ive been keeping and breeding different species of chameleons for a few years now. if you want specifis, you gotta email me and let me know which species you are interested in. there are many to choose from, jackson's, veileds, panther, senegals, graceful, quadricornus, pygmies, all sorts! do some research and let me know. a good resource to check out is chameleonforums.com
the basic chameleons (most except pygmies) will need the following:
-an all screen cage. 18x18x36 minimum.
-a live plant. most keepers use shefflura, pothos, or habiscus, flchams.com has a safe plant list to choose from.
-a water source. a dripper 12 hours a day and 3 or 4, 5 minute mistings are required to maintain the proper humidity levels and keep the chameleon hydrated. you can choose to do the mistings by hand, or get an automatic mister.
-uvb lighting. all chameleons need uvb lights. repti-sun and repti-glo 5.0 linear tubes are what most keepers use. be careful when choosing other brands because a few have been recalled in the past for blinding chameleons.
-heat. a regular household bulb of appropriate wattage in a dome lamp creates the ambient heat a chameleon may need. certain chameleons need certain temps. DO NOT get colored bulbs. lights go off at night and they do not need heat at night, so there is no reason for a red or blue bulb which keeps chameleons up and makes them miserable. they need darkness to sleep.
-supplements. you need 3 supplements: plain calcium without d3, calcium with vitamin d3, and a reptivitamin. the feeding schedule that you use these all depends on the species you choose.
-food. variety is better. crickets, roaches, and silkworms make great staple foods. stay away from mealworms and waxworms as they have been linked to impaction, which kills your chameleon. all feeders must be gutloaded, which means you have to feed the bugs healthy food in order for your chameleon to stay healthy. there is a blog on chameleonforums outlining the foods you should be feeding your bugs, and food to stay away from.
-NO SUBSTRATE. i dont care how low your humidity is, stay away from substrate unless you have a gravid female. chameleons have been known to eat their substrate and it builds up in their intestines, causing impaction which will kill them. instead, wrap a shower curtain aorund 3 sides of the cage to keep humidity up.
-***if you get an egg laying female*** some species of chameleons lay eggs, some do not. jackson's chameleons give live birth. veileds and panther lay eggs. if you get an egg laying female, she WILL lay eggs about twice a year when she reaches about 7 months old even if she was not introduced to a male. these eggs are infertile. you need to provide her with an appropriate egg laying bin in order for her to lay them, chameleons are picky and if you do not give her an appropriate egg laying bin, she will keep the eggs inside her, they will bind to eachother, she will then not be able to lay them, and will die. chameleonforums has a great thread with pictures , videos and links on how to prevent this from happening.
-other than stated above, make sure your cage has branches and dial rods and fake plants to make the chameleon feel at home. try not to handle the chameleon much for the first month or so. BUY FROM A BREEDER! not a pet store. pet store chameleons are usually sick when you get them which makes it a bad experience for you.
personally, they are very unique and cool pets to have, but their care is very specific, they get sick easily, and you really cannot "play" with them. once in a great while i will have a friendly one who enjoys coming out and spending time with me, but other than that, they prefer to be left alone.