What did I do wrong?

[Elettra]

I'm a new chameleon owner (aware that they can be difficult pets to take care of). This morning I woke up to a dead Toby . He was an adult Cameroon Sailfin who was wild caught and by no means a shy chameleon. I've only had him since Sunday but he was actively eating, even out of my husband's hand, and I did witness him drinking off the leaves. The enclosure has a combo of real and fake plants. I was misting with a spray bottle about 4 times a day and if I noticed the enclosure looked dry; even used a technique I read about on here where I had a plastic cup with a small hole at the bottom to slowly drip water. I don't think humidity was a problem ( live in southeast Louisiana and according to a hygrometer in a cage next to his humidty is usually a range 65-75, more when it's raining outside ). The water was filtered water and not straight from the tap also. He just seemed so lively last night for me to find him dead this morning. I'd like to get another chameleon in a month or so, but hoping to solve this mystery first and make some changes. Thanks for any input, it's much appreciated.

 

[DragonLady]

Chameleons "hide" their illness better than any other reptile. He may have been ill when you bought him and you just didn't realize it. He could have had a respitory illness. Did he ever open his mouth to breath - or did you ever hear him "weezing"? If you decide to replace him, all I can tell you is to decide what kind you want before purchase, try to buy a captive hatched instead of a wild caught, and research, research and research some more on that particulr locale.

There is a form that you can fill out that will give the experts on here a lot more info and hopefully someone with more expertise than I have can give you some opinions.

I'm sorry for your loss, and good luck.

 

[draetish]

Depending on where or who you got him from, most have a (7) day live guarantee. I would contact them asap!

 

[VeiledOwner87]

where on earth did you find a cameroon sailfin????!!!!! im sorry about your loss, realy i am. my girlfriend and i just had a loss. but was this your first cham? sailfins are extreamly hard to keep up, they need lower temperatures and humidity exceeding what you had constantly. i just finished posting that uncommon chams like these should not even be on trade let alone only go to very experienced keepers who can meet all of there needs. dont beat yourself up over though, things happen. i am realy realy sorry for your loss, but again where on earth did you get one? the only place in the US that gets them occasionally that i know of, is chamelot chameleons, but i live in canada. i would like to check out your source.

 

[Ryan Jarosek]

Depending on where or who you got him from, most have a (7) day live guarantee. I would contact them asap!

Not very likely on a WC

 

[Elettra]

There was a reptile show this past weekend where I live, I'll have to check with my husband whom it was that sold him to us. I doubt the vendor would be of any help since it was wild caught. We also bought a nile monitor from him that day, but he isn't wild caught. I have done some research prior to the purchase on Sunday, but apparently not enough. I'd like to give these guys another go, prolly a different genus and def captive breed. I had not realized these were uncommon and feel horrible about it. I choose him over some of the others at the show b/c he was older and less pricey than the ambilobe I wanted. The seller also had some Jacksons but at the time I didn't realize the huge difference between them, and it's not like this guy would have told me. I guess this is a hard lesson learned.

 

[draetish]

Not very likely on a WC

You're probably right, but I've seen it on ads on Kingsnake. So are you saying they will say that but not do it? Is that the risk you take with buying WC from people on kingsnake? I'm asking because I was going to purchase from someone on KS.

 

[Elettra]

You're probably right, but I've seen it on ads on Kingsnake. So are you saying they will say that but not do it? Is that the risk you take with buying WC from people on kingsnake? I'm asking because I was going to purchase from someone on KS.

I don't have much experience with chameleons, but have purchased reptiles/frogs from kingsnake. It's been my experience that it depends on the vendor and if their policy on it isn't posted then it is always helpful to ask before purchasing. Monday we ordered a strawberry poison dart frog from someone off of Kingsnake. The frog arrived dead, which was wild caught. We contacted the vendor about it and the end result is they are going to send us a new one when they get more in. So at least in that situation it worked out.

 

[BocaJan]

I know that some folks have good luck with WC but any that I have purchased have died. I won't buy a WC again if I can help it. You don't know their age, their medical condition and how long they have been stressed in those bags they ship them in. Live and learn I guess. Just know that no matter who purchased that one he probably would have died. It is hard to lose one.

 

[VeiledOwner87]

like i said, dont beat yourself up over it. its not worth feeling bad for. obviously its a great loss and nobody likes to see any animal die. but those are the risks you take with any reptile, and even experienced keepers are at those risks. just experienced keepers know the precautions to take as well as the steps and treatments to wild caughts. i dont suggest a montane species would be appropriate for any beginner, unless youre a beginner who has spent an extensive amount of time on forums, care sheets, in contact with other keepers, etc.

i for one ordered a sailfin, two actually. from a trusted source in cameroon. if it makes you feel better, my wallet died cause it was a scam. i lost out 300$ american

but if it wasnt for that scam, i would have never bought my beloved kiwi lol.

best of luck with your time researching and when you get the new addition, be sure to post us!

 

[nick barta]

Elletra,

With the death happening so soon after you got the cham, your lights, cage, humidity, watering or food was NOT the cause. This cham had whatever killed him before you got him. Take it easy on yourself. I've been doing this 15 years or so, and sometimes they die.

On your next cham, may I suggest you buy from a breeder on this forum, wild caught are riskier than captive bred or captive hatched. You may be able to find a local breeder where you can see the enclosures that the breeder uses.

Being new to chams, I would also get a cham that is no younger than 12 weeks old, preferably 24 months or so would be less risky.

You seem genuinely concerned about learning and doing the right things, so this forum is a good place to learn.

Typical "beginner" chams are Panthers (the other cham that was more expensive is one of the panther locales found in Madagascar), or the Veiled, or Yemen cham. Both are hardy, and deal well with wide temperature and humidity ranges.

Your experience of having a cham die is common to new people who buy a chameleon, you are already on the right track in wanting to learn more, and I hope you continue to learn as we all are about these amazing creatures.

Nick

 

[VeiledOwner87]

totally agree with Nick, although i beg to differ a little bit with the age issue. i generally say to invest in chameleon no less than 3-4 months old for a beginner, the animal is well past the 2 week "survival of the fittest" game, and are now living strong and healthy in captivity. other hardy chameleons would be a senegal or flapnecked as they too can stand fluxuating tempuratures at times, the only problem is, most are wildcaughts as well, which is a big bummer. if realy wanting to take your chances on another wild caught, you are fortunate enough to deal with www.FLChams.com. specializing in both CB,CH & WC animals, and their list is quite appetizing.

 

[shanksfaml]

My first chameleon was from the Hamburg show and it died, pretty soon after coming home. I was pretty busted up, Bought a cross from one of our site sponsors a couple of years ago ( a week after the death) and he is huge and beautiful. You do learn so much with time and following this forum, now I have 3 Panthers and all from a site sponsor. In spite of having various reptiles in my care now for a little more than 2 1/2 yrs, I still would not feel comfortable taking on the responsibility for a WC anything. With the classifieds, it always seems like all the good stuff is in Cali.

 

[Elettra]

Thank you everyone for all of the insight. I'm definitely going to get another, and from a breeder on here hopefully. I do prefer a little older, which was one of the selling points with the sailfin, as the rest at the show were all babies. With the temps outside starting to soar into high 90s, unless it's a local breeder plan to wait until things get a little cooler, which will give me plenty of time to do more researching. I already had a couple books I ordered on the way.

We love reptiles and have been caring for many different species (mostly lizards and snakes) 10 or so years and chameleons have always fascinated me. Hopefully I'll be able to have one of my own and won't have to sneak on here to admire everyone elses beautiful companions.

 

[Texas Panther Man]

If you decide on a panther. Kaleidiscope chams is located in Florida. And they are running a sale on panthers right now $99.00 I believe. I purchased my female nosy faly from theresa @Kaleidiscope. They are good people to deal with.

 

[justjumpit621]

Just a thought... did you have substrate on the bottom of your cage?

 

[Elettra]

Just a thought... did you have substrate on the bottom of your cage?

Nope, it was a 36inch by 16inch aquarium bottom that was 16inch tall, with a custom cage that sat on top of that(which added another 36 inches height). The plants were in pots which took up a good amount of the surface space in the aquarium. He mostly stayed in the plants, vines, or clinging to the side of the cage itself.

 

[VeiledOwner87]

salfins are a species that arent so much aboreal. when i was looking into mine, there were caresheets, and i think chameleonnews.com stated, they are more bush habitants, low aboreal dwellers. since they need the high humidities, and since they are wild caught, i dont see substrate being an issue what soever. though some chameleons need their time to become acustomed to cup feeding, i would train it. i cup feed all of my chameleons, INCLUDING my brevs (pygmies) and they are an all ground dweller. so again, to help with humidity i realy dont see substrate being an issue at all. JMO

 

[Carlton]

Nope, it was a 36inch by 16inch aquarium bottom that was 16inch tall, with a custom cage that sat on top of that(which added another 36 inches height). The plants were in pots which took up a good amount of the surface space in the aquarium. He mostly stayed in the plants, vines, or clinging to the side of the cage itself.

I agree that most likely you ended up with a seriously compromised sailfin. They are so sensitive to humidity that if it got dehydrated at any time during it's long travels to reach the show it could have been in kidney or organ failure. Also, remember, a lot of activity in a newly purchased cham isn't necessarily a sign of health. Chams hate change. A new habitat, probably some discomfort, disorientation, and stress play out in a lot of activity and bright color. A species like this would need significant temp drop at night, lots of cool temp misting, thick cover, and very very careful light supplements if any. That might be tough to achieve in your area in summer.