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Atlas / Library / Chamaeleonidae / Veiled Chameleon
IntermediateDiurnal · active nowCITES IIIUCN LC
Chamaeleonidae

Veiled Chameleon

Chamaeleo calyptratusกิ้งก่าคาเมเลียนหมวก

Part of this is not on the page we cite. We opened it on 10 Aug 2026 and some of the degrees above are not stated there. The values above may still be right, but we cannot show you where they came from, and nobody here has checked them against a second source. Anything about a sick animal goes to a qualified exotic vet, not to a page. reptifiles.com

Photograph: H. Zell · CC BY-SA

Photographed by an observer on iNaturalist and published under a Creative Commons licence; the photographer and the licence are named under the image. It is not an animal of ours, and no animal was handled by us to produce it.

14:00
Day

Drag the sun. Veiled Chameleon is diurnal, so what it is doing changes with the light. The sheet states a night temperature, and the rail follows it.

Arboreal · warm · dryFrom the sheet: warm end 29–35°C, 22–27°C, humidity 40–50%

The way of life is written in this sheet, word for word. The climate words summarise the two figures above them, they do not add to them.

CITES II is a global listing and holds in every country. National law is not global, and we hold no national wildlife law for any country, Thailand included. Check your own authority before buying or selling.

Check your setup against this sheet I keep one 123 plants usable with this species
Back to the globe My keep

https://keepr.pet/husbandry/en/chamaeleo-calyptratus

‹ All husbandry guides
warm end29–35 °C
Humidity40–50 %
Enclosure60×60×120

The numbers

Temperature

152025303540 °C
22–27°Ambient
18–21°Night
29–35°CBasking surfaceMeasured on the surface under the lamp, not in the air. It is not drawn on the rail above: that scale is the air the enclosure holds, and a basking surface sits far outside it.

One ambient band, 22–27°C, dropping to 18–21°C at night. Same scale on every sheet here, so two species compare by eye.

The sheet statesbasking 29-35 °C (85-95 °F) / ambient 22-27 °C / night 18-21 °C

Humidity

40–50%Target RH

The sheet states40-50% day, 80-100% night (mist)

UVB

Requiredrequired

The sheet statesLinear T5; replace ~6 mo

Diet
Crickets, dubia, silkworms, hornworms · Every other day

Identity

Adult size

1.75 m43–60 cm ♂
1520100400 cm
43–60 cmNose to tail, adult ♂

The size the sheet states for a grown animal. This sheet gives a figure per sex; the one drawn is marked.

Why

Two drawings, because they answer two questions. The silhouette is at true scale against a 1.75 m person: it says how big this animal actually is, which no number does for someone who has never seen one. The bar under it is logarithmic and shared by every sheet here, so a 2 cm isopod and a 4 m python both stay readable on the same axis and two species can be compared at a glance.

Family / Order
Chamaeleonidae / Squamata
Origin
Adult size
♂ 43–60 cm · ♀ 25–35 cm
Lifespan (captivity)
♂ 5–8 yrs · ♀ 4–6 yrs
Activity
Diurnal; arboreal; solitary
Temperament
Display animal: not a handling pet; territorial

How common this animal is

48/100Search interest as a pet

Relative Google search interest for the species as a pet, 2020. The scale is relative within the study: 100 is the most searched reptile it measured, not a count of animals. Reptiles only, and only the species the study measured. An absent value means the study did not measure that species, not that nobody keeps it.

Valdez JW (2021), Using Google Trends to Determine Current, Past, and Future Trends in the Reptile Pet Trade, Animals 11(3):676

53,317Live individuals in declared US trade filings

NOT a measure of how many are kept. These filings count animals shipped for any purpose, including the food trade and laboratory supply, and they are United States records only. The three largest volumes in the source belong to a food frog, a bait species and the standard laboratory amphibian.

US Fish and Wildlife Service LEMIS declared wildlife import and export records, as compiled in the received dataset

Enclosure and conditions

Enclosure

60 cm120 cm
warm hidewaterUVB tube
50100150200 cm
60 × 60 × 120 cmWidth × depth × height
36dm² of floor
Substrate: not in our dataWarm side: not in our data

Drawn from the stated numbers. Only what the sheet states is drawn inside.

Why

The rectangle carries the exact width-to-height ratio of the figures above it, and the ruler under it places that width on the 0–250 cm scale every sheet here shares, so two species still compare at a glance. Nothing is added that the sheet does not name: a lamp drawn on a sheet that never mentions one would be invented equipment. What the sheet leaves out is listed rather than left blank, because an empty tank reads as « none needed ».

The sheet states60 × 60 × 120 cm screen (males); vertical + airflow

Basking
29–35 °C (85–95 °F)
Ambient
22–27 °C (72–80 °F)
Night
18–21 °C
Humidity
40–50% day, 80–100% night (mist)
UVB (required)
Linear T5; replace ~6 mo
Min. size
60 × 60 × 120 cm screen (males); vertical + airflow
Furnishings
Dense foliage + vines
Water
Dripper / misting (won't drink standing water)

What your climate adds

This sheet states a range to hold. Your local climate decides how much work holding it is. Pick the nearest city: nothing is sent anywhere, the choice stays in this browser.

Diet

Diet type
Insectivore (occasional plant nibble)
Staple insects
Crickets, dubia, silkworms, hornworms
Juveniles
Daily
Adults
Every other day
Calcium
Ca no-D3 every feed; Ca+D3 + multivit 2×/month

Behaviour and handling

HandlingMinimal: stresses easily; hands-off display species
CohabitationStrictly solitary: never house together
Stress signsDark colors, gaping, hiding
DefenseGape, hiss, may bite
ChildrenWatch, don't handle

Reproduction

Life course

Day 0Hatch
0.4–0.7 yrSexual maturity
5–8 yrLifespan in care
152–274 dIncubation
20–80 eggs; ♀ lay even unmated → need lay binClutch
5 yrMinimum commitment
~4.3 yrReproductive window

Read from the lifespan and maturity the sheet states, for animals in care and not in the wild.

Why

The minimum commitment is the low end of that lifespan, and the reproductive window is what is left after maturity: both are subtractions on stated figures, not figures of their own.

Sexual maturity
~5–8 months
Sexing
♂ has a tarsal spur on hind feet at hatch
Clutch
20–80 eggs; ♀ lay even unmated → need lay bin
Incubation
~5–9 months at ~28 °C
Note
Egg-laying is a serious ♀ health consideration

Common health problems

Metabolic bone disease
Signsvery common; weak/bent limbs
Preventcorrect UVB + calcium
Dehydration / kidney issues
Signssunken eyes, orange urates
Preventproper misting/dripper hydration
Egg-binding (♀)
Signsstraining, lethargy
Preventprovide a lay site; vet if straining
Stress / URI
Signspoor airflow, over-handling
Preventscreen enclosure + ventilation; hands-off

When to see a vet

This is not veterinary advice. If red flags appear (open-mouth breathing, months of weight loss, 'stargazing', persistent regurgitation) consult a qualified exotic (herp) veterinarian. Quarantine new arrivals 30–90 days.

Good to know

  • Independently rotating eyes give 360° vision; the tongue is longer than the body.
  • Color change signals mood and temperature: not mainly camouflage.
  • Females can lay large clutches even without a male.
  • Color change signals mood and temperature — not mainly camouflage.

Common questions

Can I handle it?

Best not: a look-don't-touch display pet.

Why won't it drink from a bowl?

They drink moving droplets: use a dripper.

Beginner-friendly?

Rewarding but demanding: precise humidity/UVB/hydration.

What it needs

Enclosure at least 60 × 60 × 120 cmbecause enclosure — 60 × 60 × 120 cm screen (males); vertical + airflow
A heat sourcebecause temp — basking 29-35 °C (85-95 °F) / ambient 22-27 °C / night 18-21 °C
A thermostat to regulate itbecause temp — basking 29-35 °C (85-95 °F) / ambient 22-27 °C / night 18-21 °C
A thermometerbecause temp — basking 29-35 °C (85-95 °F) / ambient 22-27 °C / night 18-21 °C
A way to check the night figurebecause temp — basking 29-35 °C (85-95 °F) / ambient 22-27 °C / night 18-21 °C
A hygrometerbecause humidity — 40–50% day, 80–100% night (mist)
UVB (T5), stated as requiredbecause uvb — Linear T5; replace ~6 mo

Every line above is deduced from a value this sheet states, and names which one. Nothing here is a general recommendation.

  • Screen enclosure 60×60×120
  • T5 UVB + basking
  • Dripper + mister/fogger
  • Vines & foliage
  • Lay bin (females)
  • Calcium + D3 + multivit
  • Gut-loaded feeders
  • Digital hygro/thermometer

Sources

ReptiFiles — Veiled ChameleonPetMD — Veiled Chameleon

Others in this group

Panther ChameleonFurcifer pardalisJackson's chameleonTrioceros jacksoniiSenegal chameleonChamaeleo senegalensisCarpet ChameleonFurcifer lateralisPygmy ChameleonRhampholeon spectrumMeller's ChameleonTrioceros melleriOustalet's ChameleonFurcifer oustaletiO'Shaughnessy's ChameleonCalumma oshaughnessyi

What this sheet states

100%
TemperatureHumidityEnclosure sizeActivityOriginDietSourcesUVB

Every field this product runs on is stated here. That is not a claim that the values are right: it says what the sheet states, not whether it is true. Whether a human has read it is the badge at the top of this page.

UVB is measured but does not count: it is absent from 421 of 678 sheets, and on most of them that is not a gap, since a nocturnal snake's sheet has no reason to state a UV index. Counting it would call the library incomplete without cause.