She was calling out to me!!

[Metal725]

I saw this HUGE female veiled at Petsmart today. My only reason for going was to get a bigger cricket carrier but she happened to catch my eye. Sotting there in that super small cube, barely able to turn around. Now I know its not best to buy chams or any animal for that matter at Petsmart but she looked to be in really good health. Any opinions on whether or not I should rescue her? I do have experience with Veileds but this would be my first female. Ive read up on the laying bins and all that stuff so I would just like to hear what you folks would have to say. Also, she is listed as 69.99 with 30% off. Thanks!!

 

[rionjames]

she does look surprisingly healthy for a chain pet store. rescuing is always good, but in some cases this leads the stores to believe they have a hot seller, and will likely replace it with another. unless they have the right setups, i wouldnt recommend it but again, she looks healthy and hopefully you can give her a nice loving life.

 

[Ninkylou]

I would argue that you are not in fact 'rescuing' her. She is for sale and you are going to pay them money for her. It's really only a rescue if the people on on the giving end aren't going to profit from your it. I am beginning to think the chains display them this way to encourage animal lovers to 'rescue' them….makes ya think that this could be their marketing scheme after all and we all fall prey to it.

 

[Carlton]

I saw this HUGE female veiled at Petsmart today. My only reason for going was to get a bigger cricket carrier but she happened to catch my eye. Sotting there in that super small cube, barely able to turn around. Now I know its not best to buy chams or any animal for that matter at Petsmart but she looked to be in really good health. Any opinions on whether or not I should rescue her? I do have experience with Veileds but this would be my first female. Ive read up on the laying bins and all that stuff so I would just like to hear what you folks would have to say. Also, she is listed as 69.99 with 30% off. Thanks!!

She also looks hugely gravid to me. Whoever buys her needs to be ready and willing to deal with eggs!

 

[Metal725]

I was thinking the same thing when I saw her. She had a few "bumps" on her right side that I noticed so she probably is carrying.

 

[shmeenakoz]

I would argue that you are not in fact 'rescuing' her. She is for sale and you are going to pay them money for her. It's really only a rescue if the people on on the giving end aren't going to profit from your it. I am beginning to think the chains display them this way to encourage animal lovers to 'rescue' them….makes ya think that this could be their marketing scheme after all and we all fall prey to it.

I strongly agree with you here!!!! The only way to stop the pet trade is to stop their profit. I say with a heavy heart be strong and try to resist.

 

[szpond]

Here is why she is reduced price:

She grew up there. So it is very likely that this female has someone taking care of her that knows about chameleons.


I have trained a number of Petcare managers at PetSmart myself (associate, 1.5 years) on chameleon care. I agree that the store does not equip its workers with the necessary set-up to properly care for a chameleon, but they do the best they can (those that know anything about the species, anyway...there are many that don't).

Around here, we bend the rules. Bring in drippers, "store-use" a screen cage, bring my own Calcium w/o D3 in, take out the water bowl, take out the red light at night. I have seen a number of chameleons "grow-up" in PetSmart conditions that look just fine...however, I see a lot of chameleons that do not look fine. It all depends on what store you go to.

In conclusion, this may not be a "rescue" -- it is quite possible her care otherwise is quite decent (when you're not looking at the tiny cube...those things are horrible). She does look good. I think she deserves a knowledgeable caretaker - I say go for it!!!

 

[szpond]

I would argue that you are not in fact 'rescuing' her. She is for sale and you are going to pay them money for her. It's really only a rescue if the people on on the giving end aren't going to profit from your it. I am beginning to think the chains display them this way to encourage animal lovers to 'rescue' them….makes ya think that this could be their marketing scheme after all and we all fall prey to it.

I agree with you here - they put too many animals in a tiny cube...makes people want to take them out and give them their own palace. It is a marketing scheme.

And I'll tell you, Black Friday/Christmas time is the worst time for these animals.

Knowing how the system at PetSmart works, I would recommend you try this before you purchase a "reduced price" animal at PetSmart: They are reduced price because the Manager would like to get rid of them. They have been in the store too long. They are getting too big. They are eating more than they are "worth" -- so, I would consider talking to the PetCare Manager and offer to take the chameleon off their hands with your knowledgeable care towards them. Offer to adopt. There is a difference in someone offering to adopt that is knowledgeable and wants to do well versus someone who wants to adopt for a "showy" pet to play with with no fee attached.

Maybe mention her laying eggs soon, and how horrible egg binding is if she feels as if her little cube isn't a suitable place to lay.

One other thing I'd like to mention. Given she is reduced price, like I said, it means she has been at the store since she was a baby. Given the care PetSmart owners allow their store to give to chameleons, it looks as if the store has done alright with her. She looks pretty decent. If you were to buy any chameleon from any chain store, please let it be one that knows how to care for them. One that you can be confident when they get a shipment of a new baby chameleon, they will take care. This is only IF you decide to purchase from a chain store, which overall, I do not recommend.

 

[nick barta]

I would argue that you are not in fact 'rescuing' her. She is for sale and you are going to pay them money for her. It's really only a rescue if the people on on the giving end aren't going to profit from your it. I am beginning to think the chains display them this way to encourage animal lovers to 'rescue' them….makes ya think that this could be their marketing scheme after all and we all fall prey to it.

My thought is that the large pet stores need to maximize every square foot of selling space, so they use smaller cube habitats to house more animals. This cube would not be too small for most lizards and snakes.
Chameleons are profitable for pet stores, or they wouldn't sell them.I think sometimes we assume the worst, and forget there are pet store employees who aren't trained on how to care for all critters in the store, and that there are folks like szpond who do make a difference.

Happy Thanksgiving all!

Nick