WC Outstalet's?

[Kaianuanu]

I have a good bit of experience with various reptiles and have wanted a chameleon for a long time. A few years ago I purchased a baby Nosy Be panther from a fantastic bloodline and a gorgeous sire, but unfortunately, it died in about a week and a half. I had given my all in caring for him and I had my breeder walking me through the time that i had him, but the breeder concluded that it had probably died from the stress of the move. It kind of scared me away from chameleons but now im thinking I might give it another go. This time, I've become infatuated with the outstalet's. There's just something indescribably cool about a giant chameleon dwarfing your forearm. Anyway, CB outstalet's aren't the easiest thing to find, when you do find them, they're only as babies and they are twice the price, and I'd prefer a cham that was already pretty big anyway. However, im worried about the issues associated with wild caught chams, especially parasites. So does anyone have any experience with wild caught outstalet's chameleons? If so, what type of veterinary care, if any, did you provide? And big were those vet bills?

 

[ataraxia]

Each w/c animal is going to have its own unique situation you will have to cater to. Vet treatment and bills will be different being so. It is not a cheap adventure. Taking the price of the animal plus vet treatments, you are typically looking at a price tag around 250-350 going off of the typical 75-100 dollar price of the animal. This still does not guarantee the animals will do well with treatments and become a long term captive. It is a gamble you take when taking in a w/c.

 

[Kaianuanu]

Thats a more than I expected. If that's the norm for WC specimens then I see why CB is so much more desirable. Any other experiences?

 

[Kent67]

Baby cb Oustalet's probably grow a lot faster than you'd think. Like Ataraxia said, once you consider the potential for vet bills, the price of the cb could work out to be much less in the long run. Either way you go, if you've already decided that you don't need the flashy colors of the more common species, you will absolutely love Oustalet's for their size and personality (and never failing to demonstrate a tongueshot hand-feeding when friends are over). Do it.

 

[Kaianuanu]

Baby cb Oustalet's probably grow a lot faster than you'd think. Like Ataraxia said, once you consider the potential for vet bills, the price of the cb could work out to be much less in the long run. Either way you go, if you've already decided that you don't need the flashy colors of the more common species, you will absolutely love Oustalet's for their size and personality (and never failing to demonstrate a tongueshot hand-feeding when friends are over). Do it.

yeah, thats the one thing i dont absolutely love about the ousties. Could you imagine a big male outstalet's in that glowing Nosy Be electric blue? What I would give for one of those. I feel like the outstalet's will be an overall better pet, while the panthers are stunning specimens. From what i've read I get the idea that outstalet's are a little more people savy while the male panthers can be a little "pissy," but I don't have any experience with outstalets so this may be completely wrong. Anyway, do you (or anyone else) know of any breeders of outsies, FLChams.com was the only one I was able to find.

 

[ForrestJungle]

Backwater reps has some check them out

 

[Kaianuanu]

Those are CB?

 

[ForrestJungle]

I thought so but I just checked and they are sold out. Sorry man!

 

[ataraxia]

Your not going to find many captive hatched or bred adults. If you do it is going to be a one in a million type situation

 

[Carlton]

yeah, thats the one thing i dont absolutely love about the ousties. Could you imagine a big male outstalet's in that glowing Nosy Be electric blue? What I would give for one of those. I feel like the outstalet's will be an overall better pet, while the panthers are stunning specimens. From what i've read I get the idea that outstalet's are a little more people savy while the male panthers can be a little "pissy," but I don't have any experience with outstalets so this may be completely wrong. Anyway, do you (or anyone else) know of any breeders of outsies, FLChams.com was the only one I was able to find.

Well, the other "big" species in the hobby that has more striking color is melleri. But, just like Oustaleti the difference between wc and cbb is major. Melleri have their own set of issues (such as needing LOTS of water!) but they vary a little more in terms of personality. Some are just wonderfully mellow and approachable (I was lucky enough to have one of those), some are very shy and stressy (um, yeah, had one of those), and some are vicious (right...been there too).