Newb thinking about making a pet shop rescue

[dodolah]

LOL, I don't want to make it sound like i'll never be home. I will be home promptly every night, but there is always a possibility that I may have to pull an all-nighter. In those situations my girlfriend will be there to help me out.

100% of chameleons' activity is done during the day.
Their psychological state are similar to chicken. Once the light out, they go zzzzzzzzzzz..

So, if you come home around 8 pm, he will already be tucked in.

I recommend following the sun schedule for the lights. Messing their circadian rhythm by turning the light off too late may pose some sort of stress. Overtime, it may not be too good for his well being.

So far, i found the kit sold in many store/ online shop contains unnecessary and overpriced stuffs.
I would go and buy the supplies individually.
Stay away from Petco and Petsmart. They charge 30 bucks of lights when you can buy it someplace else for 12

Have fun researching

 

[Pure]

Are you talking about supplies for building your cage as well? If so, unless you are building a massive cage. The premade ones are more economical. You may save a little on a bare bone 1 by 2 constriction cage, some hinges and hardware cloth. But really the amount saved isn't worth the hassle.

For all your supplies and the cage. Ordering online is the cheapest. Even with shipping. And again LLL reptile is the cheapest I know of for every thing. Some may know of a cheaper source, but I do not. LLL rules

edit: btw most local shops (here any how) buy from them. I've asked

 

[Dunnigan]

This is just my opinion on the whole "chameleons take up sooo much time"

Yes chameleons are hard to care for, BUT once you get it down it isnt so bad. Maybe its just because i enjoy doing doing it...

On average i can say i spend no more than 2 hours total time caring for my 2 Veileds and 3 pygmies. I know people (working adults for that matter) who spend twice that, if not more time watching TV, playing video games, ect...In the morning i wake up before lights on (8am) and instead of watching the news i start seperating crickets and getting water ready. This is just one example of making time to care for my "kids"

Also you have to take into consideration the amount of time it takes to care for your feeder insects. Wiping out the cricked/roach container daily. Getting the insects food ready. Removing the dead crickets. Killing the escapees before the girlfriend or roommate finds them and freaks out...

If you are not going to be home for a good portion of the day i would look into getting an auto mist system from Mist King (site sponser) This will help a great deal

 

[chequepoint]

Cheque, This is a really presumptuous thing to say. We have no idea of the condition of this animal. So to say it's going to die anyways is a little rash. I get what you are trying to say. Maybe rewording it a bit would be a better way of getting your point across.

No, I feel pretty confident in my assessment. Quite frankly, even under optimum conditions, a pet store is no environment for a chameleon. Way too much traffic and stress. We're talking about animals whose survival instinct is to look as healthy as possible, even if its dying. If someone who doesn't know chameleons can see that something is wrong, its probably past the point of no return. Thats no way to start the hobby.

A wise breeder once told me that he doesn't make the majority of his money selling someone their first chameleon. He makes it selling them their second one after the one they bought at the pet store died.

 

[Pure]

No, I feel pretty confident in my assessment. Quite frankly, even under optimum conditions, a pet store is no environment for a chameleon. Way too much traffic and stress. We're talking about animals whose survival instinct is to look as healthy as possible, even if its dying. If someone who doesn't know chameleons can see that something is wrong, its probably past the point of no return. Thats no way to start the hobby.

A wise breeder once told me that he doesn't make the majority of his money selling someone their first chameleon. He makes it selling them their second one after the one they bought at the pet store died.

I understand where you are comming from.

Of course pet shops are not an ideal environment for Chams. Hell they are not ideal for really any animal. But to base your first post on this is just ridiculous. You assumed this animal is in bad shape. Why? Because it's in a pet shop..Get real. We have no clue what condition this animal is in. The OP never said it was in bad shape. He just mentioned that he wanted to rescue it and it probably isn't in the best of shape. To me this tells me he is also guessing..

You put words in the OP's mouth about the condition of this Cham. Therefor you are being presumptuous.

 

[zombiepixel]

Are you talking about supplies for building your cage as well? If so, unless you are building a massive cage. The premade ones are more economical. You may save a little on a bare bone 1 by 2 constriction cage, some hinges and hardware cloth. But really the amount saved isn't worth the hassle.

For all your supplies and the cage. Ordering online is the cheapest. Even with shipping. And again LLL reptile is the cheapest I know of for every thing. Some may know of a cheaper source, but I do not. LLL rules

edit: btw most local shops (here any how) buy from them. I've asked

I'm not going to build anything, I have no skills in that area, I'm going to buy everything. I was just wondering if anyone knows of any good places with great prices for all of my needs. I think I have some great recommendations here so thanks all!

Also I will never support a Petco or Petsmart for my reptile needs. I got my bearded dragon from there and the Zilla products they sell, supposedly the kit was designed for a bearded dragon. To make a long story short it came very close to killing her and I spent the next 2 weeks nursing her back to health. I was very naive then when it comes to reptile needs. Now I choose to use the forums and purchase most of my goods online.

 

[zombiepixel]

I actually went by the same shop today and the enclosure was completely re-made. The little girl had lights and noticeable moisture. I don't know what the temps or anything were. I don't think the conditions were optimal but atleast there were conditions. You don't wanna know the condition of the baby bearded dragons