Meet my new guy!

Found this 1 year old 'Nosy Be' for sale on Craigslist and decided after seeing how he was living, that he needed help. I showed hubby, and surprisingly, after he saw the pictures he also agreed that he needed rescuing. (wow, was I shocked - no pleading or begging involved!) I picked him up yesterday and couldn't be more pleased!

The advertisement said 'Nosy Be' but when I saw the red rain I suspected a Nosy be/Faly mix. He's very agressive - for the first time I've had to wear gloves when handling a cham! He was swinging like a pendulum from a dowel, "snap, snap, snap" as he swung by trying to bite me - and the hissing? Crazy! I have been able to handle him during transport and have gotten a calm reaction when rubbing his chin. He also seems to react to my talking to him...I thought they didn't hear? lol Anyways, I know he'll take to having some loving care and attention after seeing his previous home, which I am more than happy to do. I can't wait to work on gaining his trust and forming a tight bond with this guy - right now he's covered and being given privacy. It was a pretty stressful move.

So...any opinions on the lineage of this guy?

i have no idea on the lineage but he is gorgeous!! keep us updated on how he does!

that's awesome that you brought him home to give him the love he deserves i love hearing stories like this! does this handsome devil have a name yet?

Oh thanks so much! He's very spectacular I just hope I can turn his personality around!

I have been mulling over a few names and have decided on TURQ; short for turquoise, which he comes by honestly!

awesome panther, he's stunning, so jealous

Congrats Lisa! He's a very handsome little man.

That is one handsome chameleon! My Nosy Be was hissing and trying to bite when I brought him home. That was the only time I saw that behavior. I bet he is going to love you in no time!

I think he very well could be pure nosy be. I have seen it on WC specimens and also in Jann's pics from her visit to Madagascar

Wow, that's an awesome find!!!! He's gorgeous!!!!! Wish I could find something like him on Craigslist.. All I ever see are iguanas and beardes...
Glad to see he's getting a good home!!!

What a great score! Lucky you! I've only seen a couple of panthers on CL and one was a great looking banja. I passed due to how proud they were of him ($$).

I'm sure your new boy will settle down. Awesome find!

lol.. close to my guys name: Blurk (blue+turquoise) . he looks great

this is the 2nd time I've heard of people getting chameleons of craiglist but when I've looked i haven't seen any??

Wow! nice score! why did u think he needed rescue? Looks fine to me.

As to your op question, my theory is, chams are very sensitive to vibration.
Sound is vibration of various wavelenghts. Chams make a low hum and vibration when courting (you can feel it).
I think when you talk to them, they can feel some of the vibration and
recognizes it as a form of communication.

I could swear my guys also respond to my voice.
However, if I can clap my hands loudly behind them, they will not turn to look.

Thanks everyone! I'm very happy to have him round out my scaley crew - I've officially run out of room! (Oh no, panic sets in!) lol

I have had a few other chameleon breeders on some Cham sites tell me he's a Faly, some say he's Be, some say a mix. I don't really mind what he is as long as he fits in with my style of raising chams! (I like to handle them and have them on my portable free range AND take them outside when the weather cooperates!) We'll see. He's calmed down alot since Saturday and he's eating well and exploring.

Psychobunny, when I saw the pictures in the ad he was being housed in a large flexarium that was sitting on the floor of a very dark & dank bedroom - they were hoarders - I was shocked at the condition of the house when I went to get him, it was filthy, dark and dirty! He had one tiny linear UVB bulb and nothing else. He had two dead plants (no foliage whatsoever) and no vines to climb on but the dead branch of the former plant. There was a bowl of canned crickets on the floor of the cage, with no water at all (I found out later the guy dripped water from a syringe into his mouth when he appeared thirsty!) No gut loading at all and minimal supplementation! He was terrified, not used to ANY human contact at all and very mean. The guy I bought him off of had only had him for 4 months - he got him from a breeder at 8 months so I'm sure that has alot to do with his good looking condition. The poor guy didn't even have a name!!

I can't stand to see such a beautiful animal living in such rotten conditions so in my mind (and hubby's), he needed saving!!

Anyways, he's made me very happy (hubby's goal!) and I'm looking forward to working with him and giving him the best life befitting a handsome Cham such as himself!!

Good looking nosy

That is so sad. Glad you guys got him!!

it sounds like he needed saving, so glad you was him and did it!!!!on a side note ,,can you elaborate on hour portable free range??? I live getting new ideas!!!
Thanks!!!

A diamond in the ruff

sarahlynne said:

this is the 2nd time I've heard of people getting chameleons of craiglist but when I've looked i haven't seen any??

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I got my guy off Kijiji but thankfully it wasn't a rescue (It was Brock-Zen Reptiles lol) so he came from a good home.

ChameleonMom, well done on the rescue. Hopefully he does come around for you.

Thanks everyone! I definitely feel lucky to have him!

lisagr07 said:

it sounds like he needed saving, so glad you was him and did it!!!!on a side note ,,can you elaborate on hour portable free range??? I live getting new ideas!!!
Thanks!!!

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Lisa, I bought some fake plants (ironically enough, also off of Craigslist) lol...One is a palm type, very tall and bushy and the other two are medium sized but very bushy. I washed them really well and made sure they were safe for my chams. I have an old antique coffee table that I place in front of my (all day sunshine) bay window in my living room. I put the plants on it with the tall palm on the floor beside it. I bought some thick rope as vine and I attach it to the palm with zap straps and weave it down into the other plants across the bay window/ledge. It all takes about 10 minutes to set up and on off days it resides on my covered back patio. I have a mischievous 5 year old so I can't have a permanent set up, beside the fact we have more bleak days here than sun!

Kane loves it and always acts up when he has to go back into his cage, Camo likes it but doesn't wander too much cuz of his bad eyes, Isis hates it and now I'm hoping Turq will eventually like it too.

In the summer I'll move it to the back patio for some real sunshine and valuable natural UVB!

He's very beautiful!

WOW he's a beauty. I bet he'll be your best bud soon.