What should i do

[kayladye59]

I live in the south and we have flea markets around here. There is this one guy that sells a ton of reptiles, and if I don't know anything about the other reptiles, I do know something about chameleons, because I have four that I love more than anything. Today, when I saw the conditions that he kept his chameleons under I was mind blown. There was literally about ten veiled chameleons and 12 foot by two foot enclosure, and some of them were even black, super stressed out.They had no uvb light no dripper or signs of anything to keep humidity at the right levels. Not to mention it was such a small room, and with all the reptile lights in there.It had to have been about eighty five degrees.So there's no doubt in my mind.Those babies are so dehydrated. I left in tears because I obviously can't help all of them. What would you do

 

[kayladye59]

I live in the south and we have flea markets around here. There is this one guy that sells a ton of reptiles, and if I don't know anything about the other reptiles, I do know something about chameleons, because I have four that I love more than anything. Today, when I saw the conditions that he kept his chameleons under I was mind blown. There was literally about ten veiled chameleons and 12 foot by two foot enclosure, and some of them were even black, super stressed out.They had no uvb light no dripper or signs of anything to keep humidity at the right levels. Not to mention it was such a small room, and with all the reptile lights in there.It had to have been about eighty five degrees.So there's no doubt in my mind.Those babies are so dehydrated. I left in tears because I obviously can't help all of them. What would you do

2ft by 2ft. Not 12 ft.

 

[MissSkittles]

Unfortunately, I doubt that there really is much that you can do. If he is selling 10 or however many animals he has, he’ll continue to keep and sell them as is. If you are a very tactful person, you can try to start a pleasant conversation with him and nicely educate him on better ways to keep them. (The whole catching more flies with honey vibe) Pointing out the things that would result in his profit loss will be the most effective. Having them get injured by fighting, dying or becoming ill from stress and maybe even turning off people who know the right ways to keep the animals might be some good points to make. Be prepared to have him ignore you at best. The biggest thing you can do is to not buy any animals from him and encourage all who you know not to, unless he changes his habits. It is possible (although unlikely) that it is only at the flea market that the animals are kept together.
A couple of months ago (on Facebook) I came across a photo someone in another country posted of their female panther chameleon laying eggs. They seemed to be a breeder and proud of the post. I counted about 10+ female panther chams in the one tiny cage and the poor girl who was laying eggs looked like she was not long for this world. Too many humans just suck. We were given a world of beauty beyond measure and some humans just can’t see anything beyond their bank accounts.