The Best Chameleon Cage: Reviews & Guide 2022

One of the best choices for choosing a pet is a cute and amazing little creature called Chameleons. These small animals can show you how amazing Mother Nature is by their ability to change color that depends on their feelings or by the color of things that they touch.

If you are quite ready to take care of a unique lizard-like them and thinking about getting the best chameleon cage, then this article might be the good place for you to know the best and different type of cages that you’d want to get.

In here, we will be talking about the ideal chameleon habitat to build, the different types of chameleons that can be kept as pets, and the best cages for your new pet. Now let’s explore the world of chameleons.

Before Buying a Chameleon

Before making a decision of buying and taking care of a chameleon, it’s important that you should first know how to take care of them. You must know all the basic things about the said reptile like the type of cage they want to live in, the amount of light, and the right amount of humidity.

These are just a few of the things for you to take into consideration for the chameleon to live a happy and healthy life. The best cages are built to give the needs of chameleons. But, it is still important for you to know the difference between the low and high-quality kind of cages.

3 Tips on How to Take Care of Chameleons

We all know how interesting a chameleon is right? The fact that they can change their colors really fascinates us. There are around 202 different species of them (as described on June 2015) in certain countries and half of them can be found in an island that is off the southeastern coast of Africa called Madagascar. Some species are labeled as endangered because of habitat loss and because they are sold as pets.

Anyways, here are tips on how to properly care and provide the needs of a chameleon:

1. Understanding the Behavior and Temperament of a Chameleon

Usually, young chameleons have a brown or dull gray color and they can also change shades a bit. They start to develop the ability to change colors and change into an adult color in around 5 months of age. Their range of colors includes turquoise, green, black, and bluish green.

You can understand how your chameleon feels by just looking at their colors, and this is important for chameleon owners. A chameleon change colors depending on their moods, temperature, to communicate with other chameleons, and lighting conditions.

If a chameleon has a dark brown to black color, it means it is stressed out. Having brighter colors means it is in a happier mood. They also change colors to control their body temperature. Changing to lighter colors means it is cooling off, and to dark colors means it is trying to warm up.

2. How to House a Pet Chameleon

It is a little tricky to take care of a chameleon because of their natural habitats. All chameleons are arboreal, meaning they particularly live in trees. Their cages need to be supplied with sufficient leaves, branches or vines to have enough privacy and climbing spaces, and the cage must be a bit larger.

Large chameleons that are measured by 10 to 30 inches long should be provided with a cage that is measured by 3ft x 3ft x 4ft tall, the larger cage the better since it provides more space for the chameleon.

The size of the cage must be with branches or live foliage for climbing. Also make sure that the plants you put in the cage are non-toxic, since a chameleon may eat the leaves. Avoid putting small particles like sand, moss, bark, or gravel to prevent the chameleon from accidentally eating them while catching their prey.

3. Feeding and Drinking

Using food and water dishes in feeding your chameleons aren’t really necessary as the chameleons don’t use them. They get water from the droplets on the leaves and they much prefer eating live insects that are crawling around their cages.

In providing water, you can either use a drip system or by misting the cage. You can purchase or DIY a drip system by creating a water container with pin holes on top of the cage, or if you are in a tight budget you can just place ice cubes on top of the cage to slowly melt and drip into the cage.

In feeding, the chameleons do best when fed with different kinds of insects. Mealworms, crickets, wax moths, super worms, roaches, and wax worms are all good for the chameleon to eat. Let live insects crawl on the branches, leaves, or the cage’s wire and let your chameleon catch it on its own.

5 Best Chameleon Cages

If you’re a first timer in the world of chameleons, then don’t worry about stuff that you’ll need for your chameleon because you can always purchase the best starter kit for your pet and the ideal habitat for them.

And, if you are one of those who’ve been taking care of chameleons for years and is just looking for a good cage that you can replace with old one then this would help you decide of cage you should get.

In choosing the right cage for your pet, you should pick the one that is right for its skin type, origin, and the size of its body. It’s important for you to imitate the natural environment for the sake of your pet.

Here are 5 of the best cages that are available on the market, the cages also have reviews to help you choose the right chameleon cage for your pet.

1. Exo Terra Screen Terrarium

If you are looking for a good quality of terrarium for your pet, then this must be the type cage you need. This terrarium comes at a reasonable price, looks really good, easy to clean, and easy to set up.

It has a measurement of 24” x 18” x 36”, it is spacious enough to place the necessary items that can imitate the natural habitat of your pet chameleon. Additionally, it also has large, wide hinged doors to give you an easy and full access of the cage’s interior to make it easy for you to transform it into a perfect home for your pet.

Pros:

• Good for younger chameleons
• Easy to clean
• Affordable
• Easy to assemble
• Large door
• Provides enough light and air ventilation

Cons:

• Not durable

 2. Zoo Med Reptibreeze Screen Cage

If a well-built chameleon tank is what you are looking for, then this model is the one you are looking for. This tank is an aluminum, open-air screen cage that provides enough air, space, and light for your cute little pet. It’s also very easy to assemble and won’t take a lot of your time.

It has a measurement of 24” x 24” x 48” inches, thus giving it enough space for your chameleon. Add all kinds of live plants, because as you know, live plants can grasp better humidity and can provide drinking surfaces and an improvised cover. The cage’s size can let you set several lightings on top it to give off enough UVB rays for your pet’s needs.

Pros:

• Large
• Easy to clean
• Durable
• Easy to assemble
• Easy Access

Cons:

• Not so stable
• Very light-weighted

 3. Exo Terra Glass Terrarium

If you don’t mind spending an extra amount of money and much prefer a glass type of cage, then this is the perfect terrarium for you and your chameleon. It comes with jungle vines, water dish, jungle rope, substrate, and a care guide that is perfect for every new owner of a chameleon. With an amazing bonus of habitat kit, it will keep your pet to live safe and soundly.

The cage is made of glass and is very durable and stylish. It will also add a good touch to your living room or bedroom. You don’t have to worry about the cage’s humidity, the cage has a unique kind of air ventilation on the front and the top of the cage is made up of metal screen that provides fresh air-flow and enough humidity level.

Pros:

• Heavy and stable
• Good ventilation and light
• Comes with decoration items
• Good for new chameleon owners
• Durable

Cons:

• Very heavy. It makes it difficult to move around
• Low-quality decoration items

 4. Midwest Critter Nation

If you are looking for a very large chameleon cage, a bit complex, very spacious, and can put up a lot of decorations, designs, and toys. Then this might be just the cage that you are looking for. It is a two-story cage with double doors for a very access into the cage’s interior.

Since the cage has ramps, it will give your pet enough walking and climbing spaces to play all day long. Your pet won’t get bored. Each shelf of the cage is removable and easy to clean.

Pros:

• Great design
• 2 Stories
• Easy to move
• Large space
• Suitable for all reptiles
• Easy to clean
• Non-split surfaces
• Sturdy
• Has shelves and ramps
• Double doors

Cons:

• Heavy
• A bit difficult to assemble

5. Zilla Fresh Air Screen Habitat

Unlike the other cages, this cage is a bit small with a measurement of 18” x 30” inches. It’s small but can still be a perfect habitat for your pet chameleon. It has big enough door to give an easy access and get to design it into a natural habitat for your little reptile.

Like other cages, this also full visibility of the inside of the cage and also provides enough light and proper ventilation for your pet all day. It has a black mesh screen and an aluminum frame that is sturdy and strong enough to last for a long time. The bottom of the cage gives off a great support and is water resistant.

Pros:

• Durable
• Sturdy
• PVC bottom
• Easy to assemble
• Very affordable
• Water resistant
• Easy to clean
• Two hinged doors

Cons:

• Don’t have a bottom door
• The trays aren’t removable

Other Essential Items for Chameleon

Best UVB Light for Reptiles

It has a low heat and full spectrum and it is really suitable to be used around chameleons. This has a strong ray of UVB and UVA that can help your pet to synthesize vitamins and help absorb calcium. This is also tested to last for a long period of time

Best Tank Humidifier for Reptiles

This humidifier uses an ultrasonic technology that helps release a cool mist into your pet’s tank. It creates the level of humidity for the good health of your pet. The output of the fog can also be adjusted to up to 300ml per hour. It is also suitable for reptiles and amphibians like gecko’s, snakes, bearded dragons, and more.

 Decorative Vine for the Cage

Here is another enhancement in decorating your pet’s habitat. You can bend this realistic vine into any shape that you wanted. This provides a climbing activity for your pet or a place to hide if shaped properly. It is non-toxic and safe for your pet.

This vine has a length of 5 feet and for up to 5 inches wide giving you enough ideas in cultivating it into a perfect shape.

6 Facts about Chameleons

We all know how interesting a chameleon is right? The fact that they can change their colors really fascinates us. There are around 202 different species of them (as described on June 2015) in certain countries and half of them can be found in an island that is off the southeastern coast of Africa called Madagascar. Some species are labeled as endangered because of habitat loss and because they are sold as pets.

Anyways, below will be a short list of interesting facts about chameleons. There might be some things that you may not know about.

Fact #1: Eyes with a Vision of 360-Degrees

The eyes of a chameleon can see two directions at the same time and can move in 360-degrees. This can let them detect two objects or preys in opposite sides. Their eyes can be focused in one direction when they see a prey.

For reptiles, they also have good eyesight. They can see small insects from 5 to 10 meters away.

Fact #2: Mood Changing Colors

Most of us know that the reason why a chameleon changes its color is to camouflage themselves to get away from predators. But that is not actually the case, changing colors for camouflage is their last resort for protection. The color changes actually depend on the reptile’s mood, the amount of light, and the temperature of their surroundings. And the one behind this color change is called Chromatophores.

 Fact #3: Bullet-like Tongue

Here is another interesting feature of a chameleon, their tongues. Their tongues can be as long as their body or twice the length of their body. The tip of their tongues has a big ball-like muscle that’ll a small suction cup as soon as it hits its prey.

The tongue projection can be as fast as 0.07 seconds to reach the prey. The tongues of smaller chameleons are said to have more purposes than the bigger ones.

Fact #4: Quiet Nature

Mainly a chameleon is a solitary reptile and is considered to be shy by nature. But there are some species known to be quite accepting of members of the same breed. When scared a chameleon will make hissing sounds and tend to bite for protection. Do not worry if you ever got bitten since it is totally harmless and non-toxic.

Fact #5: Wet to Dry Habitats

Chameleon lives in different habitats. They can in rain forests, lowlands, scrub-savannas, deserts, mountains, and semi-deserts. But a lot of the species can be located in trees, small bushes, grass, dry branches, and fallen leaves.

Those who live in the desert tend to dig holes to get away from the extreme heat of the sun and the coldness of the night.

Fact #6: No Ears and No Eardrums

A snake has no outer or middle ear nor an ear-opening or eardrums. Same with the chameleons, they have no holes at the side of their head that can be identified as ears.

But they are not deaf, they can feel or detect sound frequencies that range from 200 to 600 Hz.

Conclusion:

Owning you’re first ever chameleon pet can be both rewarding and satisfying for you. Taking care of this kind of pets aren’t really hard since they are independent and doesn’t really need their owner’s company like other household pets do.

As long as you provide a high-quality cage, enough ventilation, plenty of light, and of course food and water, then your pet can live healthily. It’s your job to keep your pet safe from any harm, so choose a good cage that will make them safe and live comfortably.