Reddit reviews Chameleons: Nature's Hidden Jewels (2nd Revised & Updated Edition)

In the wild most get killed off in the first two years of life.

The competition for females and territory is pretty high.

Almost none are found over 3 years of age according to Necas.

Now you're asking a few different things here.

one being the Max lifespan and then the average that they make it into captivity.

The first part is roughly 9 years of age for a male panther.

The second depends entirely upon the level of care with the owners.

All these animals used to be called 3 month animals as when they were imported the max time they survived was only 3 months. But with advancements in husbandy (including the 1996 introduction of UVb lights that worked at the proper output levels) that figure steadily increased to two then 4 years by 2003-4. Right now I think that a good average keeper can keep them 4-6 years.

The problems seem to be over / incorrect supplementation, dehydration and other basic issues that result in kidney failure as well as liver problems (D3 supplementation) that kills the animal "mysteriously" after a general decline in health over a month or more.

We're working on helping people on those issues here in the sub.

but it's an uphill struggle.