate...I hate the races of whose female laid more eggs! Be not proud of it, It is a sign of inadequate and harmful care actually!

Chameleons are surrounded by so many myths has almost no other animal in the world. And by expanding their presence in the captivity, new myths appear "like mushrooms after the rain"(Old Czech Saying)...

The very frequent question in Chameleoculture is: "What plants should/should I use for my captive environment?" As in any questions, it is much better to understand the context and function which the plants play in the ecosystems and what specific relationship and meaning they have for the arboreal (or arboricolous) chameleons, rather than to get a...

Running through care sheets and discussions on many websites (eg. 1) and even reading some books (eg. 2), you will find many recommendations against feeding bees and wasps to chameleons with sometimes very strange recommendations like removing the stingers or absolutely excluding them from diet and alarming about their being life threatening.

100% pure panther chameleons' lines by Ambanja, Ambilobe, Ankaramy, and Nosy Be to establish reserve populations in captivity.