Are brown chams normal? And enclosure question

[troolloll]

I've been building my enclosure slowly and it's made of thin plexiglass with holes drilled horizontally on top for ventilation. The top is also made of plexiglass with a large square cut in the middle with a mesh screen net glued to it and it doesn't have a bottom so I can easily lift and clean it. I'm also going super glue a large wooden stick near the top that goes across both sides of the enclosure so that I can hand a pothos in there. the enclosure is 2'5" tall and width is 12" squared all around. I hope this can hold humidity well enough for a cham yet be ventilated enough to breath and prevent mold/fungus.

Now I'm sooooo close to getting a cham, I been looking at local petshops and honestly most of their vields look nothing like the chams I see on google or on here. The ones I see are a beautiful cascade of green but the ones at the pet shop are all brown, dirty and some are pale. I'm wondering if thats normal. If not then I wont buy there.

 

[Elizadolots]

Some species are naturally brown, but I don't think that's normal for a vieled. Chameleons in stores are often subject to a lot of stress. If you can buy from a breeder, you'll probably get a chameleon that's had a better start in life.

 

[KatiLemons]

Welcome to the forums.
I recently went to a petstore who sold veileds and I was NOT impressed with thier living situation and he was also brown. I felt so bad for him I actually contemplated buying him to save his little life BUT I started to think about how much damage was already done and how much a vet visit would cost and if they have properly been supplemented ect. I decided against it. Same thing with craigslist. there are certain things you want to look for when purchasing off of there too. Like what kind of lights have been used and if they have been changed like they are supposed to be. Or if supplements were given correctley or at all. I would really consider getting one from a breeder. You may pay a little more, but its totally worth it! hope this helped.

 

[Olimpia]

See if you can take advantage of a local reptile show. They always have baby veileds available and you save on shipping. Alternatively, order online and pay the shipping, but you might have your chameleon sooner. And you have more choices as far as what line you want the baby to be from.

 

[troolloll]

I recently found an ad on craigslist who was breeding vields, the photos she supplied showed plump, bright green baby vields and the awesome thing about it was that she was in the same city as me. But my stupid self deleted her number by accident and she removed her ad on craigslist since then so I cant contact her.. poo

 

[DavidBuchan]

the photos she supplied showed plump, bright green baby vields

That's what you want. I wouldn't buy a brown baby Veiled.......

 

[Elizadolots]

It is what you want, but please be wary of Craig's list ads. There have been a lot of bad stories. If you see another ad like that make sure you arrange to see the chameleon before you hand over any money.