leid
New Member
I bought a male veiled chameleon from a local pet store. I've had experience with other lizards, like bearded dragons and the like, and I decided to give a chameleon a try. I did it on a whim, and the pet store employee pretty much sold him to me without even saying anything.
That's fine. I did research myself.
First the shop guy told me to use a glass tank. I researched and this was wrong. I got a netted cage, digital thermometers for heat and humidity, a 5.0 UV linear bulb (which the guy didn't even make mention of), a 75 watt heat lamp placed 6 inches from his basking area, calcium powder to coat feeders, Vit A oil to coat feeders, D3 coating for use two times a week, etc. I mist his cage three times a day, and also drip ice cubes onto the leaves of the plant in the corner while I am at school.
However, if I would have known what a chameleon was supposed to look like, I would not have purchased this one. In fact, the chameleon was housed with another chameleon, and at the time I didn't notice how sickly they looked. First of all, they were housed in a GLASS TANK with nothing to crawl on, just some fake flower plant thing that wasn't even climbable. They were both very drab. Just a darkish brown/gray color. The pet shop owner actually told me to only feed the chameleon TWO CRICKETS three times a week!!
I haven't had him more than four days and he's been shy/not very active whatsoever. He won't do anything but hide if any of us are in the room. And at first when he was fine with handling when I took him out of the cage to clean it. Well, I woke up this morning and found one of his eyes closed, and he was shaking. I know this was not me. This was the pet store. I can't even take him out of the cage to inspect him, or try to see if anything else is going on because he'll hiss and try to bite me.
I'm very mad. I spent quite a bit of money on this little guy to get his place absolutely perfect, and that pet store sold me a sick veiled. He's about 6 months, but the guy didn't really even know how old he was. He ate 6 crickets yesterday, and his fecal matter seems normal white/brown so he's hydrated, but obviously there's something else going on. Limbs appear good, no sign of MBD.
I'm thinking of calling that pet store and giving them an earful. In the meantime, suggestions? Can we start by how the heck I can get him out of the cage without a bleeding finger?
That's fine. I did research myself.
First the shop guy told me to use a glass tank. I researched and this was wrong. I got a netted cage, digital thermometers for heat and humidity, a 5.0 UV linear bulb (which the guy didn't even make mention of), a 75 watt heat lamp placed 6 inches from his basking area, calcium powder to coat feeders, Vit A oil to coat feeders, D3 coating for use two times a week, etc. I mist his cage three times a day, and also drip ice cubes onto the leaves of the plant in the corner while I am at school.
However, if I would have known what a chameleon was supposed to look like, I would not have purchased this one. In fact, the chameleon was housed with another chameleon, and at the time I didn't notice how sickly they looked. First of all, they were housed in a GLASS TANK with nothing to crawl on, just some fake flower plant thing that wasn't even climbable. They were both very drab. Just a darkish brown/gray color. The pet shop owner actually told me to only feed the chameleon TWO CRICKETS three times a week!!
I haven't had him more than four days and he's been shy/not very active whatsoever. He won't do anything but hide if any of us are in the room. And at first when he was fine with handling when I took him out of the cage to clean it. Well, I woke up this morning and found one of his eyes closed, and he was shaking. I know this was not me. This was the pet store. I can't even take him out of the cage to inspect him, or try to see if anything else is going on because he'll hiss and try to bite me.
I'm very mad. I spent quite a bit of money on this little guy to get his place absolutely perfect, and that pet store sold me a sick veiled. He's about 6 months, but the guy didn't really even know how old he was. He ate 6 crickets yesterday, and his fecal matter seems normal white/brown so he's hydrated, but obviously there's something else going on. Limbs appear good, no sign of MBD.
I'm thinking of calling that pet store and giving them an earful.
In the meantime, suggestions? Can we start by how the heck I can get him out of the cage without a bleeding finger?
