Chameleons are definitely one of my favorite pets. Their wild color changing, sticky tongue, crazy eyes, and mitt-like feet are just so neat. They are an expensive pet and sadly many people lose them to causes that are easy to prevent, so here is a guide to help you to avoid health problems.
Selection
The younger your pet is, the more likely it will be to trust you in the fullness of time. Chameleons are very wary of humans, so you'll need all the help you can get. They can be a little tricky to find at regular pet stores, so you might want to call around to find out who has them in your area first.
Housing
The screen sided reptariums you can get at pet stores are perfect for chameleons, but if you can't get one of those, make sure the enclosure you put your pet in has lots of space. Chameleons may be small, but they need a lot of room to move around. They live in trees after all. Also make sure you have lots of things for your pet to climb on and hid behind. Use tree branches, fake vines, and anything else you think your pet would like to climb on and hide behind. You need to keep the tank warm, about 70-80 degrees, and if your pet acts lethargic and won't eat, turn up the heat a little to boost his metabolism. Chameleons need full spectrum lighting so keep this in mind when you buy the heat lamp; they need this to help their bones absorb calcium.
Feeding
Crickets and mealworms are the staple of a pet chameleon's diet, but you should throw in something different every now and then. You also need to sprinkle the crickets with a vitamin powder supplement every now and then to keep your pet healthy. The mealworms you can put in a bowl at the bottom of the tank, but the crickets are another matter. You need to keep your crickets separate from your pet and only feed him one or two at a time. A bunch of crickets jumping around and chirping will stress a chameleon, and at night they will bite him. As for water, just use a dripper, similar to what you use for hamsters, or you can mist the tank once a day and your pet will drink up the drops. Another fun trick is to use an eyedropper to make large “dew drops” in front of your pet for him t drink from.
Handling
As I said before, chameleons are slow to trust a human. To them we are giant creatures that could eat them, but with time your pet will warm up to you. Never grab your pet to pick him up, it is much less stressful for your pet if you place your fingers in its path and let him walk on you. Just don't handle your pet too often. Even if it has come to trust you, it won't like being taken out of its familiar surroundings too often, and like any reptile or amphibian, you need to wash your hands thoroughly after handling it.
Friends
Chameleons are loners and territorial, so don't put two of them together because they won't get along. If you have more than one pet in separate tanks, you shouldn't even keep them near each other, especially two males. The only time you ever put two chameleons together is a male and female when their in the mood to mate, and breeding isn't something you should need to worry about.
Other Considerations
Chameleons change color depending on their surroundings and mood. A healthy green chameleon is a happy chameleon, if they turn dark brown or black, and they aren't standing on old tree bark, they are NOT HAPPY! If your pet turns this color while you are handling him, put him back and leave him alone for awhile. Chameleons can bite if they feel threatened so keep this in mind if your pet isn't used to you. The larger ones also have sharp claws that can really dig into you when you handle them, so be careful of this.
