Good Morning CF!

littlefoot3

New Member
Hello everyone! I am new to the forums here, and I've got a purchasing question.


A little background, I've wanted a chameleon for about 2 years now and there has always been an issue in some form or another (afraid of not having enough time, no space to keep it, etc.), but my circumstances have finally aligned well enough for me to get one!

I've already started building a screen cage, and purchased a pothos. I'm in the process of accumulating everything for his home over the summer because at the end of next month, I will be going out of country for about 3 weeks and I wanted to wait until I got back home to get him instead of sticking my incredibly awesome new roommate with caring for him.



I've been attempting to contact a breeder in advance to start a line of communication ahead of time, but no luck so far. I'm looking to get a male veiled. Everything I've read suggests at least 3 months old, so I've been going with that.

Now, I contacted TikiTikiover a week ago and have heard nothing back. I just wanted to ask if they thought they'd have any for sale around then. So then I started poking around a little more and found FLChams. They have the same coloring I'm hoping to get, yet they are more expensive and only seem to be selling what I'm looking for at 2 months old.

There's also the possibility of a reptile show coming through my city about 2 weeks after I get back.


Has anyone had any experience with either? Does Tiki usually take forever to respond? Since they aren't responding should I just count them out and shoot for FLChams, and is the care that different if I get a 2 month old?

Or should I just bypass buying online if I can and hold out for something at the reptile show?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated :) I know in the next month or so as I build my habitat I'll have more questions.
 
Welcome to the forums! It's always nice to see such good preparation. I'm sure everyone here will appreciate that.
Firstly, a veiled chameleon is fine to adopt/ purchase at 2 months. Some might disagree but a 2 month old veiled is generally bigger then a 2 month panther, so they can usually handle larger prey at that age. I have had my veiled since he was 2 months and I never had a problem with him.
Our site sponsors are generally the "online" breeders we recommend since they are experienced and often times belong to the forums themselves. Check back with TikiTiki and see if they respond, maybe try and find a phone number. FL Chams has a great reputation too, so they are a great bet as well.
You can occasionally find veileds at reptile shows too, just keep your eye out for any visual health issues. So if you don't mind waiting an additional 2 weeks, try that! The great thing about out sponsors is that they generally have veileds available, so don't be worried that you're going to miss out.
Good luck!
 
Welcome to the forum!

I don't know about FLChams (they're always very busy it seems, but they do get around to their messages) but I think that Chad from Tiki is just caught up in their brick-and-mortar store and other issues. But he's always on Facebook if you want to find them here: https://www.facebook.com/reptilesnreefs?fref=ts

You can also see if any of the other forum sponsors are expecting baby veileds, too.

The reptile show might be a good idea. You can check the event's site to see a list of vendors and then figure out which ones are selling chameleons. Then you can take advantage of the time and do a little background searching on each vendor, so you get an idea of their reputation. And keep in mind that how chameleons are displayed at a show says a lot about the care they receive, so if you see little chameleons in cups on a table - avoid. But if they're in a nice cage, with branches and a few plants, and their lights, then you know that they're being cared for better.
 
Thank you for the fast replies!

I'm curious, the link is to Reptiles N Reefs, have they renamed? I'm wondering if they even got my email then since I emailed them from Tiki. I'll see if I can find a phone number, this is most helpful :)

I'm hoping to go with Tiki over FLchams, only because I overspent so much being stubborn and building the cage on my own (messing up measurements, wasting aluminum, things like that). I like Tiki's price better and I've seen nothing but great reviews for them.

That's good to know if I do end up having to go through FL that a 2 month won't be too much trouble. I've been nerding out over this so hard lately! :D They're so cute when they're little I don't think I would mind having a baby!

I went through the vendor list for the local reptile show to come through in August, but I couldn't find chameleons listed for any of the breeders going to be there. I asked around my city's subreddit on reddit and a couple of people say they ALWAYS see chameleons there. The fact that I don't see any info on any chameleon breeders on the website raises some concerns for me, since if there are chams there I don't really have a way of researching them before.
 
Hey, welcome to the forum.

You should post some pics of your cage build.
Those are always fun to see.
 
Reptiles N Reefs is the brick-and-mortar store that he and his wife opened up about a year ago, but it's still the same people.

What city is the show in? Is it a Repticon show? I might be able to take a look at their list and see if I recognize anyone.
 
I highly recommend a small time breeder. Someone that just breeds their pets every now and takes good care of their pets and their babies. They spend more time with the babies and chances are you will get a friendlier and perhaps even a healthy and happier baby. Here's a few that I'd recommend.
http://www.chamalotchameleons.com/
https://www.facebook.com/TheChameleonFarm

You can also check the classified section. There's other members here that occasionally breed their chameleons and sale the babies there.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/chameleons-sale/

My blog for new keeper: https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-keepers-young-veiled-panther-chameleons.html
 
Hey, welcome to the forum.

You should post some pics of your cage build.
Those are always fun to see.
It's still under construction! But I can describe it to you. My goal was to build a versatile cage that I could use from when he's a baby until he's fully grown. It basically looks like the screen cages from LLReptile, it's a 24x24x48, however the door is a little different. I have the frame and two door panels (One large, one small) built but I'm not attaching them with hinges. I'm going to attach adhesive magnetic strips to both the frame and the doors and build a removable panel for the inside that will sit on pegs. That way, I can lower the height of the cage since he's going to be so small, and raise it as he gets older until he can handle the full height of the cage. I'm going to build another smaller door panel to use while he's in the baby stage of the cage. My original idea was velcro, but I figured he'd prefer the magnets over the noise of velcro daily.

I didn't want the hinges because then I won't have a way to shut the door and still be able to run the cord for the UVB light to sit on the adjustable ceiling panel. At the moment the bottom is just screen, but I'm going to get a nice big piece of smooth plastic to cut and place in the bottom for easy cleanup.

I'll post pictures once I've got it to where you can visually see the design a little better, right now it just looks like a boring frame with door panels leaning against the wall next to it :) I'll definitely update once I get a chance to attach the magnets though! And I'd love feedback as I play with plant/branch.light placement in the cage so I'll post those as well when I reach that point!



Edit: I also forgot to mention I wanted removable doors because I've seen a few free range designs in which people have cages with removed doors and just plants/vines leading out of it. It's an option I'd like to consider if my cham is well behaved enough for it :)
 
Reptiles N Reefs is the brick-and-mortar store that he and his wife opened up about a year ago, but it's still the same people.

What city is the show in? Is it a Repticon show? I might be able to take a look at their list and see if I recognize anyone.
I do believe it is Repticon! Baton Rouge, Louisiana is the one I'll be attending in August. Please feel free to let me know if you see anyone there you'd recommend!
 
I highly recommend a small time breeder. Someone that just breeds their pets every now and takes good care of their pets and their babies. They spend more time with the babies and chances are you will get a friendlier and perhaps even a healthy and happier baby. Here's a few that I'd recommend.
http://www.chamalotchameleons.com/
https://www.facebook.com/TheChameleonFarm

You can also check the classified section. There's other members here that occasionally breed their chameleons and sale the babies there.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/chameleons-sale/

My blog for new keeper: https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-keepers-young-veiled-panther-chameleons.html
Very much appreciated! Unfortunately chamalot doesn't seem like they're going to have what I'm looking for in my timeline, but I just PMed Chameleon Farm to ask :) I'll definitely take a look at you blog as well. Thanks!
 
Hmm no, I don't recognize anyone on that list. And the few I Googled seem to just do one snake or another. It doesn't seem like there will be any any dedicated chameleon breeders.
 
I just got in touch with a breeder at The Chameleon Farm, and it looks like they'll have exactly what I'm looking for :) Thank you so much for the link! It's nice to have a breeder reply within the hour! :D
 
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