The Veiled Chameleon is a medium to large lizard found most commonly in the Yemen. It is frequently found in captivity due to its size, colours and the ease with which
it can be kept. It is strong, resilient and tolerant of a range of conditions.
It is, however, one of the captive chameleons most prone to metabolic bone disease (MBD) so care is needed to avoid such problem.
A male Veiled can grow to 50cm in length, although females are smaller, and
a well ventilated cage measuring 80cm by 60cm by 80cm high would be sufficient but larger would be better. They should not be kept together except for breeding, or when very young, as they can be aggressive to
each other.
A temperature range of 15c at night and 25 to 30c during the day would be reasonable. Extremes should be avoided but the chameleons will take lower temperatures during
the winter. Food should be varied as much as possible but crickets can provide
the basic staple diet. These chameleons are insectivorous and while they may
occasionally eat vegetation, such as flowers or diced carrot, this should only be a small part of their diet. Water should
be provided by spraying; some people claim to have trained their chameleon to drink from a bowl but this is unusual and should
not be expected.
MBD is due to calcium deficiency and the Veiled is very prone for various reasons. There is tendency for keepers to feed the lizards too much and keep them too warm;
this leads to excessively fast growth. Vitamin and calcium supplements are required,
as is the correct UV exposure. If at all possible natural sun light is preferred
over anything else. If using lights a 5.0 UV is recommended.
The females are most at risk from MBD and the production of eggs takes a huge toll
on her, with anything up to 80 eggs produced every few months. Breeding should
not be done when the animal is too young - subject to size and conditions the correct age would be between 8 months and a
year. Between batches of eggs try to strengthen her with a varied diet, good
quality calcium supplement and natural sun light.
The eggs can be incubated at 26c and will take 6 months to hatch. The neonates are very simple to rear and are quite robust. The
species is sexually dimorphic and the differences are evident from the moment they hatch.
The male has a spur on his rear feet even as he exits the egg and his casque becomes more prominent as he grows. The
early months can dictate its later health so only buy from a shop that you have confidence in.
