Thanks for the interesting and important question. It’s a bad idea to handle chameleons unless necessary. Unfortunately, many will not show outward signs of stress, but internally stress hormones will be wrecking havoc on the immune system. This is one of the primary reasons why even well-habituated captives do not live as long as they otherwise might in captivity, die suddenly “for no apparent reason” and rarely reproduce. The animal will receive absolutely no benefit at all from human contact or a change in scenery. Outdoor exposure to sunlight is beneficial, but in a secure screen cage, not in the hand or perched on a shoulder. Please consider your lizard as a pet to observe only.

Please let me know if you need any further information. Good luck, enjoy and please keep me posted.

Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.

Thanks, and please don’t hesitate to write in. We have much to learn about chameleons, so every exchange is useful to both myself and other readers. I often ideas generated here with herpetologist colleagues as well.

Almost any available greens can be tried, other than spinach/cabbage which has been implicated in excretory system stones in some species. Avoid fruit, as they likely do not encounter this in the wild and may not be able to digest it properly.

Unlike snakes, lizards shed piecemeal, sometimes over a few days. They may also eat some or all of the skin. Spray him a bit more than usual during shedding and check that no skin remains on the toes or tail tip after a few days.

Growing animals fed heavily do shed often, but complete sheds one after another, over a 2 week or so period, can indicate mites or other problems.

Good luck and please keep me posted.

Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.

We’ve had him about 3 weeks now and when we brought him home he was just finishing shedding (justa few pieces of dead skin) … I came home from work today to find him shedding again… Is this normal?

Thanks for your interest in our blog.

A vitamin supplement should be added to the diet along with the calcium; Reptivite with D3 is a good choice. We do not yet understand their specific needs, but some general rules have emerged based on experience. If the diet is limited to 3-4 species of feeder insects, and considering that the lizard s young, use supplements 4-5 times weekly, alternating between the 2 types. You can reduce somewhat if wild-caught insects are used (please write in with details).

Please remember that without UVB light, the lizard will not be able to metabolize the calcium it consumes.

Waxworms and other insects are useful; waxworms are high in chitin and may be hard to digest, so use only 2-3 grubs every few days; same for small Super Mealworms. Regular mealworms are best kept as a colony – use newly shed (white) grubs or beetles.

Good luck, enjoy and please keep me posted.

Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.

Another question I have is if he is too small for waxworms or other feeders yet?

Thanks for your interest in our blog. I would say a Veiled Chameleon for sure. Assuming you can provide enough space and a good diet, they can be quite hardy. Definitely not an animal to handle, however.

Please write back if you have further questions,

Good luck and please keep me posted.

Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.

Thanks for your interest in our blog.

Mold usually indicates that the incubation medium is too moist and/or that the eggs are not fertile or have ceased to develop. If you’d like to provide details as to how they were set up, I may be able to offer some advice re the next batch of eggs.

The eggs are most likely not viable; try looking at them against a bright light, to see if any blood vessels are visible. If so, you might try some methylene blue (1 drop dissolved in 2 oz. water) on the egg shells (use gloves, as it stains skin) but in all likely the eggs unfortunately will not hatch.

Good luck and please keep me posted.

Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.