Parson's Chameleon — Fact Sheet

Calumma parsonii · Parson’s Chameleon · Parsons Chamäleon

📋 At a glance

🏠 Enclosure

• House one adult alone in a tall, well-ventilated screen, hybrid, or purpose-built enclosure
• Climate-controlled indoor housing is the default; use outdoor sunlight only in safe, mild weather with shade and constant supervision
• 120 x 60 x 120 cm is an absolute lower limit; about 180 x 90 x 180 cm or larger is preferred for a large nominate male
• Provide controlled drainage; adults still need an easy-to-clean floor beneath the planted canopy
• Use a removable floor or a mature, well-drained planted substrate; avoid aromatic wood, dusty chips, fertilizer exposure, and waterlogged soil
• Give every mature female permanent access to 30-40 cm of moist, tunnel-holding laying soil
• Avoid small glass boxes, stagnant warm air, constant visual contact with other chameleons, and routine handling

🪨 Enclosure furniture

• Dense live plants, visual barriers, and shaded retreats
• Firm horizontal and diagonal branches of varied diameters
• Broad basking route below heat and UVB, plus cooler routes into cover
• Dripper or rain surfaces positioned so runoff reaches the drainage system

💡 Lighting

• Linear T5 HO UVB is essential; target UVI 2-3 at the main basking branch and provide shade down to 0
• Add bright, plant-safe visible light and a separate broad basking lamp
• Set lamp distance from measured UVI, not packaging alone; replace lamps according to measured output and manufacturer guidance
• Photoperiod: 12-13 h in the active season and about 10-11 h during controlled seasonal cooling; no light at night

🌡️ Temperature

• Basking spot: 27-30 °C

• Warm zone: 21-25 °C

• Cool zone: 18-21 °C

• Night: 15-20 °C

• Maintain a broad gradient; sustained enclosure-wide heat above about 27-28 °C is dangerous

• Measure branch surfaces with an infrared thermometer and air zones with protected digital probes

• Plan room cooling for hot summers; avoid heat rocks and unguarded lamps

💧 Humidity & water

• Day: 50-70% RH with airflow and drying periods
• Night: 80-100% RH only after temperature drops and with strong ventilation
• Use long misting or rain cycles and a dripper as needed; chameleons should be seen drinking from clean leaves or branches
• Do not rely on a water bowl as the sole drinking source
• Keep drainage clean and never substitute constant wetness for hydration

🪳 Diet

Feed regularly:

• Roughly 3-5 appropriately sized, gut-loaded roaches, crickets, locusts, silkworms, or similar varied insects every 2-3 days while an adult is active

In moderation:

• Waxworms, superworms, and other fatty larvae; reduce food during an intentional cool season

Avoid:

• Wild-caught insects from contaminated areas, oversized prey, vertebrate prey, and poorly fed feeders

Supplements:

• Plain calcium on most active-season feedings; controlled multivitamin including appropriate vitamin A/D3 about 1-2 times monthly, adjusted to UVB, diet, product strength, and veterinary advice
• Gut-load feeders for 24-48 h and follow product labels to prevent chronic oversupplementation

💤 Seasonal cooling

• Appropriate only for healthy, acclimated animals under experienced supervision; it is not emergency treatment for an ill or underweight chameleon
• Shorten the photoperiod and feeding gradually while maintaining hydration and frequent weight checks
• A planned cool phase may use roughly 18-21 °C by day and 12-16 °C at night, with no basking heat if the animal remains settled
• Stop and seek an experienced reptile veterinarian for marked weight loss, weakness, breathing signs, or poor hydration

🩺 Health — warning signs

• Sunken eyes, tacky saliva, or concentrated urates → dehydration or systemic illness
• Weak grip, bent limbs, or soft jaw → UVB/calcium imbalance or metabolic bone disease
• Open-mouth breathing at rest → overheating or respiratory disease
• Persistent swelling, skin lesions, or poor shedding → infection, trauma, or husbandry problem
• Weight loss or prolonged refusal to eat → temperature, stress, parasites, reproductive disease, or other illness

Consult a reptile- or exotic-animal veterinarian promptly for breathing signs, severe weakness, egg-laying difficulty, injury, swelling, or sustained weight loss.