FrankTheTank
Established Member
Yesterday I was picking up some small cricks for my little guy and as usual stopped by the reptile enclosures. Most, if not all, of you are aware of the conditions these chameleons stay in before being purchased. The coconut husk fiber substrate and water from a dish inside a tiny glass enclosure. So I see a very stress veiled with this substrate covering most of his body. He zapped up a cricket in front of me and some of this substrate along with it. It upset me to the point that I had to do something.
Instead of talking to the store manager, I called corporate and made them aware of the dangers they are putting these chameleons in, in hopes of making a company-wide changed to these conditions. I was very respectful in letting them know what problems can arise with these conditions. I told him my main goal was to get the substrate off of the floor and to give regular mistings in place of the water dish. I mentioned other problems with the setup but I thought this would be a good starting point that could end up saving them money and also possibly saving the lives of a few chameleons.
He assured me that this would be passed onto the corporate managers and that they would get back to me within 3-5 business days as a follow up that I requested. I will certainly keep all of you updated. If I do see a change I might then push for proper care instructions to be given to new chameleon owners. Or at the very least have them directed to our forums so that they can receive the proper care information for their chameleons. I don't know if anyone has tried this before but at the very least, one more voice can't hurt.
And please don't act like I did something great because I know that it is absolutely nothing compared to what this forum has done for the chameleon keeping and preservation world. So I have all of you to thank instead. You are all to be thanked for what you do for this chameleon community. Even the newcomers who come here looking for answers are making a dramatic change for these chameleons by just learning and hopefully passing on their knowledge to future chameleon owners. So once again. I want to thank YOU. I hope these forums are here to stay forever. May we all do our part for these beautiful creatures.
Instead of talking to the store manager, I called corporate and made them aware of the dangers they are putting these chameleons in, in hopes of making a company-wide changed to these conditions. I was very respectful in letting them know what problems can arise with these conditions. I told him my main goal was to get the substrate off of the floor and to give regular mistings in place of the water dish. I mentioned other problems with the setup but I thought this would be a good starting point that could end up saving them money and also possibly saving the lives of a few chameleons.
He assured me that this would be passed onto the corporate managers and that they would get back to me within 3-5 business days as a follow up that I requested. I will certainly keep all of you updated. If I do see a change I might then push for proper care instructions to be given to new chameleon owners. Or at the very least have them directed to our forums so that they can receive the proper care information for their chameleons. I don't know if anyone has tried this before but at the very least, one more voice can't hurt.
And please don't act like I did something great because I know that it is absolutely nothing compared to what this forum has done for the chameleon keeping and preservation world. So I have all of you to thank instead. You are all to be thanked for what you do for this chameleon community. Even the newcomers who come here looking for answers are making a dramatic change for these chameleons by just learning and hopefully passing on their knowledge to future chameleon owners. So once again. I want to thank YOU. I hope these forums are here to stay forever. May we all do our part for these beautiful creatures.