CHAMELEONOCULTURE: Chameleon Captive Husbandry

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.

While the RIGHT-SIMPLE-SAFE caresheets for the care for the Yemen chameleon have been distributed and are available around the globe in 19 languages (always available in all groups of the LWC association and on the language specific pages of Chameleons.info), they represent the average proper care for the species. And, if we go for "Naturallistic...

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...

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.

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

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

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.

Chameleons: obesity, overheating, unnatural hydration and unsuitable food "like on a silver plate".

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.

Chameleon lives, due to their very unique life history, depend on their eyes. Eye are their absolutely dominant sensory organ, taking part in securing the life of them as individuals and evolutionary lineage. As such, it has a unique structure (fused eyelids e.g.) and size, basing however on a standard lower vertebrate eye model.

In the breeder's Latin, often not clear abbreviations are used and vivid discussions are lead what is F1 and true F1 etc etc.

As a part of naturalistic chameleon husbandry approach, natural branches are the only one interior of the cage recommended, suitable for climbing (next to living plants), in no way any artificial materials are to be used, no ropes, no fabrics, no plastics, no fake vines, no exposed wood, no bamboo, no ladders, swings etc.

Couple of years or even months ago, a big surprise was to talk about pollen. Nowadays, bee pollen is a standard daily part of the diet of chameleons in captivity (same as in the wild), and a regular part of the supplementation schedule - side by side to calcium powder, vitamin D3 and multivitamin mixtures. It was a king fight...

Repeatedly people get advised, even by VETs or get ideas like that, to soak, bath, spray, mist or shower their chameleons.

One of the very often reported issues in male panther chameleons imported from Madagascar is that they simply do not want to mate. So, in the seek of getting new genetics and fresh blood in the breeding lines, the approach of getting wild-caught animals from the wild often fails.
And people try whatever to change it and sometimes they...

Well, because they live in much colder environment than people think.

As is already known, most animals in the captivity suffer overfeeding and obesity.
The last phase of subsequent gaining weight is demonstrated by a puffy casque and cheeks.
The beautifully shaped healthy athletic chameleons undergo a metamorphosis into poor and ugly monsters... Health problems and drastically shortened lifespan is the typical...

In captivity, one of the crucial issues is to keep the chameleons in the same state as they are used to from the wild - "athletic", except of periods of drought and/or hunger. The common mistreatment in captivity is to heavily overfeed them.

This guide is specifically designed for inexperienced and/or first- time buyer. Experienced or professional chameleon keepers can eliminate some of the problematic issues efficiently and not all advice works for them in full. Matters that experienced breeders can solve in different ways are marked as (EB).

Why the belief "the chameleon can auto-regulate, It knows the best what is good for it and what not" is an absolutely misleading nonsense...

Chameleons HATE any touching of their bodies.Due to their special anatomy and lifestyle, their bodies are touched only under two ocassions:When they mateWhen they are eaten by predators.They escape usually also a direct exposure to rain in he wild, they hide in the foliage and do not let rain fall directly on their bodies.

I need to send a chameleon!I am moving... OMGShould I leave the chameleon here to someone or can I transport it to my new destination even if it is 36hours drive from here? Will he survive? Is it not too stressful and risky?