How to Care for a Veiled Chameleon

Veiled chameleons are increasingly popular pets and readily available in many pet stores. However, they are sensitive animals with unique needs that require special care. They can be an ideal, interesting, and fun pet, but require attentive care to be happy and healthy. Follow the guidelines below to provide ideal care to your veiled chameleon:

Housing
Chameleons, unlike some other reptiles, do not do well in aquariums. They need adequate ventilation and room to climb around, so look into getting your chameleon a mesh or wire cage. The benefit is that these cages are often cheaper than some of the nicer aquariums. In terms of size, the bigger the better. Ideally, an adult chameleon needs at least three feet in height to climb around, but the bigger you can go the better. Provide your chameleon with lots of branches to climb on.

Veiled chameleons are prone to stress, and the males are extremely dominant and will fight with each other. Consequently, you should only house one chameleon per cage. If you're reading this caresheet, you're a novice, which means you SHOULD NOT try to breed your chameleons. The consequences can be disastrous, and even males and females can get into dangerous and violent fights with one another.

Water and Humidity
Veiled chameleons are accustomed to living in humid tropical environments and therefore need a high humidity environment. Most will not drink water from a bowl and will instead drink drops of water off of the branches and sides in their cage. The importance of humidity really can't be emphasized enough, and is important particularly when your chameleon is shedding.

The ideal way to get your chameleon adequate humidity is a mister or fogger on a timer. If this is not an option, then get a high quality manual mister, and mist several times a day. As a back up water supply, you can place several ice cubes on top of the cage. They will melt and provide extra drops of water if you are at work and unable to mist during the day. You can also install a small water fountain (usually about 30-50 dollars at pet stores) in your chameleon's cage as a supplemental source of humidity, but you will still need to mist your veiled chameleon. Do not neglect this important component of chameleon care!

Feeding
In the wild, chameleons eat an extraordinarily varied diet and are largely insectivores. Good food sources for your chameleon include phoenix worms, fruit flies, crickets, mealworms, super worms, and the occasional waxworm as a supplement. You can also offer your chameleon some leafy greens; some will eat them and some won't. Regardless of whether or not your chameleon eats greens, you should "gut load" his food by providing the insects you feed your chameleon with leafy greens. Your chameleon will then eat the insects and get the valuable vegetable nutrition from them. Chameleons need calcium, so be sure to dust your chameleon's food with a high-quality calcium supplement.

Heating and Lighting
Chameleons need a very hot environment. You should provide a heat gradient, with a cool side that is 70-80 degrees and a hot side that is 100-115 degrees. If you cannot get the heat high enough with a heat lamp, you can use several heat lamps focused on one spot. Chameleons also need vitamin d3 to synthesize calcium, so it is vitally important that you provide your chameleon with a UVA/UVB light or daily sunlight exposure.

Source:
Experience