Baby Chameleons Getting Younger

[PantherEnvy]

As a breeder, I always thought that it was best to place my babies in good homes after they were around 3 months old. I swear I am seeing more and more new owners with babies a few weeks old now. Is that my imagination, or are breeders selling their babies at around 3-4 weeks old more often than in the past?

 

[juju]

As a breeder, I always thought that it was best to place my babies in good homes after they were around 3 months old. I swear I am seeing more and more new owners with babies a few weeks old now. Is that my imagination, or are breeders selling their babies at around 3-4 weeks old more often than in the past?

im gonna be buying a cham from someone on here and its 2.5 months old so far that ok right?

 

[jannb]

As a breeder, I always thought that it was best to place my babies in good homes after they were around 3 months old. I swear I am seeing more and more new owners with babies a few weeks old now. Is that my imagination, or are breeders selling their babies at around 3-4 weeks old more often than in the past?

I've been seeing it on here for years and it's very hard for a new keeper to keep these tiny ones alive.

 

[PantherEnvy]

im gonna be buying a cham from someone on here and its 2.5 months old so far that ok right?

I am sure it is perfect if it is from someone here. I am just concerned that some new owners are acquiring babies when they are only 2-3 weeks old.

 

[laurie]

My opinion is that a baby should not be sold until a bare minimum of 2 months and I always wait until at least 3 months. Selling newborns is setting the buyer to have problems. This is just what I think.

 

[chameleoman]

ya lots of people are selling them at 2-3 weeks old even the reptile store i go to its really stupid because you dont even know how the babies going to survive im waiting till mines are about 1-2 months before i give them to there owners

 

[UserName336]

we have rules for selling puppies too young, why dont we have the same for chameleons?

the youngest i've seen (in a fairly well known pet shop in my area) was 5-6 weeks old.

 

[rOnz]

here in Indonesia they even sell the very young like around 3-4 weeks old ;(

 

[Trillian]

we have rules for selling puppies too young, why dont we have the same for chameleons?

the youngest i've seen (in a fairly well known pet shop in my area) was 5-6 weeks old.

The biggest difference with mammals is their total reliance on the milk from their mother. A chameleon doesn't need care from it's mother, so technically could be seen as independent, though obviously will only thrive with expert care replicating (and exceeding) the environment which it would find in the wild. Puppies would die much much quicker if deprived of milk at an age younger than they are allowed to be sold, otherwise they too would be shipped off as young as possible. The other option is the new owner bottlefeeding, but that requires a dedication that few people would be prepared for and you would still end up with a sickly dog, as nothing will be as healthy for them as mothers milk.

Source: I'm a lactation consultant.

 

[absolutbill]

When I bought Kimani from a member on here, she mixed up shipments and sent him to me 2 weeks earlier than I had requested. He was nearly 6 weeks at that point, and boy was I shocked at how small he was in the deli cup! My only other cham had been 4 months when I picked him up, so there was quite the size difference. Kimani is doing well now, and is good-sized, but I would never want to get a cham that young again - he slept on a jade plant leaf and fit completely on it!

 

[BocaJan]

My rule of thumb with veiled is that they eat 1/2" crickets and have shed twice. That puts them at about 2.5 months. They are pretty chubby at that point and are healthy and happy. I always hold back any slow growers.

Panthers are totally different. They grow slower as babies. I am still feeding them flies and pins (maybe maybe 1/4's at 2 months), but they aren't even close to sell until 4 months.

I don't feel my customers want to run the risk of buying a baby too young and having it die. There are so many people on here that lament the passing of their baby, I just can't see exacerbating that by selling too small critters.

 

[BoopDoop]

When I bought Euigene my one and only male veiled he was only about two weeks old, I never had a problem feeding him or anything, but I do think that new owners should not own a chameleon at this age, because I know see petsmart selling newborns, they couldn't be over two to three days old!

 

[Lathelia]

I got my first panther when he was around 6 weeks old. I didn't know he was that young and even if I did, I think I would trust the breeder that he knows what he's doing and at that age the cham is "good to go".
I will never make the same mistake again. Me and my bf had been worried all the time, we didn't know if his behaviour was normal or not. That was a lot of stress, we did our best and he is 6 months old now.

 

[Texas Panther Man]

Ive got a small clutch of falys Im raising now. They are almost 2 mos and I wont be releasing any for at least another month maybe two mos. I want them to be able to at least eat small cricks before being sold to buyers. That way new owners can find approp sized feeders easily. Most ppl dont have local access to feeders smaller than 1/4" in most stores. If a breeder is selling them smaller than that then to me that shows a lack of responsiblility to the buyer & the chams they produced. Personally I think it boils down to the breeder not wanting to pay to feed them for a full 3-4 mos. An if thats the case then they need to quit breeding imo.

 

[IronHulk]

To answer the OP I think yes I have seen people selling very young chameleons 2-3 weeks old. In my own experience Everything I have and have had is all WC , adults and sub adults. However I recently bought a baby panther , I will have him some time next week. My way of thinking was don't get a baby less than 2-3 months old, just seems more logical to me.

 

[Cainschams]

I think it depends on who you are selling them to. If the keeper has lots of experience raising hatchling chameleons then I dont see the problem. Ive sold some really young ones and also given some away but I know the keepers who they went to so I felt more than confident they would do what was expected.

 

[JonRich]

For me the task with rehoming young Chams is food!! I would not sell a baby Cham untill it's on at leastt 1/4" crickets that are avaliable at local pet shops as "small". Fruit flies can be a pain for a noob.

2.5-3 months is a good time to start finding new homes.

 

[JonRich]

Ive got a small clutch of falys Im raising now. They are almost 2 mos and I wont be releasing any for at least another month maybe two mos. I want them to be able to at least eat small cricks before being sold to buyers. That way new owners can find approp sized feeders easily. Most ppl dont have local access to feeders smaller than 1/4" in most stores. If a breeder is selling them smaller than that then to me that shows a lack of responsiblility to the buyer & the chams they produced. Personally I think it boils down to the breeder not wanting to pay to feed them for a full 3-4 mos. An if thats the case then they need to quit breeding imo.

lol, Lee you beat me to it and i didn't read through all the posts.

I have very small geckos rite now and i'm having a hard time finding food for them locally. They could just as easy be a 3-4 week old Cham.

 

[Ryan1976]

This is my opinion.... My Female Veiled just laid her first Fertile Clutch a couple of days ago. She has laid 2 Infertile Clutches in the past. This will be the first time I've successfully bred a Cham. I'm not a beginner, so I would say I'm experienced, but NOT an expert!! As long as I have a successful hatch rate, then I plan to sell her babies. However, I would NEVER sell them as young as 2-4 WEEKS old. That's just asking for trouble!! There are too many people out there that buy Chams and they have NO CLUE how much attention & care that they require! Therefore, I will not sell my Veiled Babies until they are at LEAST 2 months old. If people do not use the correct lighting, temps and humidity.... they will die. I've seen Chams with MBD and it's F***ING SAD TO WATCH!! That's exactly what happens when inexperienced people buy Chams that young & don't know what they're doing.

But, I completely agree with PantherEnvy..... Breeders should NOT be selling them that young. My best friend works for a large Pet Supply store, and he gets PISSED when inexperienced people try to buy Chams... and they don't even have a Habitat & setup for them yet!! That's absurd!! He will actually DENY someone to purchase an animal if they do not have the correct habitat & setup. I'm so glad he has the ability to do that. We are both fanatics when it comes to animals, and we try to prevent people from making mistakes. I may sell my Veiled Babies at a Reptile Show, but I will NOT sell to anyone unless they can tell me exactly what type of Habitat, Lighting, Food & Supplements they will provide for the Cham. I just won't do it. Until money is exchanged.... they are MY BABIES!! I'll decide who gets to take them home. Like I said, to watch a Cham with MBD... or any other disease... is not something you want to see!

Anyway.... If you read this, thank you!! I didn't mean to rant-n-rave that much!! LOL!! I'm just passionate about animals!! And when I see them suffer... I get very mad!! And you don't want to see me get mad!! I turn green!! LOL!!

 

[Ryan1976]

My rule of thumb with veiled is that they eat 1/2" crickets and have shed twice. That puts them at about 2.5 months. They are pretty chubby at that point and are healthy and happy. I always hold back any slow growers.

Panthers are totally different. They grow slower as babies. I am still feeding them flies and pins (maybe maybe 1/4's at 2 months), but they aren't even close to sell until 4 months.

I don't feel my customers want to run the risk of buying a baby too young and having it die. There are so many people on here that lament the passing of their baby, I just can't see exacerbating that by selling too small critters.

I agree with BocaJan..... I also want to add that it's best not to sell the babies too young because of disease. I'd rather sell them at about 4 months, maybe longer. When they're in my care... I know they're getting the correct Lighting, Calcium and Vitamin D to ensure they do not develop MDB (Metabolic Bone Disease) or any other diseases. Like I've said before, that is a horrible thing to witness. Eventually, they won't be able to climb. My friend works for a large Retail Pet Supply Store, and he adopted out one of the Chams that ended up with MDB!! This store will let the Employees do that if the animal is too sick to sell. Fortunately, I have a GREAT REPTILE VET in the Columbus, Ohio area!! She loaded him up with Calcium, wrapped all four legs, and his is back to 100%!! Basically because we caught it in time. I believe he ony has 1 leg that still has a permanent issue, but it doesn't effect his ability to climb. That was also the first time I saw X-rays of a Cham with MBD.... My mouth dropped when I saw the X-rays!! It will make you cry if you've never seen it. So, that would be my opinion to throw in there with BocaJan. It's best to sell them after several months, not weeks.