Safety Tips for Buying Veiled Chameleons

Video Transcript

"NICOLE BRAGG: On behalf of Expert Village, I'm Nicole and I'm here to tell you about Veiled Chameleons. When you're looking to purchase your chameleon something that you want to make sure you watch out for is species that you know are wild caught, or species that look a little listless, are sitting on the ground. Chameleons do not sit on the ground. They like to be in the trees. They will spend 95% of their time on the trees. Now, you want to make sure that your chameleon is nice and rounded around the middle. You don't want a chameleon that looks very thin, or has the skin caving in somewhere around the rib area. You don't want the ribs to stick out whatsoever. You want to make sure that your chameleon spines along its back and throat and belly areas are all intact. You don't want a chameleon that has large scars. This could mean that your chameleon was imported and has been in fights and has some sort of bacteria or infection introduced into its body. You also want to make sure the--both eyes are alert and the pupil is round. You also want to make sure that both eyes are operating well. Your chameleon's eyes should be moving several different directions, at the same time. They should be able to move without much trouble. They do move very slow, and they're capable of moving fast, but their movement is made to mimic that of leaves, kind of waving in the air. They're trying to blend in with their surroundings, so, that's something that--they do move very slowly and very, very different. Don't be alarmed if your chameleon is moving so slowly, or shaking back and forth a little bit. This is something they like to do as a natural defense in nature. Now, they are capable of moving fast. You want to pick a specimen that is fairly comfortable with your presence. Chameleons are not friendly. They do not like to be held. They are more for viewing rather than anything else. They're very sensitive so, this is something you need to make sure that you're willing to put up with. You want your chameleon to live a fairly stress-free life, so, don't chose a chameleon if you plan on having a lizard that's able to be handled."