Saying hello!

[KittyB]

Greetings,

I've been reading and lurking a few months, fell in love with a green dude at my local Petsmart over a few months, I believe he was handled a fair bit by staff as his enclosure was quite small, he had the benefit of an employee who really appreciated Chams, He especially enjoyed visiting the neon fish aquariums if he was puffed up or dark he would instantly calm and study the fish. Not sure if that's "typical Cham" behaviour, I understand they have very different vision spectrums than we do (UV wave lengths) perhaps the movement of the fish was simply similar enough to an insect to pique his interest.

So in the end this fella came home to me over a month ago. "The dude" as he's affectionally called has ended up being my hobby in my 45th year lol. I've read and read and can surmise that Veiled's can be like Russian roulette, sometimes you get a chill specimen and sometimes you get a very reactive reptile.

So, The dude, has a real ficus in his enclosure, (watched the video a member here posted about safe plants Neptune?) he's already completed a shed since I have owned him, he eats crickets & mealworms (from the hand actually) and drinks water from the hand (he likes it sprayed into his direction) This Chameleon has a specific preference for people, he likes my daughters but hisses at my son lol (daughters are blonde like me son has red hair) and he will actively climb on you when your hands are in the enclosure if he's in the mood, he seems to not mind hanging out on people for a while, but when he's over it, he lets you know and will go right back into the enclosure when he sees it.

So while none of that is really a question, I AM wondering if reptiles bred in captivity are different from their wild caught counterparts.

Honestly when I was researching before I brought him home, based on my reading, my experience so far has been nothing like what I was expecting. I was fully expecting a high maintenance money hobby/pet that's purpose was to enjoy watching.. not interacting.

Anyone here willing to share stories of similar experiences?

 

[Kaizen]

You’re right about veileds being luck of the draw. I have 3. One female is not aggressive, but generally wants nothing to do with me. The other female is savage, desiring nothing more than to remove a finger from anyone foolhardy enough to reach into her cage. My male, on the other hand, is a gem. Never has he gaped, hissed, lunged or otherwise shown any sign of aggression. Indeed, cage maintenance is difficult with him because of his penchant for climbing on to any outstretched body part—being a hand or a head.

 

[Thehippie]

well, to answer your question, yes there are a lot of differences between captive bred and wild caught. a lot of times WC are not fed, watered or given proper care before being shipped here, they can a lot of times become sick on arrival or harbor harmful parasites. along with the stress of shipping, the lack of food or water and being caught, chameleons from the wild often dont live as long. stress is a very important value to look for because chameleons are very susceptible to it.