parsons cham

[Carlton]

Before i got my chameleon everything I read said they were super hard to take care of and ONLY for people very experienced in keeping reptiles. Never had any at that point, but all i really wanted was a chameleon!

So i read, a lot. Got everything I needed. and I think my chameleons are doing fine.

I think they're only "Difficult" because they require quite a bit of money put in to them, time, attentiveness, and caring. But once you've got all that it's not very hard at all.



Side note: Seeing all the parson's on here is making me jealous, too. I want one. But living in BC we can't get roaches, which might make them harder to care for. (any insight on keeping parsons without roaches is more than welcome )

After keeping chams and other exotics, the one thing I would say about their care is that they will appeal to keepers who are detail oriented, dedicated to DAILY focused attention, understanding of large live potted plants and their care, understanding of feeder insect care, a creative problem solving person who is always thinking about ways to create a room or greenhouse-sized copy of the cham's wild habitat...the sunlight, the humidity, the 3 dimensional living space, its nutrition and prey animal care. Chams won't thrive on neglect or a casual attitude. A good cham keeper does not expect their cham to adjust to human life, rather the other way around. I have not kept a Parsoni and don't really look to (now a beautiful little bifidus or willsii is a different matter!), but other than their need for space, correct hydration, the best variety of feeders, winter torpor and preparing them for it (setting them up nutritionally for torpor and understanding their different needs during it) I don't think they would be uniquely difficult. But again, I've handled lots of chams; tempermental or not, sick or healthy, so take that general level of experience for granted. I am also not prepared to breed chams and feel that taking on a species like this should be done with responsible "production" of future generations in mind.

Oh, and don't forget, this is a longer lived species than most. You'll need to be dedicated for possibly 15 to 20 years if all goes well! That alone is a huge commitment most people can't make.

 

[AllFallDown]

After keeping chams and other exotics, the one thing I would say about their care is that they will appeal to keepers who are detail oriented, dedicated to DAILY focused attention, understanding of large live potted plants and their care, understanding of feeder insect care, a creative problem solving person who is always thinking about ways to create a room or greenhouse-sized copy of the cham's wild habitat...the sunlight, the humidity, the 3 dimensional living space, its nutrition and prey animal care. Chams won't thrive on neglect or a casual attitude. A good cham keeper does not expect their cham to adjust to human life, rather the other way around. I have not kept a Parsoni and don't really look to (now a beautiful little bifidus or willsii is a different matter!), but other than their need for space, correct hydration, the best variety of feeders, winter torpor and preparing them for it (setting them up nutritionally for torpor and understanding their different needs during it) I don't think they would be uniquely difficult. But again, I've handled lots of chams; tempermental or not, sick or healthy, so take that general level of experience for granted. I am also not prepared to breed chams and feel that taking on a species like this should be done with responsible "production" of future generations in mind.

Oh, and don't forget, this is a longer lived species than most. You'll need to be dedicated for possibly 15 to 20 years if all goes well! That alone is a huge commitment most people can't make.

Fine points indeed!

 

[AllFallDown]

I think I've figured it out. If I can keep some pygmy Sundew plants alive and have been growing roses well for a long time would you, as someone who is a very experienced Carnivorous plant person be excited to see me buy a King Sundew? You know to read the tells when a plant is having trouble and how to correct care quickly from tons of experience so there is a better chance that this rare plant will not live on in my care than yours.

I suspect it is the same way with rare chameleons, and Parson's in general. Sure I could go buy one and keep it now and there is a good chance I would do very well and keep it alive and possibly breed it. But I don't have the experience many others do with Chameleons and if there is a problem I might not have as good of a chance of doing the right thing as more experienced keepers would. If I kill my senegal from doing something wrong it would be sad, I would learn, and grow. if I kill a Parson's from not being experienced enough I have just significantly impacted the captive gene pool.

Oh you hit my sweet tooth! I love Drosra regia! I have a bunch of them!

Yeah, I think your points are golden. Part of the issue here, as I read your points, may not even nessasarily be so much the level of difficulty associate with their husbandry, with parsons the stakes are much higher. Their population is not very well established so it is probably best they are trusted in the hands of those most likely to succeed.

I will say, there are some pygmy sundew out there that if someone were to tell me they were successful cultivating them, I would be very impressed! Some of them can be a real pain because of their temperature requirement. Of course, that seems to be the MO with the Austrailian carnivorous plants. Look up Utricularia menzeseii when you are bored. Very very few people in the non-austrailian world have gotten them to flower(to my knowledge, at least here in the US, then again, very few people have them).

 

[Action Jackson]

I have been keeping Chameleons for 18 years. keeping Chameleons long term isn't always an easy task. You have to pay attention to many things and be ready and willing to make changes as needed.

Keeping Parson's is a challenge. There's a definite learning curve. I think once you figure out not only what they need but also what they like than your doing good. Space, water delivery and food a more important with this species than with others I have kept. I am very much still trying to get things right but I can tell you from recent experience it can be challenging. I wouldn't recommend Parson's to anyone who doesn't have the resources $, time and space for them.

When you have a lot invested in your Parson's trips to the Vet come with the territory and unfortunately really knowledgeable Chameleon Vets are few and far between.

Also if you don't have someone willing to give you advise you're on you own pretty much. It seems like quite a few successful Parson's keepers aren't to eager to give out information.

 

[AllFallDown]

Also if you don't have someone willing to give you advise you're on you own pretty much. It seems like quite a few successful Parson's keepers aren't to eager to give out information.

An unfortunate truth in many hobbies it seems

 

[reptilover]

Yea this is no surprise to me. Given the animal alone goes over 2000 its certainly nothing I'd jump into head first. He woukd have his own room and full operational madagascan Habitat consisting of specific humidity control devices as well as temperature control running around the clock to keep it nominal all hours of the day and all months of the year.. fully replicating a scalled down version of the great Madagascar rain forest. I've estimated a cost of 8-10 thousand not including vet bills.