Yemen Chameleon
A Quick Guide To the Yemen Chameleon
The Yemen Chameleon, also known as the Veiled Chameleon, has a personality all of its own. They are predominantly from Yemen, as the name implies, although Veiled Chameleons can also be found in Saudi Arabia as well. Taking their natural habitat into consideration when planning the Chameleon’s cage is very important, as it is essential to try to design one as close to its natural surroundings as possible.
Some Chameleons can be tamed enough to come out and visit you and seem to look forward to your visits. On the other hand, others might only want to come out on occasion. To keep them in shape, however, it is a good idea to let them come out from time to time and wander around. Just make sure that you keep your eye on them.
If you want to try to tame your Yemen Chameleon, then you should try to hand feed him or her starting around the time that they are 10 weeks old. Patience is the key to taming them. Start out by putting a waxworm on your hand a little less than a foot from the Chameleon. Once the waxworm starts to move, the Chameleon will notice it and eat it. Eventually, as the Chameleon becomes more used to you, it will become more confident and over time will start taking the waxworm without hesitation. From there, you can start introducing other foods to it from your hand.
Most of the time, Chameleons are pretty solitary and don’t like being housed with other creatures. Therefore, it’s wise to only have one Chameleon in a cage by itself and not try to mix them.
They also need a lot of ventilation so if using a vivarium be sure to replace one of the sides with a mesh panel. Be sure to include lots of branches of different sizes in the cage so that the Chameleon can easily move around in it. If you place plants inside of the cage, then be sure that they are not toxic as some Chameleons will try to eat them. Of course, you can always place plastic ones in there as they are very easy to clean.
Yemen Chameleons require hot temperatures as they are originally from a hot climate. The basking area of the cage should be around 90 degrees. On the other end, however, it should be around 10 degrees lower. During the day, baby chameleons should be kept at a lower temperature than adults. At night time, the room temperature is fine as this helps stimulate their natural habitat where temperatures can decrease in the evening hours.
When living in the wild, Yemen Chameleons prefer moving water. Other water they find on leaves. When kept as pets, it is important to keep this behavior in mind. A Veiled Chameleon will not usually drink from a container of water. Drip systems where water can slowly drip out the end of a plastic tube are popular. Of course, you also have to make sure that the cage doesn’t become too wet, too. Putting a container inside the cage to catch the water is one way to combat this.
Even though they are from a hot climate, they still prefer having some water sources nearby as well. Therefore, misting the plants and cage at least once a day is preferred. You don’t want to drench the cage with water, of course, but a nice healthy mist will keep your Chameleon happy.
Live insects are pretty much the food of choice for the Yemen Chameleon, although they will also eat some vegetables as well. Dandelion leaves, grated sweet potatoes and carrots, and watercress are all good choices. Live insects such as brown crickets, mealworms, locusts, waxworms, spiders, flies, and grasshoppers are all good choices as well and can be found at most pet stores.