Hello, I was referred here from the gecko forum I'm a bit of a reptile nut (as well as a cat nut but that's a whole 'nother story). I have currently a red bellied turtle, 2 bearded dragons, a leopard gecko, a crested gecko, 2 fire bellied toads, a european long nose viper and some various fish.
I was at a local reptile show yesterday when I came across a vendor that had some very cute baby chameleons for sale. They had a very nice display of everything, and seemed well established. After speaking with one of the people, I decided to purchase a veiled chameleon. I also purchased a 38 gallon reptarium, the basking lamp, some vine and a fake plant. They were out of the fixture for the UVB bulb so I figured I'd just buy it where I work (a small pet shop) or order it offline.
My mom and I left the show and headed home.. and suddenly on the car ride home the chameleon freaked out and died! Long story short, we contacted the vendor/breeder and he agreed to replace him asap.
So, my questions now are obviously-
How do I avoid this again? I am going to meet the owner to get a replacement, and am going to bring my own container this time with some foliage in it to make the trip less stressful. The ride home was about 45 minutes long, and we did not touch him at all and had him covered and secured. My mom looked down to check on him and that's when she saw he was in distress.
Also, what other recommendations for a starter do you have? I would like to put a live plant in there if possible. Also, I am going to try and install a shelf in my reptile area to put the reptarium on in order to have him as high up away from the cats and commotion as possible.
I'm reading some guides, and I guess the thing I am most concerned about is just the stress from the ride home. I don't want a repeat of what happened! My mom and I were both pretty hysterical about it.
Thanks in advance
I was at a local reptile show yesterday when I came across a vendor that had some very cute baby chameleons for sale. They had a very nice display of everything, and seemed well established. After speaking with one of the people, I decided to purchase a veiled chameleon. I also purchased a 38 gallon reptarium, the basking lamp, some vine and a fake plant. They were out of the fixture for the UVB bulb so I figured I'd just buy it where I work (a small pet shop) or order it offline.
My mom and I left the show and headed home.. and suddenly on the car ride home the chameleon freaked out and died! Long story short, we contacted the vendor/breeder and he agreed to replace him asap.
So, my questions now are obviously-
How do I avoid this again? I am going to meet the owner to get a replacement, and am going to bring my own container this time with some foliage in it to make the trip less stressful. The ride home was about 45 minutes long, and we did not touch him at all and had him covered and secured. My mom looked down to check on him and that's when she saw he was in distress.
Also, what other recommendations for a starter do you have? I would like to put a live plant in there if possible. Also, I am going to try and install a shelf in my reptile area to put the reptarium on in order to have him as high up away from the cats and commotion as possible.
I'm reading some guides, and I guess the thing I am most concerned about is just the stress from the ride home. I don't want a repeat of what happened! My mom and I were both pretty hysterical about it.
Thanks in advance