Enclosures for Parson's Chameleons

Parson’s Chameleons grow from small hatchlings to large, robust adults, and their enclosure needs change significantly as they mature. All of our recommendations come from a few years of keeping Parson’s Chameleons at our facility and great advice from keepers who blazed the trail for keeping and breeding them.

Enclosure Size for Baby Parson’s Chameleons (0-6 Months)

When Parson’s Chameleons are babies (up to about 6 months old), they are much smaller and more fragile. A large enclosure can be overwhelming, making it harder for them to find food and water, so a smaller, more manageable space is better:

• Recommended Size: A baby Parson’s Chameleon can be housed in an enclosure around 18x18x24 inches (45x45x60 cm). This size allows the chameleon to explore and climb while still maintaining visibility for feeding and monitoring.
• Climbing Opportunities: Provide plenty of horizontal and vertical branches to encourage climbing and exercise. This helps mimic the natural behavior of chameleons in the wild.

Enclosure Size for Juvenile Parson’s Chameleons (6-12 Months)

As Parson’s Chameleons grow, their enclosure needs to be upgraded to accommodate their increasing size and activity levels.

• Recommended Size: A juvenile Parson’s Chameleon (up to about 250 grams) should have an enclosure of at least 24x24x48 inches (60x60x90 cm). This size provides enough space for movement and allows for a more complex arrangement of branches and foliage.

Enclosure Size for Adult Parson’s Chameleons (12+ Months)

Adult Parson’s Chameleons are large and require a spacious enclosure to ensure their well-being.

• Minimum Size: Many keepers will tell you that the enclosure for an adult should be at least 48x24x48 inches (90x60x120 cm). However, larger enclosures are always better for this species. In our new building, we’re having enclosures built that are 6 feet wide, 4 feet deep, and 8 feet tall.  We’re excited to start moving our Adult Parson’s into these enclosures as they will provide ample climbing space and the ability to create temperature gradients. Currently, we keep our Adult Parson’s outside in enclosures that are 7 feet wide, 3 feet wide, and 6 feet tall.
• Vertical vs Horizontal Space: Since Parson’s Chameleons are arboreal, vertical space is important, but horizontal space should not be neglected. Tall enclosures provide better opportunities for climbing and thermoregulation, mimicking the tree-dwelling habits of the species. However, height combined with width gives your Parson’s Chameleon room to stretch out and move around. Often times, you’ll find your Parson’s Chameleon in the same ‘layer’ of the cage but moving horizontally.

Being arboreal, Parson’s Chameleons need a good branch structure throughout their enclosure to ensure they have room to move around. In addition, you’ll want to make sure that your Chameleons can get underneath and UVB lighting or heating elements that you may be using in your enclosure.

Many kinds of branches can be used in Parson’s Chameleons’ enclosures. Here at Nealon Reptiles, we are lucky to have access to Oak branches on our property. Because of this, we use Oak almost exclusively throughout their enclosures. We will often mix up branches of different diameters depending on the purpose of that specific branch. For example, we will use thicker branches as support pieces. Your Parson’s Chameleon will probably rarely or never use these, but we attach their ‘movement’ branches to these thicker branches to ensure they are well supported.

In general, you want branches that have a diameter, which allows your chameleon to almost get its whole hand around it. Having the right diameter branches will encourage your Parson’s Chameleons to use them. In addition, ensuring that your Chameleons have the right diameter branches will also help prevent health issues with their feet. If you force your Chameleons to use branches that are too big, but especially too small, it can lead to injuries and infections on the bottom of their feet.

We do not treat any of the branches we use in our enclosure. We do spray them down and ensure that there are no bugs living on them. Other than that, we just cut the branches to size and put them in the enclosure.

Having the right plants in your enclosure is vital to the health and security of your Parson’s Chameleon. Your Chameleon will use the plants or trees in your enclosure for many different purposes. Not only will they utilize them for locomotion, but your Parson’s Chameleon will find a few hiding places that allow it to feel secure from predators. Now, I am sure that you don’t have any predators roaming wild in your Chameleon facility, but they don’t know that. In addition, if you have dogs, cats, or little children, your Chameleon will greatly appreciate the ability to bury itself in full foliage and not have to see anything outside your enclosure. In addition, your Chameleon will use Plants and Trees to get out of light and heat. Whether you’re utilizing UVB bulbs inside or natural sun outside, your Parson’s Chameleon will need places where it can shade itself.

Thankfully, numerous species of Plants and Trees make great additions to your Parson’s Chameleon’s cage. Here at Nealon Reptiles, we use a combination of plants. One of our favorites is the Schefflera family. You can often find tall ones to reach the top of your enclosure. We also use a lot of Palms. These plants provide great cover and shade for your Chameleon.

For the most part, feel free to use your imagination when it comes to using plants and trees inside your enclosures. Few enclosures are more beautiful than a heavily ‘planted’ enclosure with branches winding in and out of the foliage.

If you’re using live plants in your enclosure – you should be – you’ll also want to make sure that you’re using lights that provide a wavelength for plant growth. We use Arcadia JungleDawn lights on almost all of our enclosures. You can also use T5 plant growth bulbs – we prefer to use 6500k daylight bulbs if we use them – to keep your plants healthy and happy.