Purchased WC Chameleons?
- Thread starter Brad
- Start date
misshissingroaches
Member
Wcs i hear are known to die very quick if not taken complete care of. I would reccomend them only as an only-cham to an expert, but that is only my opinion......
RyU
New Member
All but my panthers have been WC. The only problem I have had is a parasite issue from a male Fischer's that was given to me by someone. A few things I have noticed about WC are.
1. They are very shy, almost impossible to watch them eat or drink.
2. They stress very easily, and need much more privacy.
3. If it's a mature female, she most likely will be gravid upon arrival.
1. They are very shy, almost impossible to watch them eat or drink.
2. They stress very easily, and need much more privacy.
3. If it's a mature female, she most likely will be gravid upon arrival.
Lizardguy1
Member
Interesting post, I see it goes back to early 2013, with comments as recently as a couple of days ago. My observations- I can't speak to quads, montiums, cristatus, lateralis, pardalis, melleri, and other relatively uncommon breeds. My experience is with Veileds, Oustalet's and Jackson's. First, I believe there is a lot of ignorance on this forum:
1) if someone buys a veiled or Oustalet's from one of the big Florida distributors, there is a better than 50/50 chance that it is florida wild caught. Likewise, because they ship nationwide to both major pet stores like Petsmart and Petco, and to small mom and pop stores, if you buy from such an establishment your chances are likewise high of buying a "domestic wild caught."
2) There is this unquestioned distinction between WC and CB, on both moral and quality grounds. Domestic WC clearly blurr this dividing line. For example, Madagascar WC are weeks from the field to the market, often more. As a result emaciation and poor condition are often issues, and I have never heard of a WC neonate from Madagascar (although it may occasionally occur). In contrast, Florida WC are literally 2-4 days from field to market- and from May to August (WC hatching season), substantial numbers of neonates of Veileds and Oustie's are shipped into the pet trade by florida distributors.
3) There is frequent concern with parasites in WC, and this may be a legitimate concern with overseas WC and the extreme stress they encounter in transport and poor care for extended periods. In contrast I have caught scores of WC Veileds and Oustalet's in Florida; I use to treat them prophylactically for parasites, but then stopped and have seen no change in survivorship. In adult Florida WC's I have experienced 90% survivorship to the6+ month mark. Survivorship of WC neonates have no difference than my captive bred ones. The similarity between native WC and Florida WC is that they see humans as predators and usually take some time to become acustomed to human interaction; however the genetics of this behavior is deeply ingrained- even CB individuals are not more than 3-6 generations removed from the wild in most cases, so this CB-WC distinction is generally oversold in my opinion. For comparison, domestic dogs have been bred to like/trust/obey people for more than 10,000 years.
4) "Exploiting" wild Florida populations does not impose the legal restrictions of CITES, and likewise does not adversely impact native populations in their home range. In fact it could be argued that it relieves pressure on native populations. The flip side of this argument is that chameleons are not native to Florida and could pose a risk to native wildlife, particularly sensitive, threatened, or endangered species. The level of threat to native wildlife is a matter of debate in Florida right now. Florida FWC is actively trying to eradicate known populations of chameleons in Florida. However, it is also suspected that new wild populations are being deliberately established to exploit for the pet trade. There are also rumors of populations of Panthers and Jacksons Chameleons having been established as well-
1) if someone buys a veiled or Oustalet's from one of the big Florida distributors, there is a better than 50/50 chance that it is florida wild caught. Likewise, because they ship nationwide to both major pet stores like Petsmart and Petco, and to small mom and pop stores, if you buy from such an establishment your chances are likewise high of buying a "domestic wild caught."
2) There is this unquestioned distinction between WC and CB, on both moral and quality grounds. Domestic WC clearly blurr this dividing line. For example, Madagascar WC are weeks from the field to the market, often more. As a result emaciation and poor condition are often issues, and I have never heard of a WC neonate from Madagascar (although it may occasionally occur). In contrast, Florida WC are literally 2-4 days from field to market- and from May to August (WC hatching season), substantial numbers of neonates of Veileds and Oustie's are shipped into the pet trade by florida distributors.
3) There is frequent concern with parasites in WC, and this may be a legitimate concern with overseas WC and the extreme stress they encounter in transport and poor care for extended periods. In contrast I have caught scores of WC Veileds and Oustalet's in Florida; I use to treat them prophylactically for parasites, but then stopped and have seen no change in survivorship. In adult Florida WC's I have experienced 90% survivorship to the6+ month mark. Survivorship of WC neonates have no difference than my captive bred ones. The similarity between native WC and Florida WC is that they see humans as predators and usually take some time to become acustomed to human interaction; however the genetics of this behavior is deeply ingrained- even CB individuals are not more than 3-6 generations removed from the wild in most cases, so this CB-WC distinction is generally oversold in my opinion. For comparison, domestic dogs have been bred to like/trust/obey people for more than 10,000 years.
4) "Exploiting" wild Florida populations does not impose the legal restrictions of CITES, and likewise does not adversely impact native populations in their home range. In fact it could be argued that it relieves pressure on native populations. The flip side of this argument is that chameleons are not native to Florida and could pose a risk to native wildlife, particularly sensitive, threatened, or endangered species. The level of threat to native wildlife is a matter of debate in Florida right now. Florida FWC is actively trying to eradicate known populations of chameleons in Florida. However, it is also suspected that new wild populations are being deliberately established to exploit for the pet trade. There are also rumors of populations of Panthers and Jacksons Chameleons having been established as well-
freddyf385
Avid Member
It took me 2 in half years before I got my first wild caught chameleon. And they are a piece of work. I got my beast nice and fat and acclimated. From how I got him. I have not even bred yet either. Kinda scared about that, But in time i guess. WC's are my favorite.
Craigwyatt
Avid Member
I have purchased well over 100 WC Jackson chameleons. They always did amazingly well. Out of all of them I might have lost 2 or 3. They eat and drink straight away. And I always kept them on the cool side.
Over the years I've purchased many other WC species and none of them did ever held up like the Jackson's.
Jackson's rock!!!
I bought 95% of them from John of Omni reptiles and never lost a single one from him. The few that I lost came from a very well known lg supplier of Jackson's from Florida. Won't mention the name because they made it right with me.
So it might depend where your buying from.
Over the years I've purchased many other WC species and none of them did ever held up like the Jackson's.
Jackson's rock!!!
I bought 95% of them from John of Omni reptiles and never lost a single one from him. The few that I lost came from a very well known lg supplier of Jackson's from Florida. Won't mention the name because they made it right with me.
So it might depend where your buying from.
