Mail-order chameleons?

werecat

Established Member
Hello again... I've been posting a few questions here since I am new to chameleons and my husband and I are considering our first. We are planning on Jackson's but panther is still on the table. There seem to be plenty of shops in our area carrying CB Jackson's but it's harder to find good places with panthers. I see many of you recommend buying directly from a breeder and many of the breeders online do mail-order. Although this appears to be standard practice, I am surprised since chameleons are such fragile animals. Is getting an animal shipped to me a good idea? What are your experiences with this? Is it normally a happy ending? We are quite concerned about going this route.
 
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Shipping lizards is pretty easy. They just get double boxed and put in a cup or pillow case and shipped with no air holes, and a cold/hot pack depending on the weather. Normally they are dropped off at the end of day cut off for next day am delivery. 12-18 hours later they wake up really thirsty. The shipper normally gives you an email when they get dropped off so you can track incase of shipping problems.


As far as breeders i would check out the for sale section of the forums. A good breeder wont ship a baby less than 90 days old. I would also suggest a male if this is your first cham. They live longer and you wont have to worry about egg binding while you work out all your husbandry quirks.

For a non breeder you can check out lll reptile. They will even take a pick of the cham they would ship you for your approval.
 
From my experience it hasn't ended badly for me went i ordered typhoon our veiled chameleon he came next day and was very healthy he started to eat right away and shed a few hours after he was in his cage but there are of course things that just happen freaks accidents happen sometimes but normally the breeder that you buy from will help you out and will give you what ever information that you need.
 
Chameleons pretty much go to sleep being in the darkness of the box. They can be shipped with success as long as they are not exposed to extreme temps...heat being the bigger risk vs cold

I have shipped many many chameleon without incident...

If they are packed properly, are healthy they will make the trip fine
 
Hello again... I've been posting a few questions here since I am new to chameleons and my husband and I are considering our first. We are planning on Jackson's but panther is still on the table. There seem to be plenty of shops in our area carrying CB Jackson's but it's harder to find good places with panthers. I see many of you recommend buying directly from a breeder and many of the breeders online do mail-order. Although this appears to be standard practice, I am surprised since chameleons are such fragile animals. Is getting an animal shipped to me a good idea? What are your experiences with this? Is it normally a happy ending? We are quite concerned about going this route.

Also, any experience with the Chameleon Company specifically? Just curious since their prices are very good and price is a consideration for us.

Plenty of shops with cb jackson's? Really? Jax are not all that easy to breed. I suspect the majority of jax in retail shops are wildcaught or at best captive hatched (a wildcaught gravid female gave birth in captivity).

If anyone knows otherwise I'd love to be corrected!
 
Chameleons pretty much go to sleep being in the darkness of the box. They can be shipped with success as long as they are not exposed to extreme temps...heat being the bigger risk vs cold

I have shipped many many chameleon without incident...

If they are packed properly, are healthy they will make the trip fine

I would agree. Several of mine were shipped and arrived in fine shape. There are things you can do to reduce hazards...buy from a respected source who ships express overnight (you SHOULD pay for this regardless what choices you are offered. It matters!). Be willing to delay shipping if the weather on either end is too hot/cold, so track the weather before picking a ship date. Check the seller's Terms of Sale to read the packing, shipping, tracking, and delivery methods. Double check with your local delivery point to see what the shortest handling time to your area will be. Be prepared...it may be safer to go pick up the box at the shipper's facility than risk hours riding around in a delivery truck. Or, have it delivered to your work rather than the house if it shortens the trip. You can put your new arrival in a simple vented container for a few hours upon arrival...at least its out of the shipper's hands by then. I find it helps to give your shipper facility a "nervous ninny" advance call. Tell them you are expecting a live animal from such and such source, give them the tracking number and date of delivery, and ask if there is anything you should do ahead of time. Sometimes if you put a face to a name and chat about your beautiful new arrival they get interested enough to watch for your delivery a little more. And, if the weather happens to get hot or cold they are more likely to pay attention to the box. People are curious and most want to be kind to pets. Take advantage of it!
 
I agree with others.always make sure the chameleon is overnight express!I have not lost a single chameleon in the last 3 years.I have had a couple take an extra day,but all was well. I'm sure a over night trip in a box is less dangerous than hanging onto a branch 50 feet off the ground in a Madagascar tropical storm.There are plenty of panther available this time of year.And the shipping tempatures are perfect.Good luck with your quest.
 
Carlton, I will double check, but two of the stores I've spoken with say their Jackson's are captive bred. I guess that's not "plenty", but it gives me some options.

Thank you all for your advice. If we decide to mail-order I will make sure to get the express overnight shipping. I guess we will consider this option. We may also wait until the upcoming reptile expo in July. :)
 
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