HELP! Care info on 4 month old Chamaeleo montium

I need someone's expert advice! I've been searching high and low and calling all the exotic pet stores in my area but no one can give me any solid information on how to care for a young chamaeleo montium species. I am going to be getting a male and a female pair both 4 months of age. I found some good information on their care and husbandry when their older. But i need to know the vitals on their care at such a young age. What the temperature and humidity need to be? Should their be a basking spot but obviously less intense heat? HELP! I'm getting them in 4 days and i have their cage set up but i need to know the crucial info. If you are knowledgeable on these species of this age pleassse help me ASAP! Thank you!

Andrea

Send a pm to Luvelvet or chuckg they will get you on the right track.

Thats not really a common cb speices. Are you sure thats what your getting? Why cant the person whos selling them give you any info?

im not an expert on those and i do wish you good luck but you might be able to find some info on the web.

Sticking to one thread and not making 2 or 3 of them about the same thing may also help the confusion.

http://adcham.com/html/taxonomy/species/chmontium.html

If you have not read this.

I have not worked with montium but I do keep my montane babies like adults with slightly cooler temps. At 4 months old you could use a basking spot. Just make sure it is not too hot.

james L said:

Thats not really a common cb speices. Are you sure thats what your getting? Why cant the person whos selling them give you any info?

Click to expand...

Agreed.

Trioceros montium are seldom available as Captive raised/bred. I'm sure they're miss labeled; especially because you're in Canada.

I have been PMing the OP for days and she is well aware that montium is not typically available as CB. She might share that "CB" is not what some would consider CB. I have given her names of people but I think she would like more references. I'm not a montium keeper so it would be nice if others could chime in.

For others that may have found this thread and are looking for more info check out this article on ChameleonNews.

I know their not available in Canada, i have seen pictures of the chams and they are infact montium species. They are coming directly from cameroon itself where they are found. Its pretty insane that i have found a pair. He claims them to be captive bred, hatchling from two specimans of his own that he caught, either way if they are CB or WC i am going to acclimate them carefully because they will be stressed from the ship here. But yes they are montium. If not or if i get a surprise in the species when they arrive i will keep you posted because i am just as intrested as you all are about this lol

and thanks Laurie for the help! I got awesome info from them thats helped a lot

Are these coming direct from Cameroon? You're only ordering a pair?!?!
Are you sure this source is legitimate? I have had (once) people try to scam me from Cameroon for chameleons.

Will these be you first chameleons?

Well I'm sure they are ligit. They have sent all the documents insurance and everything and the vet and health certificates are coming with them with arrival. They are being shipped tomrrow and arriving early thursday. I only ordered a pair because one i realized how intricate and how much care they need i started freaking out lol! because i only have a female veiled i mean i spoil her and she loves me to death, comes out to see me multiple times a day, i have her cup fed. She is currently gravid right now so i'm awaiting her eggs. But he sent me pictures of the chameleons and the way they package them. If you dont mind me asking, who was it that scamed you? Do you remeber their name or their buisness name?

Agree with Adam. If you are indeed discussing ordering a single pair of this species directly from someone in Cameroon I'm afraid the likelihood of you receiving anything for your money is very slim to none.

As for keeping them; low ambient temps, densely planted cage, lots of water, and no vitamin/mineral supplements other than calcium are my recommendations. They can be a lovely, enjoyable species to keep. Good luck finding a good pair!

Ew. Hope you didn't spend too much. But, hey, if it works out I'm sure we'll all start ordering from him. I know a few people would like some Owen's.

Ya i got a exo terra day time light. Still a basking spot but to my knowledge its a lot less intense than a regular basking spot light and it seems to work great the temperature of the basking spot is only 2-3 degrees more than my ambient temp. I am unsure if i am going to use it or not tho because some people are telling me its not necessary for one at such a young age. Just make sure you have the UVB and the constant ambient temp and high humidity and ill be fine. But i might try out the light to see how he likes it. Im sure even at 4 months old they need to thermoregulate.

The reptile show in columbus had montiums, acourding to a guy in a petsmart store...."there cb and I got a male montium for 45 dollars."....I was sceptical of course...so I showed him a picture for varification....(on my phone)....and yup he said that's exactly what his looks like. Sail fin,horns and all.....montium for 45 dollars? Kinda a discrace to the species.

Are you importing them yourself or is someone else importing them for you

Just for the record. Legally you can not receive chameleons from another country unless you have the legal documents to do so. They CAN NOT be shipped directly to your house. You need an import/export liscence. In the US they have to be picked up at a designated airport and inspected by customs and US Fish and Wildlife Service.

If you have everything set up then I am sorry if this offends you. If not then I suggest you back out NOW!

I sugest backing out asewell.....buy a cb cham. Flchams and screameleons are nice websites. Check the site sponsers and buy from them

andrea chameleon said:

Well I'm sure they are ligit. They have sent all the documents insurance and everything and the vet and health certificates are coming with them with arrival. They are being shipped tomrrow and arriving early thursday. I only ordered a pair because one i realized how intricate and how much care they need i started freaking out lol! because i only have a female veiled i mean i spoil her and she loves me to death, comes out to see me multiple times a day, i have her cup fed. She is currently gravid right now so i'm awaiting her eggs. But he sent me pictures of the chameleons and the way they package them. If you dont mind me asking, who was it that scamed you? Do you remeber their name or their buisness name?

Click to expand...

Smells very fishy to me. It is easy to fake or steal pictures. Cameroon is becoming famous for all sorts of scam exotic animal sales that never actually come off. I hope for everyone's sake this isn't one. If they ask you to cash any cheques, assist with another sale to someone else, or anything in addition to a straight transaction through a known currency exchange, walk away! At best they might be "farm hatched". Meaning they are offspring from a wildcaught female who was captured and happened to be gravid. Good luck!

OOOst16 said:

I sugest backing out asewell.....buy a cb cham. Flchams and screameleons are nice websites. Check the site sponsers and buy from them

Click to expand...

Shes's in Canada. She would need the CITES permits from US sources too.

http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/anima/imp/petani/amphe.shtml

This information is current as of 2010-02-01.

Please be advised that amphibians and reptiles (excluding turtles and tortoises) are no longer regulated under the Health of Animals Regulations (other than Part XII that regulates the transport of all animals). As a result, no Canadian Food Inspection Agency import permit is required, nor a health certificate and no inspection will normally be done at the border. Imports are permitted from any country, for any use, to any destination in Canada.

Click to expand...