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Anonymous
Chameleons are about the highest maintenance of any exothermic pet (aside from the sheer size and food consumption of crocodilians, large monitors, etc.). They tend to be fairly fickle and need rather specific conditions. You'll want a well ventilated enclosure (you can get all-screen enclosures made specifically with chameleons in mind), and unless you fancy manually spraying it down multiple times daily, you'll likely want to invest in a mister system or something of the sort (waterfalls can be good too). Live plants also help with humidity - I recommend philodendrons as a hearty, safe, and easy option you can readily find at a hardware store or whatnot. In addition to a basking lamp, you need UV lighting (helps metabolize vitamins/minerals), and a place where the animal can escape the UV (else you run the risk of radiation burns). For substrate, I advocate about a half inch to an inch fine gravel base with Bed-a-Beast* or another similar bedding on top (optionally mixed about 2-3:1 with sand to stiffen it). The gravel base gives excess water from the mist a place to build up without getting the bedding too soggy, and with many reptile enclosures, you even have an opening in the bottom of the tank from which you can drain it.
If you want a good pet lizard, the trifecta of good pets would be Bearded Dragons, Mali Uromastyx, and Leopard Geckos.
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