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Tropical arboreal lizard

Veiled chameleon

Chamaeleo calyptratus

Kept the same way as the day gecko, Chinese water dragon and green anole, so they share one kit: the same heat, light, and humidity, sized to the animal.

Build a veiled chameleon setup See the gear
Photograph of a Veiled chameleon
Photograph by Kupos, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Care sheet

What it needs

We have taken these figures from published sources and are still checking them against our own experience. Treat them as a guide, and ask us before you buy.

Basking surface
29 to 35°C Measured on the surface the animal lies on, not in the air.
Daytime air
22 to 35°C The cool end, away from the lamp.
Night air
13 to 24°C
UV index at the basking spot
2.9 to 7.4 Zone 3. Open or partial sun basker, thermoregulator
Humidity
40 to 100%
Daylight hours
13 h in summer, 11 h in winter
Where it lives
Foliage or shrubs, Arboreal
Adult length
25 to 61 cm
When it is active
Diurnal
How it lives
Arboreal
Typical captive life
6 years
Longest recorded life
8 years A record from the literature, not what to expect. Most animals live well short of it.

Our reading of the literature, not veterinary advice. Animals vary, and so do rooms, so take these figures, and any setup the builder puts together, as a starting point, and ask a reptile vet about your own animal. Where the figures come from.

From the catalogue

Gear that suits a veiled chameleon

Chosen for tropical arboreal lizard. The setup builder puts the whole kit together, sized to the animal, with the reason for each piece.

Build the whole kit

Same care group

Kept the same way

Where it comes from

Yemen, SW Saudi Arabia (up to 2500 m). Introduced to USA (Florida) calyptratus: Yemen calcarifer: SW Saudi Arabia, Yemen (?); type locality: Bembatuka [= Bombetoka] (in error for Arabian Peninsula; probably near Aden, Yemen). See comment.

Breeding: oviparous

Where the figures come from