Chameleon Sitter

[Mrs Deku]

Hello!

I'm planning on getting a Chameleon soon, but my family goes on vacations every once in a while. I was wondering how hard it is to find a sitter, and how you do it. I don't want to get one, and have to leave it with someone with no experience. Does anyone know how to find good sitters?

Thank you!

 

[Carlton]

There isn't a network of "official" sitters per se, but its great that you are thinking ahead! Some suggestions would be to:

Teach someone (interested neighbor? A recommended dog/cat pet sitter willing to learn?) how to care for your cham using our forum information.
Check with a local experienced herp vet about boarding or possible experienced sitters in your area. You'll need a good vet anyway, so now's the time to look for one. If there are no herp vets in your area this might be a reason not to get a cham in the first place. Find out now, not when you are in trouble. There is a good listing of herp vets by area at the top of the Health Clinic forum.
See if there is a herp society in your area...there might be members who would pet sit
Find a decent established pet shop that carries reptiles and supplies...get references...and see if they might board your cham or have an employee pet sit.

 

[Mrs Deku]

I see, well I found this website: https://www.petsit.com/.
They seem to have at least 2 sitters in my area. Thank you for your information though, I'll try and look around our area for vets.

 

[Carlton]

Well, you could always call the 2 listed and ask about their experience with chams. Either one might be willing to learn. If so, give them the forum site info and invite them to join. We'd be happy to help if they wanted to take it on.

 

[absolutbill]

I taught my pet sitter how to care for chams, and have gone on 2 trips out of the country with them in her care so far. My system is automated, and I type out exact instructions for each day. She has a lot of common sense and animal knowledge, so when my mister stopped working she emailed me and we came up with a solution. If you break your routine into easy to follow steps (even put your suppliements into bags for each feeding so the sitter doesn't have to measure them out), you may find that it's not so daunting to teach a newbie. And remember, you're probably only going away for a week or two, so if things are completely up to your standards that will still be ok in the long run. Good luck and great job thinking ahead!