Veiled chameleons are indigenous to the area of Saudi Arabia and Yemen. The Veiled chameleon is one of the hardiest of all chameleon species and can be most prolific. This specie may lay from 20-80 eggs at one time and may do this 5-6 times per year.

Veiled chameleons live singly and individuals have their own territories. Baby Veiled chameleons can be reared in-groups but should be housed individually after the age of four months. The larger the enclosure the better. Screened enclosures are best, allowing for good ventilation. Veiled chameleons do not do well in glass aquariums. I can not stress this fact enough. Do not keep Veiled chameleons in glass aquariums. This specie is highly arboreal. Climbing branches and dense foliage should be provided within their enclosures.

The Veiled chameleons are slow moving creatures. Their survival in the wild depends on their ability to conceal themselves from predators. They will flatten their bodies to look more like a leaf in appearance. When the chameleon moves they will rock their bodies from side to side and this gives the appearance of a leaf swaying in the wind. The Veiled chameleon has the ability to rotate its eyes and to see in two directions at the same time and still remain motionless on a branch.

The tip of the Veiled chameleon’s tongue is like a suction cup. The Veiled chameleon propels its tongue out and it attaches to an insect and the chameleon jerks the insect back into its mouth. The length of the Veiled chameleon’s tongue is about 1 1/2 times the length of its body.

Substrates should not be used in Veiled chameleon enclosures. Debri can be picked up by the chameleon’s tongue when pursuing prey items.

This specie is very easy to sex. The male Veiled chameleon has a spur on the heel of their rear feet. This spur is lacking in the female Veiled chameleon.

Mist the enclosure twice daily. The Veiled chameleon will drink drops of water from the leaves in its enclosure. They will not drink from a bowl. You may also create your own water drip system by placing a plastic container on the top of the enclosure with a pinhole in the bottom of the container. The cage should be able to dry out completely between mistings. Another good reason to use well ventilated cages.

Daytime temperature should be around 75 - 78 degrees F with nighttime drop of at least ten to fifteen degrees degrees F.

The Veiled chameleon should be given a basking spot of  90 - 100 degrees F and this can be achieved with a clamp lamp using a 100-watt bulb on one end of the enclosure. Take care to place the basking light where the chameleon can not come into contact with it and be burned.  The other side of the enclosure should remain room temperature. Take care not to overheat the enclosure. A cool area is just as important as the basking area!

Commercially raised insects such as crickets  may be fed daily. Occasionally you may want to feed wax worms or mealworms. Mealworms should not be fed to animals less than six months of age. It is important to vary their diet because chameleons can become bored with the same diet and may refuse to eat if fed the same diet over a period of time.

You can order bulk supply of crickets from Fluker Farms 800-735-8537. Approximate cost for 1,000 crickets is $19.00. They will ship nationwide.

Unlike other chameleon species the Veiled chameleon will consume a variety of plant matter and fruit such as collard greens, mustard greens, kale, carrots, melon, tomatoes, peaches, bananas, etc. Again, make sure their diet is varied. A varied diet lessons the chance of  a dietary deficiency and contributes greatly to the health of the chameleon.

Always dust feeder insects with a calcium powder such as Rep-Cal w/D3. Two to three times a month dust with a good vitamin/mineral supplement such as Nekton-Rep and Miner-All.  Nekton-Rep-Color is another vitamin available from Nekton, which has color enhancers in it, and well worth the cost if your breeding for color.

Veiled chameleons have the ability to change colors and are often referred to as the masters of disguise. These color changes are commonly referred to as stress colors, which can be anywhere from teal blue to yellow or even orange. Only the male Veiled chameleon achieves a brilliant coloration. Females can also change in coloration but are much less brilliant in color changes than their male counterpart.

Always introduce the female chameleon into the male chameleon’s enclosure when breeding the Veiled chameleon. If the female chameleon is receptive she will remain a bright green color and allow the male chameleon to mount. If the female chameleon is not receptive she may gape and attempt to bite the male chameleon and turn black in color. If this happens remove the female chameleon and place her back into her own enclosure and try again the next week.

Remember Veiled chameleons should not be housed together after the age of four months. Housing Veiled chameleons together will cause great stress on them and lower their resistance to disease and illness. There have also been documented cases of male and female chameleons actually killing each other when housed together on a permanent basis.

Once the female chameleons are bred their abdomen becomes noticeably larger and you can see ridges along the sides of the abdomen, which are eggs. Females will stop eating approximately one-two weeks prior to laying their eggs. They will resume eating a few days after laying their eggs.

Approximately twenty days after breeding the female chameleon will begin digging an egg-laying site. Make sure you have a tub of dirt in the female chameleon’s enclosure with at least eighteen inches of soil. The female chameleon will dig to the bottom to deposit her eggs.

Eggs should be removed for incubation. There has been great debate on incubation temperatures for the Veiled chameleon eggs. Allot of books on the market suggest incubation temperatures of 85-88 deg f.  At  this temperature I have found lower hatch rates and babies may be born weak. I suggest an incubation temperature of aprox 80-deg f with a hatch time of anywhere from five to six months. At this temperature there is a much higher hatch rate and the babies are born stronger. In the wild eggs have been dug up as deep as two feet and the temperature at that depth has been found to be around 77 deg f. Once a clutch of eggs begins to hatch it may take up to two weeks for the entire clutch to hatch.

Again, baby Veiled chameleons may be reared together, providing you have a large enough enclosure, and should be separated by the age of four months to their own individual enclosures.

When picking up your Veiled chameleon always coax the chameleon onto your hand by prodding their rear-end. Their grasping ability is great and you make break their tail or foot by pulling them off of a branch.

The baby Veiled chameleons should be misted with distilled water or filtered water twice daily. Do not use tap water for misting the baby chameleons.  Tap water may contain high amounts of chlorine, which can overcome baby chameleons in a short period of time. When misting the enclosure do not directly spray over the baby chameleons as this may cause them to choke and die.

The baby Veiled chameleons may be fed one-eigth inch  or two-week-old  crickets and fruit flies.  All insects should be dusted before being fed and just like the adults the young should be provided a basking spot and this may be achieved with a clamp lamp and a 100-watt bulb over the enclosure. Take care not to overheat the enclosure. The end opposite the basking area should remain room temperature. The baby chameleons  have a very small body mass and in a couple of hours can dehydrate and die if the enclosure is kept to hot. Again, a cool area is just as important as the basking area.

Exposure to natural sunlight, whenever possible, is important. Make sure the enclosure you provide outside for your Veiled chameleon allows for good ventilation so that the animal is not overheated while being exposed to sunlight. You should also provide a shade area inside the enclosure. Do not use glass enclosures to sun your animals. Glass enclosures can overheat in a matter of minutes. Ideally exposure to the sun should be three times weekly with a minimum of thirty minutes each exposure. Indoor enclosures should have a high quality full spectrum light. These full spectrum lights do not however, take the place of natural sunlight.

You must educate yourself on the specialized needs of a reptile prior to purchase. All reptiles require different and specialized care. Even captive-bred reptiles can pick up parasites from vegetation, water supply, insects, etc. Parasites can overwhelm an animal in captivity and they can decline rapidly.  It’s always a good idea to take a new reptile to the vet. 

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