Cody Grant
New Member
Hello, this is my first post on the forum. I wanted to share what I believe to be valuable advice for everyone out there that has a passion for these incredible reptiles. I now own my second cham, Apollo, which happens to be my first Panther Chameleon after the unfortunate premature death of my first Veiled Cham. My husbandry is very efficient, granting the little guy everything he needs and more to sustain happy and healthy throughout his entire lifespan. Unfortunately, sometimes you can do everything right with these critters and still run into some issues.
The first thing that you should avoid is purchasing your future friend from any place that falls under the same category as Petsmart or Petco. Often times the crickets suffer from malnutrition before being fed to these fragile reptiles, and the workers rarely follow the proper precautions in handling these animals that they are supposed to be caring for. I got my baby male Veiled, which the workers misclassified for a female, from Petsmart when he was about 6 months old. After a week of owning the little guy he entirely stopped eating his crickets. I took him to a vet as I became worried that he was striking for a worm-only diet, but was more disappointed to find out that the issue was a calcium deficiency, consequence from being fed crickets that were not gut loaded/powdered. As a result he became too weak to physically eat food and passed into reptile heaven shortly after. So if you are considering purchasing your chameleon from a store such as Petsmart/Petco, I would HIGHLY suggest finding a reputable breeder near you who specializes in reptiles.
You can use www.kingsnake.com to find good breeders in your area (it is a site recommended by those who work for Lowry Park Zoo). Most importantly remember that YOU MUST DUST ALL INSECTS PRIOR TO FEEDING!!!!! CALCIUM IS NOT OPTIONAL!!!!!!!!! Give you little pal all the love he/she deserves and do your research, it's up to you to ensure that your cham stays healthy & happy as it will be very much dependent on you and your care. I hope this helps a few folks out, or at least diminishes the impulsive purchases of such a complex and extraordinary animal.
The first thing that you should avoid is purchasing your future friend from any place that falls under the same category as Petsmart or Petco. Often times the crickets suffer from malnutrition before being fed to these fragile reptiles, and the workers rarely follow the proper precautions in handling these animals that they are supposed to be caring for. I got my baby male Veiled, which the workers misclassified for a female, from Petsmart when he was about 6 months old. After a week of owning the little guy he entirely stopped eating his crickets. I took him to a vet as I became worried that he was striking for a worm-only diet, but was more disappointed to find out that the issue was a calcium deficiency, consequence from being fed crickets that were not gut loaded/powdered. As a result he became too weak to physically eat food and passed into reptile heaven shortly after. So if you are considering purchasing your chameleon from a store such as Petsmart/Petco, I would HIGHLY suggest finding a reputable breeder near you who specializes in reptiles.
You can use www.kingsnake.com to find good breeders in your area (it is a site recommended by those who work for Lowry Park Zoo). Most importantly remember that YOU MUST DUST ALL INSECTS PRIOR TO FEEDING!!!!! CALCIUM IS NOT OPTIONAL!!!!!!!!! Give you little pal all the love he/she deserves and do your research, it's up to you to ensure that your cham stays healthy & happy as it will be very much dependent on you and your care. I hope this helps a few folks out, or at least diminishes the impulsive purchases of such a complex and extraordinary animal.
So true not only about cham's but insectivore reptiles in general! Nice to see someone caring enough to spread the word! Welcome to the forum brotha!
