I wouldn’t recommend a chameleon as a beginner reptile or for a 5 year old. They have particular sometimes complicated needs like proper ventilation, specific humidity parameters, large enough cage, heat source, UV light, misting device, gut loaded insects, etc. Handling can also stress them out, which may be hard for a 5 year old to just “look and not touch” his chameleon. There is a lot of research you need to do before owning one. A lot. To give it the care it deserves. You would have to be the primary caretaker of the chameleon because 5 year olds aren’t old enough to do the research and understand what they require. I recommend googling and reading over several care sheets because each one will say something a little different but you’ll get the gist of what is best if you read several, watch several YouTube videos on how to care for them, and hop on a forum or chameleon/reptile subreddit for further reading.

Please don’t get him one. They are really hard to take care of and aren’t very excited to be held. The reason why this one is so fascinated with the water is because they can only see running water. They require a constant drip in their cage in order to drink. They also require live food to eat.

I recommend getting a Leopard Gecko. They are friendly to hold and very slow, also very easy to feed.

Regardless of your choice, please remember you need to keep your animal warm. It’s vital to their health & will stop eating if they’re cold.

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