My new veiled chameleons

Here's a few pics of my new veiled chameleons I picked up at the Pomona reptile show on Sunday. They are adorable. I received a "basic" care sheet, but VERY basic. I still have to get everything needed in the way of supplies. I have only fed a few baby dubias, which went well. Anybody have a shopping checklist for a first time chameleon owner? Feeding supplies needed and best brands? I have no idea where to start, so I'm heading to the chameleon forum to sort out some basics.

I can't wait for them to get more colorful. I may have to find a more suitable mate, as this sexed pair were purchased from one vendor and are probably related. Either way, I've always wanted one and now I have 2. I can't complain. I don't know which is which (M/F). Any guesses or "for sure's"? Maybe the smaller more patterned is male? Also age? You can see the color change already with more pattern in the first photo and it fades in the latter photos.

Awesome, I always wanted some myself, had a Iguana for 6+ years, from a baby(8 inches w/ tail) he maxed out at 6ft, the 1 out of 10 people he didn't like would get a nasty tail whip that could leave a mark along with a evil sounding hissing/growl noise.

How much were the pair if you don't mind me asking?

Also they stress easy And they aren't friendly with a bite that can split your nail( I know from experience ) just avoide handling and they will do good. Also they love tomato horn worms from the pet store

Use an open air cage!

$70 ($35 ea.)+ $12 reptile show entrance +$10? for parking. I have seen them at a local pet store for $100 for one, so it was like 2 for 1. Just reading at the cham forum that this species is pretty aggressive and can be downright mean. I hope the babies keep there docility into adulthood with regular interaction from a young age. I got these, because they were the cheapest I could find and they were so cute. I just went saying I want a chameleon. I did no research beforehand. oops. Now I scurry.

D.J. said:

Also they stress easy And they aren't friendly with a bite that can split your nail( I know from experience ) just avoide handling and they will do good. Also they love tomato horn worms from the pet store

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OH NO! I didn't want to hear that.

Scott: I used to a have a pair and I remember that the males seem to show more of a Veil on their head at an earlier age. I remember the male being more aggressive and the more you handle it the less it will dislike it as in mantids. They love almost all the same things as do most reptiles that size. Meal worms now and later you can use Superworms (both of which you can culture from the ones you buy at Petco). They need UVB and they need some reptile vitamins like Reptivite. Steve Simms is the local expert, although he seems to be into Panthers more. You can find him on the Forum and he lives in Irvine.

They r adorable!!!

I bought a UVB fluorescent and vitamins and calcium with D3 to dust the feeders today. I have silkworms growing now and will probably use them and dubias. It's a lot of fun to feed them GB and BB, but not much nutrition in those. I will handle them regularly for short periods and hopefully it will help with the aggression. They are so small and sweet. They love to hug up on my finger to get warm. Tooo cute.

Luna moths hug your finger too, but if u try and remove them they squirt lol

Keep us posted on the chameleons

It's official! the smaller one IS the male. He has spurs. I heard the males are more colorful, but when I had them out tonight the female was the one with most colors and all patterned up. WOW! Maybe she liked my shirt or maybe she just wanted to go to bed. She was all over the place and was hard to get a good picture. She loks like she has question marks on her sides. Maybe I'll name her Riddler. :lol:

She is adorable with the "?"!

patrickfraser said:

OH NO! I didn't want to hear that.

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Just watch out and limit handling them and they should do fine and do you know their gender because males fight

I heard more handling is better. There is a male and a female and I'm not keeping them together. I will handle them as I see fit and hopefully I'll grow on them, because I know I've already grown attached to them. I love to see them sleep. They look so peaceful with their nice pale green color and tails all coiled.

patrickfraser said:

I heard more handling is better. There is a male and a female and I'm not keeping them together. I will handle them as I see fit and hopefully I'll grow on them, because I know I've already grown attached to them. I love to see them sleep. They look so peaceful with their nice pale green color and tails all coiled.

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Depends because to much handling is bad because they can stress out easily

What does "stressing out" look like? I have no clue. They seem fine.

Males have a spur on the back heels. That's the easiest way to tell. They get mean quick. Keeping them together will also stress the out fast.

Stress usually results in darker colors.

As with any animal/living thing I think it's how you handle them that matters, if you make them feel safe and they know you care things go more smoothly, a true animal lover will know there limits in a relatively short time and adjust as needed.

I was putting the babies to bed tonight and when their lights went out, they just left their basking spots where they usually hang out and made a bee-line straight to the new umbrella plants I added recently. They knew it was bedtime. Also, the female turned a ghostly grey color which I had never seen her do. I will be getting surprises of different colors as they grow older and get their adult coloring. Little by little, kinda like a mantis molting, I guess I'll have to wait. I have no clue what colors to expect. But here's the spooky girl. Really cute picture, I think.