Not all types of chameleons are suitable for keeping at home, three of them thrive in captivity. What, you will learn about this from this material, as well as about what to feed, where to keep a domestic lizard. Chameleons are classified as reptiles. The average size of these arboreal lizards is 30 cm. The smallest specimens do not grow more than 3 × 5 cm in length. Large individuals can reach 50 × 60 cm.
About chameleons
The head of males is often decorated with mounds, ridges, pointed horns. Females also have these bulges on the head, but in an embryonic state. Chameleons have long legs and claw-shaped toes. This limb structure helps the lizards to climb trees easily. The tail also helps this, it is thick at the base, and gradually tapers towards the end. A chameleon can wrap its tail around a tree trunk, a branch and hold on tenaciously.
The organs of vision of these lizards are also interesting
The eyes of chameleons have all-round vision and can rotate asynchronously, which helps reptiles in tracking and catching insects.
When a chameleon is hunting, it may not move for a long time. At this time, only his eyes rotate. When an insect appears near the lizard, the chameleon sneaks up on it, sticks out its long tongue and makes a lightning-fast grasping movement with it, which takes only a third of a second. The suction cup at the end of the tongue also helps in this. The prey sticks to it and ends up in the mouth of the reptile.
Chameleons are also famous for the fact that they can change their color and become almost invisible
against the background of a tree, foliage, due to the peculiarities of the reptile's skin. It contains chromatophore cells, which contain pigments of yellow, reddish, black, brown colors. Under the influence of thirst, hunger, fear and other factors, increased pigmentation appears. Moreover, the colors can be mixed, thereby forming different shades.
Which chameleon is suitable for keeping at home
These lizards can live in an ordinary apartment, in a terrarium. But you need to know the conditions for keeping the chameleon, then the lizard will be comfortable in captivity.
If you want a nice large reptile to live in your house, then it will do yemeni chameleon (pictured above). This is a rather hardy reptile that adapts well to new living conditions and maintenance, tolerates changes in humidity and temperature. The price of such a reptile is about 700? 1000 UAH. in Ukraine and 1500-3000 rubles in Russia.
In the wild, this type of chameleon lives in hot countries - in Saudi Arabia, Yemen and there are two types:
- Calcarifer lives in eastern Saudi Arabia and is accustomed to being in hot and dry climates.
- Calyptratus lives in the north of the country, where it is slightly cooler. Therefore, he will feel good at home in a terrarium, where the daytime temperature is + 30 ° C or slightly higher, and the night temperature is about + 20 ° C. This type of chameleon has a richer color and is larger in size than Calcarifer and can grow up to 60 cm in length.
Here are some other chameleons suitable for keeping at home:
- Ordinary;
- Leopard print.
These species are also not picky and less demanding on the conditions of detention.
With good care, the lizard will live with you for 4 years, and the Yemeni chameleon may well bring offspring, for this you need to purchase a male and a female. But two males should not be put in the same terrarium, as they will fight, defending the rights to the female, and at the same time may cripple each other. If you are keeping young chameleons together, place plants in the terrarium that will form dense thickets so that each lizard lives in its own territory and thus conflicts can be avoided.
How to choose the right chameleon
This question is very important. After reading this section, you will learn how to choose a chameleon to keep it healthy.
- First, don't buy lizards off-the-shelf. Purchase from a specialized store, where you will be provided with the necessary documents.
- Secondly, do not purchase very small lizards. Congenital defects in them may not appear immediately, they are usually noticeable by four months. Therefore, it is better to buy a chameleon who is already 4 months old.
Here's what to look for when examining your future pet:
- Consider his eyes, they should be open and moving. If they are sunken, it means that the chameleon is very dehydrated; if they are closed, then the animal is exhausted.
- See what color it is. A gray or dull color of the skin will indicate an animal's illness. This may also be due to the low temperature in which the lizard is kept.
- The chameleon's paws will also tell you about the condition of the animal. They should be even, and the reptile itself should be mobile. If it can be seen that it has difficulty in moving, it means that it has a disrupted musculoskeletal system or there is a lack of calcium.
- Take a look at the chameleon's open mouth. To open it, take the lizard in your arms, then it will hiss, and you can see if there are any yellow-green spots in the reptile's mouth. Their presence indicates the presence of an inflammatory process in the reptile.
Conditions for keeping chameleons at home
The size of the terrarium can be 50 x 50 cm (width, length) and 120 cm high. For females, a slightly smaller terrarium is suitable, and for a large reptile it should be slightly larger.
The temperature inside the terrarium during the daytime should not drop below + 28 ° С, optimally - + 30? +32 ° C. The night temperature should be +22? + 24 ° С, so place the house for the animal in a warm place where there are no drafts - they are very dangerous for the lizard.
It's good if the terrarium is spacious. Then, at its different levels, the animal will find the most comfortable place for itself. Inside, decorate the reptile room with potted plants. You can put a processed snag on which the chameleon will climb. He also needs a small reservoir, take care of that too.
It is also necessary to make a small pump inside the terrarium, which will create a stream of supply water. After all, these reptiles in the wild drink water only from the leaves of plants, which lies on them in droplets. In addition to the temperature, it is important to observe the light regime - natural, artificial or combined. The duration of daylight hours should be at least 12 hours.
In the summertime during the daytime, take the cage with an adult reptile outside. The reptile will gladly feast on flying insects. To attract them, you can put rotten fruits next to the aviary. If the nights are warm, you can leave the chameleon cage outside or keep the animal in an open-air cage during this time. Of course, it is necessary that he has a roof that would protect from precipitation.
Chameleon food
The diet of young chameleons consists of newborn or week-old crickets, which are sprinkled with a mixture of powder, consisting of calcium phosphate and vitamins for reptiles, taken in equal proportions. They are fed 2 times a day, there should be a sufficient amount of food.
To keep young chameleons from getting dehydrated (which they are prone to), spray the terrarium with water twice or thrice a day.
Adults are fed from a feeder or tweezers with large crickets, tropical cockroaches, fruits, fleshy leaves of some houseplants are offered, which they happily eat.
A low plastic or glass container is suitable for the feeder. Its inner walls are lubricated with vegetable oil so that insects do not scatter.
Chameleons can't drink from a container
so if it is not possible to make a pump, try to teach them to drink from a syringe with a blunt needle or from a pipette. If this does not work, inject small doses of water into the chameleons' mouth when they open it.
These lizards, in addition to water, can drink juices. Prepare a honey solution for them, which the animals will also like.
If you follow the listed recommendations, then the chameleon will live with you for at least four years and delight the owner, his family throughout this time with his charming appearance, funny habits.
Video about caring for a home chameleon, tips:
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