chameleons

Creating a Chameleon Habitat

~ BackwaterReptiles

If you’re wondering how to create a chameleon habitat for your new pet, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve bred and hatched thousands of chameleons, including over 20 different species. We’ve got expert advice for you as you journey into the fascinating world of these amazing reptiles.

Many people think they’d like a pet chameleon, but they don’t understand how sensitive these lizards are to their environment. Chameleons are actually not the best pet reptiles for beginning herp hobbyists simply because they have very specific husbandry requirements, so it’s important to do your research, which you obviously are if you’re reading this article!

Because one of the most commonly asked questions we get at Backwater Reptiles is how to set up a proper enclosure for a pet chameleon, we are dedicating this blog article to just that topic.

creating a chameleon habitat
Chameleons can be finicky animals, depending upon the species. We recommend you do your research before purchasing one of these amazing lizards so that you can create the right habitat.

Creating a Chameleon Habitat

What type of cage should I get for my chameleon?

Creating a chameleon habitat generally begins with selecting the proper enclosure. There is only one type of commercially produced cage that we recommend for the vast majority of pet chameleons and that’s a cage that has mesh or screen walls.

This means that you should generally avoid enclosures with glass or plastic walls to house most species of chameleon, with the exception of pygmy chameleons and a few others, which have an entirely different set of care requirements altogether.

screen cage for chameleon
This is a very good cage for a small chameleon. Notice that it has screen walls to encourage proper ventilation.

The reason a screen cage is required is that it allows air to flow freely in and out of the cage and aids in maintaining proper humidity and temperature. Glass or plastic walled cages encourage stagnant air which can lead to respiratory problems.

For young chameleons and smaller species, a cage that is 16″ x 16″ x 20″ is an acceptable size. Adults and larger species should have a cage that is approximately 18″ x 18″ x 36″ or  24″ x 24″ x 48″. The bigger the better, but you don’t have to go overboard.

There are very few species that require something larger and we actually wrote an entire article about those specific types of chameleons that you can read here.

What type of accessories are safe to put in my chameleon’s enclosure?

Most chameleons are arboreal (with very few exceptions) and very awkward and clumsy on flat surfaces, so you should put lots of climbing accessories into its cage. We recommend some plants (live or fake will both suffice) and some branches or vines. Exo Terra twistable vines are our favorite.

If you choose to put living plants inside your chameleon’s enclosure, please make sure that the plants you use are non-toxic and safe for consumption by both the chameleon and any insects you feed it.

Here are some commonly used live plants that are safe to place inside your chameleon’s cage: Ficus benajamina, Gardenia, Pothos, Mulberry, Schefflera arboricola, and Yucca. Our favorite live plant for our own chameleon habitats are Scheffleras–they hold water droplets well (as opposed to a Ficus), and have more sturdy branches (again, as opposed to a Ficus).

quadricornis chameleon (Trioceros quadricornis)
With proper husbandry, chameleons can make very rewarding pets. Here’s a young Four-horned chameleon, otherwise known as a “Quad” due to it’s scientific name: Trioceros quadricornis.

Unless you purchase your live plant from a boutique nursery, chances are it will be potted in commercial soil containing some pesticides. We always re-pot our plants in organic soil free from chemicals and rinse the plant in soapy water to wash any residue from the leaves.

Although chameleons rarely nibble on plant matter (although we have had Veiled chameleons eat leaves), the insects that are in their cage do. And what is in the tummies of the insects is by proxy in the tummy of the chameleon, so you want to be sure the plant contains no chemicals or pesticides.

We also want to mention that you don’t need to provide a water dish for your pet chameleon. They actually don’t recognize water dishes as sources of hydration and are also very rarely down on the bottom of their cage, so it is unnecessary.

Your chameleon will drink water from the leaves in its enclosure, so you just need to be sure to have a good drip system in place. We’ll go into more detail on that momentarily.

What type of lighting will my chameleon’s habitat require?

You’ll want two types of lighting in your chameleon’s habitat – a heat/basking light and a good quality UVB light. We prefer halogen flood bulbs for basking, generally in the 75w range. Avoid infra-red bulbs, and never use spot bulbs as the beam is too small and intense. A flood bulb spreads the light and heat much more effectively.

Some say that chameleons don’t require a source of heat, but we disagree, and our results have been impressive. We provide our chams with options and allow the lizard to choose–and you’d be amazed how often our’s will bask–even montane species (from the mountains).

Our favorite ultraviolet (UVB) bulb is a Reptisun 5.0. You can purchase these in Compact Fluorescent or regular fluorescent variations. We’ve exclusively used this type of bulb very successfully in our breeding programs.

Make sure that the plants within the chameleon’s enclosure are arranged so that your chameleon can get to within 4-6 inches of the UVB bulb. Any closer and you risk your chameleon getting burned accidentally, and any farther away and the UVB rays dissipate in quality and become nearly useless.

I tend to place the UVB lighting across the middle of the top, and the basking bulb in a corner, so that the other side of the habitat is cooler. This allows your chameleon to thermoregulate–a fancy word for letting it choose the temperature it wants.

How do I maintain the proper temperature and humidity levels?

For the most part, unless you live somewhere with extreme climates, room temperature should be a fine ambient temperature for your chameleon’s habitat.

Anywhere in the 70’s is usually ideal. However, you definitely want to make sure that the heat light you have set up on top of the cage creates a warmer area that stays around 90 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

We recommend purchasing a reptile temperature gun to make sure you are achieving proper heat levels within the basking area. This tool is pretty much required for any reptile owner.

chameleon care kit
Backwater Reptiles does in fact sell complete chameleon care kits. You can purchase them at the bottom of any chameleon for sale page.

As far as humidity is concerned, you’ll want to mist the enclosure daily. This can be achieved by manually spraying inside the enclosure once or twice each day. Or if you are not home most of the time, you can also buy a simple drip system that provides a steady source of dripping water into the cage.

Some people even splurge for a pricier automatic cage mister. These machines can be put on timers and you won’t even have to think about needing to mist your chameleon’s cage. Everything will be done automatically which is very convenient.

The best lower cost method is with the Exo Terra Monsoon, which is good for a few cages (4-6 or so). If you’ll have more than 4-6 chameleon habitats set up, you’ll probably want to splurge and purchase a heavier duty misting system such as Mist King, which can take care of 20+ enclosures with a single unit.

The result you’re looking for is droplets for the chameleon to lap-up, and increased humidity with the chameleon’s habitat. Persistent dehydration is one of the top causes of chameleon losses in captivity.

Conclusion – Creating a Chameleon Habitat

As you can see from this article, chameleons have very specific cage requirements. They need specific temperatures, regular misting and/or a source of dripping water, and we recommend two types of lights above their cage.

We think chameleons make extremely rewarding pets, but we also want all of our customers to be informed about what exactly it takes to make such a wonderful lizard happy and healthy in captivity.

If you’re interested in taking a foray into the world of chameleon keeping, and we hope that you are, please visit our website where we have the largest selection of chameleons in the world, along with all the required supplies we’ve mentioned in this care article.

 

How to Dust Feeder Insects for Chameleons

~ BackwaterReptiles

Keeping chameleons in captivity can be a challenge. These delicate lizards have very specific care requirements and need their wild habitats to be replicated as closely as possible in order to thrive as pets. Dusting their feeder insects properly is a key to keeping chameleons successfully.

How to dust feeder insects
Pictured is one of our extremely healthy female Oustalets chameleon, fed a diet of properly dusted insects.

Besides requiring a mesh enclosure or cage, a dripping and misting system to meet humidity requirements, and UV lights and heat, chameleons also require their invertebrate meals to be extremely nutritious. This means that you can’t just feed your pet chameleon any old feeder insects. You will need to make sure your chameleon’s insects are gut-loaded and vitamin dusted regularly.

So what is vitamin dusting? What vitamin dusts do you give a chameleon and how often do you need to do so? How do you go about dusting the insects?  These are all questions we will address in this blog article, so read on if you want to make sure your chameleon stays healthy and strong.

What is vitamin dusting?

The answer to this question is actually very simple.

Vitamin dusting is where you coat your feeder insects in a film of powdered vitamin supplements before feeding time.

Do you take a multivitamin pill daily? How about a vitamin C tablet every now and then? Well, dusting your chameleon’s feeder insects is basically the same concept. The only difference is that because it would stress the animal to try to get it to ingest a vitamin pill, reptile hobbyists have invented a clever way to get the animals their vitamins. By coating the insects, the chameleons don’t even notice they’re eating the vitamins they need.

What types of vitamin dusts are good for chameleons? How often do you need to dust your feeder insects for your pet chameleon?

These are questions we get a lot at Backwater Reptiles. This is because there’s no manual on how frequently dusting needs to be done and the frequency as well as type of vitamin dusts required can vary from species to species.

At Backwater Reptiles, we use five main vitamin dusts for our chameleons – bee pollen, spirulina, a calcium + D3 supplement, a calcium supplement, and Herptivite/Supervite supplement.

The general rule of thumb with baby chameleons is to dust pinhead crickets (or whatever food source you give them) fairly frequently with calcium. Babies are growing fast and their little bodies need lots of nutrients to make sure their growth process happens smoothly.

Listed below are the vitamins used at Backwater Reptiles and the schedule we subscribe to when it comes to dusting feeder insects for our chameleons.

Bee pollen

Bee Pollen Vitamin Supplement
Bee pollen can be bought in powdered form from specialty retailers and health food stores.

In the wild, chameleons eat insects that could have recently pollinated a flower. Supplementing with bee pollen is said to help avoid chameleon “hunger strikes.”

Frequency:
Babies: once monthly
Sub-adults: twice monthly
Adults: twice monthly

LoD (calcium + D3)

Calcium and Vitamin Supplement
This Repashy vitamin and calcium supplement is what we use at Backwater Reptiles.

At Backwater Reptiles, the type of LoD vitamin supplement we use is called “Repashy Superfoods Calcium plus LoD.”

Frequency:
Babies: once monthly
Sub-adults: twice monthly
Adults: twice monthly

NoD (calcium)

Powdered Calcium Supplement
This powdered calcium supplement is used frequently when feeding baby chameleons.

The kind of calcium supplement used at Backwater Reptiles is called “Repashy Superfoods Supercal NoD.”

Frequency:
Babies: 10-15 times monthly
Sub-adults: 5-7 times monthly
Adults: 2-3 times monthly

Spirulina

Spirulina Powdered Supplement
Spirulina is a powdered algae that can be purchased at health food stores or specialty stores.

Spirulina is an algae that commonly grows in freshwater ponds and lakes. The kind fed to our chameleons is dried and powdered. Any powdered spirulina will be fine for your chameleons, but we use an organic, non-irradiated, and non-GMO spirulina from www.nuts.com.

Frequency:
Babies: once monthly
Sub-adults: twice monthly
Adults: twice monthly

Herptivite/Supervite

Multivitamin Supplement for Chameleons
This is the multivitamin supplement used at Backwater Reptiles.

These are general vitamin supplements or multivitamins. The kind we use at Backwater Reptiles is “RepCal Hertivite with Beta Carotene Multivitamins.”

Frequency:
Babies: twice monthly
Sub-adults: twice monthly
Adults: once monthly

How do you dust your feeder insects?

The good news is that the physical process of dusting your feeder insects with vitamins is not as tedious as it sounds.

All you will need to complete the process is a small plastic bag, your vitamin of choice, and your feeder insects.

Reptile Feeder Crickets
At Backwater Reptiles, we opt to dust our crickets in a bucket instead of a plastic bag simply because we have so many animals to feed. It makes sense for us to do it on a larger scale. But a plastic bag works just fine in most cases.

Just put your insects in the plastic bag along with your vitamins and seal the bag shut. Then shake the insects around in the bag with the dust for a few seconds until you can see that they are visibly coated with the dust.

Now your feeder insects are ready to be eaten!

A quick tip – if you are feeding your chameleon dusted crickets, be sure to feed them to the animal quickly after the dusting process has been completed. Crickets have good hygiene and will clean themselves of the dust as quickly as they can, so the sooner they are eaten, the more vitamins the chameleon will ingest.

Vitamin Dusted Crickets
When your feeder insects are coated like these crickets, they are ready to be served to your chameleon.

How to dust chameleon feeder insects – Conclusion

A healthy, happy chameleon will require supplemental vitamins in its diet. This can be achieved by dusting your pet chameleon’s feeder insects with a number of multivitamins.

 

How Do Chameleons Drink?

~ BackwaterReptiles

How do chameleons drink? It’s a fair quesiton, and you’ve definitely come to the right place. Did you know that chameleons won’t drink water from a traditional water dish? In fact, they’ll usually die of dehydration before they’ll do so! This isn’t because they’re stubborn or stupid animals. Rather, it’s because chameleons don’t recognize a dish of still water as a source of hydration.

chameleon drinking water
Here’s one of our female yellow-lipped Parson’s chameleon mid-drink.

We all know just by seeing how clumsy chameleons are on flat land that they are arboreal lizards. This means that they spend most of their lives in trees and by extension, drink water while they are in the trees.

How do Chameleons Drink in the Wild?

What happens in the wild is that when it rains, water trickles and drips down upon the leaves and branches in the trees. Chameleons will recognize there is water present based on the moisture they are feeling and the drops they observe hitting the surface around them, and will lap up the water droplets with their tongue.

So, it would make sense that they can’t comprehend that the dish you place on the floor of their enclosure actually contains water. It’s just not natural to them.

chameleon drinking

So, you might ask, if I can’t leave a water dish for my new pet, how do I get my chameleon to drink water?

How do Chameleons Drink in Captivity?

The simplest method is to use a drip system. You can go as fancy or as inexpensive as you want. If you’re on a tight budget, you can simply get a plastic deli cup and puncture a hole in the bottom. Fill it with water, place it on top of your chameleon’s screen cage, and – voila – dripping water! A drip every second or so is a good rate. You don’t want a constant stream of water, or too slow of a drip.

Make sure the drops are landing on either a branch, or a leaf. If you want to spend a bit more money or get something that is specifically made to drip water for reptiles, try a drip system offered by Zoo Med called “Little Dripper.”

We also highly recommend misting your chameleon’s enclosure for added moisture and humidity. You can do this manually with a spray bottle a few times daily (mist until water droplets appear on the leaves), depending on how dry it is where you live, or you can purchase an automated misting system if you want to go the fancy route.

parsons chameleon drinking water
Chameleons have a sticky coating on their tongue that helps catch insects. When they drink and lick leaves and sticks for water, they can get “slobbery,” which is visible in the picture. :-)

Some species of chameleon seem to drink for long stretches (Parson’s, Jackson’s, Meller’s), while others are like camels, and don’t seem to require as much (Veiled and Oustalet’s come to mind).

Thanks for reading our article about how chameleons drink water. If you have any questions regarding chameleon hydration, feel free to ask in the comments.

Why Do Chameleons Change Color?

~ BackwaterReptiles

Have you ever wondered why chameleons change color? We think it’s fascinating that these little lizards possess this ability and we wanted to shed a little light on the “why” behind this unique behavior.

Chameleon Camouflage

It’s a common misconception that chameleons change color primarily to blend in with their surroundings and avoid predators. While camouflaging with their surroundings is a positive byproduct of this behavior, there are actually stronger factors at work when it comes to color change.

While it is true that some species of chameleons, such as the Pygmy Chameleon (Rhampholean sp.) use color change as a way to blend in, this is a pretty specialized case. Pygmies actually don’t change color in the traditional spectrum – you won’t see a red, blue, or even bright green Pygmy. They change between light and dark shades of brown and are shaped to resemble dead leaf litter on the forest floor.

chameleon changing color
An adult pygmy chameleon. Notice its pointed shape and lack of curly tail which help it resemble leaf litter. These little guys are pretty much brown their whole lives.

Another common erroneous belief is that a chameleon will change color to mimic it’s background. For instance, chameleons are commonly portrayed in pop culture as being able to rapidly transform themselves from green to purple to black and yellow stripes based on whatever they’re close to. This is not true.

veiled chameleon color change
This is a translucent veiled chameleon (Chamaeleo calyptratus). Notice how it has white and black splotches. These are a result of selective captive breeding and are not a result of the chameleon trying to resemble the white backdrop behind it.

Chameleon Mood

The foremost reason chameleons change color is to communicate their mood, whether it be to other chameleons, potential predators, or even to their owners.

why chameleons change color
Notice the difference in color between these Meller’s chameleons. Above the chameleon is drabber because it is not being handled. It does not feel threatened or stressed, so it doesn’t feel the need to brighten up and show dominance. In the bottom photo, the chameleon is being handled, which can make the grumpier species feel angry, which in turn causes them to display brighter colors.

A general rule of thumb when it comes to interpreting your chameleon’s color is that brighter colors mean a more dominant animal. For example, if two males to come into view of one another, they will both puff up and turn a brighter green in order to display aggression and try to defend their territory. They are both trying to communicate to the other that they are the head honcho and whoever is bigger and brighter is more likely to win should they come to blows in the wild.

rudis chameleon color
This is a brightly-colored Rudis chameleon (Trioceros rudis) with her baby piggy-backing. Her bright color is a general indicator of her good health. This live birth occurred at our facility.

Dark, drab chameleons can be this color for a number of reasons. One, is a physical response to light and temperature (see the subheading below on temperature and lighting for more details). The other could be because the animal is unhealthy. This is not always the case, as certain species just tend to be in the brown color spectrum naturally (Oustalet’s, Pygmies, and Elephant Ears to name a few), but if your Jacksons or Panther is consistently drab and brown, you need to adjust something in its care regimen, probably its light and/or heat source.

Female chameleons will change color to indicate that they are pregnant or receptive/non-receptive to a potential mate. Males will also display more brilliant colorations when they are trying to impress a female.

Lighting and Temperature

Have you ever noticed how wearing black in the summer is generally going to make you hotter? The black clothes absorb the sun’s rays more and the same is true of a darker-colored chameleon’s skin.

Reptiles cannot thermoregulate their body temperature the same way that mammals do, so they have lots of tricks up their sleeves to help them warm up when needed. Sometimes when a chameleon is very dark or drab in color, it could be trying to absorb more heat.

baby chameleon color
This is a hatchling Veiled chameleon (Chamaeleo calyptratus). It is young and still has some learning to do as far as color displays are concerned.

We hope that you learned something new by reading this article. If you’re inspired to purchase your own chameleon, Backwater Reptiles has many species of chameleons for sale on our website.