I need Purchasing advice

[jbangalanga]

Hello everyone,

I am new to the forums and am looking to buy my first chameleon. I have done a lot of research and am finally ready to be an owner. After visiting the chameleon sales page, I found a seller who is selling a male nosy be. Picture attached. He is just over 3 months old and the seller says he is in excellent health!

My questions are:
1. Is 3 months too young for a first time owner? While I feel prepared, I want to minimize the risk of death as that would make me, and my wallet, sad. If that is too young, what is the minimum age you would recommend.

2. Does the little guy below look healthy to you? (he was sleeping in that photo, i was told)

3. Are members on this site reliable sellers? Has anyone been ripped off? Should I just purchase from an online breeder and pay a bit more?

4. Is 3 months too young to ship to ohio, where the weather is cold. Should I wait till spring?

By the way, I do have my heart set on a male nosy be. I really enjoy the pure blue look.

Thanks everyone!

 

[shaunaroxanne]

Hello everyone,

I am new to the forums and am looking to buy my first chameleon. I have done a lot of research and am finally ready to be an owner. After visiting the chameleon sales page, I found a seller who is selling a male nosy be. Picture attached. He is just over 3 months old and the seller says he is in excellent health!

My questions are:
1. Is 3 months too young for a first time owner? While I feel prepared, I want to minimize the risk of death as that would make me, and my wallet, sad. If that is too young, what is the minimum age you would recommend.

2. Does the little guy below look healthy to you? (he was sleeping in that photo, i was told)

3. Are members on this site reliable sellers? Has anyone been ripped off? Should I just purchase from an online breeder and pay a bit more?

4. Is 3 months too young to ship to ohio, where the weather is cold. Should I wait till spring?

By the way, I do have my heart set on a male nosy be. I really enjoy the pure blue look.

Thanks everyone!

Awesome that you are doing your research!

1) 12 weeks is the age where they are usually strong enough and when a breeder can feel confident that he will be ok in the hands of a new owner.

2) He appears healthy, but it is not a clear shot and it's difficult to tell how big he is. His eyes don't appear sunken, his casque looks plump, and I don;t see any bones, those are all good signs.

3) I have had many transactions with forum members and I personally have not ever had anyone try to scam me. That does not mean there aren't scammers out there. I would look into their statistics, and see how much communication they have on the forums. If it's someone who very few people have spoken to, I might be a little more cautious. If it's a regular on the forum, chances are, you will be fine. A big breeder is not always better. some of the most beautiful chameleons on this forums come from small, private breeders right here.

4) It depends on how cold. Tomorrow we have a break in the weather in PA, it will be 50 and 60 degrees for the next 2 days, so that's fine. The shipper has to know what he's doing and they must be packed correctly with the proper heat packs. If it's really cold, I would wait. At the very least, have him held at FedEx so he doesn't have to ride in an unheated truck, it will reduce the stress of shipping.

Good luck in making your decision, and trust your gut feeling

 

[dlegare]

I got this little guy from Vinnie1210 So far he is doing great, growing well, and sucking up crickets like a vacuum.

 

[SMCNARY]

I would ask for more pictures with a better view of the little guy. There are a lot of good people on this site! You might want to ask the seller who else on the forum he has sold to and then ask them if they were happy with the purchase. It is very common for breeders to sell chams at 3 months and yes they do require a little extra effort to keep but you have all the info you need on this forum to keep one successfully. Smaller prey items can be a challenge as they might be harder to come by locally but if you can keep larger quantities you can order what you need. Start reading the threads on basic husbandry and then just post your questions and I am sure you will get more then enough help!!! You can pm me and others if you want more ( off line ) help. Good luck

 

[jbangalanga]

Thank you guys!