Carpet Chameleon Care Sheet
Every animal has some basic needs and they rely
on you to provide those needs for them.
Here are some basic care instructions for your carpet
chameleon.
Although this is our care sheet, there are others
that provide wonderful information as well.
Our advice is search them out! We are still very much in the learning phase
for this project.
We still read all we can on chameleons in general and anything we can find on
these is treasured.
If you don't see the information you need here, please contact
us and ask. We are glad to help.
Housing:
One of the first mistakes most people make is in their choice of housing. Glass is not understood by these reptile and is detrimental to their health. A screened enclosure is the best choice you can make for your chameleon. We use those created by Habitat Designs and highly recommend them. Bigger is better - don't save the $10 now and regret it later. If the enclosure is big enough you can house a few adults together, but this usually does not last and we recommend one enclosure per adult. Chameleons are solitary creatures. We use an umbrella plant for the main part of the tank. It provides a place for shelter and a place to roam. We also use pothos and philodendron vines along the sides of the enclosure and a variety of other climbing materials both real and fake. All our plants are live. Rocks and logs can make your small forest more natural looking and they provide your lizards with places to climb and get exercise.
Lighting and Temperature:
Carpet chameleons are a diurnal species and are active during the day. Therefore, some form of UV lighting is necessary. We use a ReptiSun 5.0 bulb across the top of the enclosure. A spot light with a low wattage bulb (60W UV or regular) should provide enough heat for your lizard in the day to bask, Daytime temperatures should be around 78 at the hottest spot. Plants will provide areas of shade for your chameleon to thermo-regulate their body temperature. The nighttime temps can go down in the upper 60's to low 70s. Our classroom is a constant 71 degrees. Although there is no need for them we always like to include the following: Never use heat rocks as these can cause thermal burns to your reptile!
Feeding and Watering:
Carpet Chameleons thrive on a live food source that provides variety. Ours have become accustom to bowl feeding and enjoy mealworms, silkworms, and waxworms in their bowl. We also provide crickets, fruitflies for the young, and occassionally something from the wild caught in a pesticide free area. Calcium and vitamin supplementation is still something being learned by many of us. We use Reptocal and a special vitamin blend for chameleons, but there are many other products available. Our adults are supplemented once weekly. Gravid females more often - as much as three time weekly. When they were young we supplemented daily. If you are using crickets, be sure they all are eaten. Remove all crickets not eaten in 15 minutes. They can cause stress to your animal. Remember: variety is the key to success!
Your chameleon will NOT recognize a shallow water dish as a source of water. The water must be moving! This is easily provided by allowing the water to drip from the top of the tank with a small dripper system or a dixie cup with a small hole in the bottom. Allow the water to hit the leaves about one drop a second. Spraying the enclosure once a day is also a good idea to keep humidity up and stimulate drinking.
What Else?
This is a good start and has worked well for us, but we are still learning. Ask questions! Search the web! Read, read, read!
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Copyright © 2002 J. Marchon Reptiles. All rights reserved.