A disease that makes a chameleon sterile and cause his tongue to be shorter ?

[Ewome]

Hi everyone, I'm planning to buy a chameleon soon. I contacted a local pet store specialised in reptiles. They keep a couple of chameleon inside the store and they seems healty and happy so I believe they know chameleons well.

I talked with the guy today and he told me that one of his contact would have babies of 6-7 months ready in three weeks. But there's also one that would be ready now and he said the only thing was that its tongue didn't stick far out and that he was sterile. He said he had a female like that once and that it wasn't really bad, he just had to put more branches and support for her to get her food.

It'd like to have your opinion on this, is it common ? Or should I wait and get another one in three weeks ? I saw two pictures and he seemed like a really good looking cham, no sign of dehydratation, a good weight etc.

thank you for reading me and sorry for the errors, I'm French and very tired !

 

[chamillionaire3]

man i would just wait and get one that is healthy all the way around. this way you know there is no problems when you start

 

[Olimpia]

That's weird, I've never heard of a disease that causes this. The short tongue isn't necessarily a problem (I bought an adult panther not very long ago who cannot shoot his tongue out and I just hand/cup feed, so it's not an issue) but I would advise you to really consider other options. His tongue issue may just be a nutritional issue that will solve itself once he's on a good diet or it may be from an old injury and it'll never get better. If you're not very comfortable with chameleons and their issues it may be hard to spot what is just a chameleon with a tongue issue and what is a chameleon that looks like he has lots of issues.

 

[sandrachameleon]

sounds fishy

wait to get a healthy chameleon that has been raised by a respected breeder

 

[Lovereps]

sounds fishy

wait to get a healthy chameleon that has been raised by a respected breeder

I agree with Sandrachameleon and the others who would not recommend buying that chameleon.

Hopefully, you can find a reliable breeder in France or the EU who will provide you with a healthy animal.

 

[Ewome]

Yeah I think I'll wait for the other chameleons. Thanks everybody for the advices !