Update and Question

[Lovemycham]

Sadly, despite our best efforts including a vet visit, our little guy is just not going to make it. Thank you to everyone here who gave us suggestions. We feel like we did the best we could - spent way over $1000 and even took off work to care for him, but he was just too little and too stressed to handle it. We are sad to lose him of course, but we know we did whatever we could.

We are hoping to try again, we feel much more educated and ready to be chameleon parents. I know this forum has many sponsors, I was wondering if anyone here has a breeder they absolutely love and could recommend. Also, what age is right for shipping a young chameleon? What other attributes might a breeder consider when deciding if a baby is ready to be shipped overnight and rehomed? The vet told us, they had never seen a chameleon so little that was already shipped. So I was just wondering what signs a breeder might look for to determine if a baby is ready or not ready.

Thanks again!

 

[frikitiki]

speaking for myself... my chameleons are well established and eating 1/2" crickets when I offer them up unless you are an experienced chameleon owner and they are being picked up.

 

[LilBlue]

So sorry to hear:-( You really did make all the best efforts to save this little guy. I think you are an awesome reptile parent

I can't answer the breeder questions...but I will make a suggestion for your next cham. If you are looking for a veiled or panther, they are common enough to buy local. I would even look at getting an adult. Check out CL or kijiji, reptile forums, and see what is available. I have 3 chams, all adopted as adults.

On a side note - I hope you contacted the breeder who you purchased from. They may or may not reimburse you cash or reptile, depending on their terms of sale. It's always a good idea to read over the TOS(if it's not readily available on a website, ask for it in writing), it protects you and the seller. And it's good for the seller to know that they shipped a cham that was too young, then they can adjust their practices.

We've all had a bad experience, or two, with chameleons and reptiles in general. So happy to hear you haven't been discouraged from getting a new family member

 

[Lovemycham]

So sorry to hear:-( You really did make all the best efforts to save this little guy. I think you are an awesome reptile parent

I can't answer the breeder questions...but I will make a suggestion for your next cham. If you are looking for a veiled or panther, they are common enough to buy local. I would even look at getting an adult. Check out CL or kijiji, reptile forums, and see what is available. I have 3 chams, all adopted as adults.

On a side note - I hope you contacted the breeder who you purchased from. They may or may not reimburse you cash or reptile, depending on their terms of sale. It's always a good idea to read over the TOS(if it's not readily available on a website, ask for it in writing), it protects you and the seller. And it's good for the seller to know that they shipped a cham that was too young, then they can adjust their practices.

We've all had a bad experience, or two, with chameleons and reptiles in general. So happy to hear you haven't been discouraged from getting a new family member

Thank you. We are not discouraged, but will be looking for an older chameleon this time around for sure. I will absolutely start looking local! Thanks again!

 

[ChamDE86]

Sadly, despite our best efforts including a vet visit, our little guy is just not going to make it. Thank you to everyone here who gave us suggestions. We feel like we did the best we could - spent way over $1000 and even took off work to care for him, but he was just too little and too stressed to handle it. We are sad to lose him of course, but we know we did whatever we could.

We are hoping to try again, we feel much more educated and ready to be chameleon parents. I know this forum has many sponsors, I was wondering if anyone here has a breeder they absolutely love and could recommend. Also, what age is right for shipping a young chameleon? What other attributes might a breeder consider when deciding if a baby is ready to be shipped overnight and rehomed? The vet told us, they had never seen a chameleon so little that was already shipped. So I was just wondering what signs a breeder might look for to determine if a baby is ready or not ready.

Thanks again!

I am sorry to hear your cham has gone. You definitely did all you could and it was more than likely one of those illnesses that occurred before he got to you. As mentioned above, CL is a good place to start as people grow tired of their pets and try to re-home them. Check around locally and you may find one you like for a small fee. As for when they are usually shipped, the running theme seems to be when they hit 3-4 months. It can be difficult because sometimes shipping doesn't go as well and the cham experiences a drop of the box and what not. These things are bound to happen, but the success rate is definitely higher, so don't let it deter you if your next purchase happens to be via shipping.