your level of love for your chameleon

[chamguy]

yea,...why have kids when you can have chams right? I enjoy all my animals. I dont really like the term "pet" for us reptile enthusisits...especially since chameleons to me arent really at a pet level. Chameleons would have to be my favorite reptile. BUT! I will have to say, I have more of an attachement to my 10 yr old tortoise I got when I was 8 vs a chameleon I bought afew months ago. But if my cham were to die tomorrow I probably would be devastated.

I look at them as equals. I give them their space, and they respect me ( in a way). I know they may not be " intelegent" but every chameleon I have owned are very different in their character compared to other animals that dont seem as smart. They are a very unique reptile.

 

[ataraxia]

I just water, feed and its just another animal in a cage. I dont love my chams like another human being at all because they arent human beings!!! Chameleons are solitary animals that in nature do not give a shit about us and really dont care when they sit in our cages. This is one reason I love them so much. I dont have to bring them out, pet them and show them affection.

Do you really think people like Screameleons and the Kammers treat every tiny little baby like it was a human baby? I think not.

Love, Chameleonforums.com Hater Police Chief

well that sums it up. the forums hater chief of police has spoken. moderators lock the thread!

i do love my chams to a degree. do they love me? i bet they hate my effin guts and some show it but i like tough love anyways.

would i personally buy from a huge breeder? i think not.

i know one of the biggest wholesalers in the midwest. he treats every single one of his animals and animals for sale like a solitary POS. i get a laff to think he would ever pet them, get them out of the cage or show them any affection...ive learned that someone that gives a shit and loves what they do and the animals they care for you end up with quality period. would i buy from him? i think not.

the forums #1 hater on the loose, ataraxia

 

[Cainschams]

well that sums it up. the forums hater chief of police has spoken. moderators lock the thread!

i do love my chams to a degree. do they love me? i bet they hate my effin guts and some show it but i like tough love anyways.

would i personally buy from a huge breeder? i think not.

i know one of the biggest wholesalers in the midwest. he treats every single one of his animals and animals for sale like a solitary POS. i get a laff to think he would ever pet them, get them out of the cage or show them any affection...ive learned that someone that gives a shit and loves what they do and the animals they care for you end up with quality period. would i buy from him? i think not.

the forums #1 hater on the loose, ataraxia

I think we all forget, including myself, sometimes that there are different types of keepers out there. There is nothing wrong with viewing these animals in the aspect of observing them and there is nothing wrong with viewing them as a pet and a loved one. We all can learn from each other.

 

[wendyeeeo]

I have cats that are like my children - always have had a cat or two since I was a kid. I am now falling totally in love with my Ambilobe, Kirby. He has become so tame and so engaging - little things that most wouldn't think such a big deal, but are so touching to me... Like literally running to get closer to me when I've got the big mister out - and he sits so sweetly until the entire sprayer is empty. Or the other day when he was itchy from shedding and let me rub his head - then even 'asked' me to rub it later. When he walks out of his Free Range area to 'show' me something he wants (today it was the katydid I had in a container & had forgotten to give him). May not seem like much, but it's magical to me after raising Kirby since he was a baby and so scared of everything. I look forward to seeing my chams first thing when I get home - it's my serenity time.

 

[pssh]

I do love my chameleons, but not enough to anthropomorphise them. They are fantastic pets but they are still lizards at the end of the day. I dont handle the ones that do not like to be handled, and I will occasionally handle the ones that do. I treat them with the best care I can give them. And I do get very upset when one dies, but not so much that my life stops for them.

I dont treat them like people because I believe that it tends to cloud your judgement about the animals and what is best for them.

 

[fluxlizard]

I have children and I have lizards.
I was adopted as a child and I *hate* it when people use the word with animals. I was not the same as someone getting a dog.
In the event of cataclysmic famine- I would feed the lizards to my children, and never the other way around.

I've had lizards I mourned after their passing- I had an iguana for many years that was a real pet- freeroamer, potty trained, great with kids, bigger than most cats- when it passed I mourned him for years. I still would have fed him to my children if I had to.

That is the difference for me and where I draw the line.

I dont treat them like people because I believe that it tends to cloud your judgement about the animals and what is best for them.

That about sums it up for me too.
I've met a few people who didn't seem to be able to tell the difference and the situation was in one case dangerous for the individual (old lady who thought her huge iguana puffed up and threatened her because it "knew" her and "loved" her in spite of nearly loosing a finger to it and resulting expensive surgery, which led her adult children to ask her to give me the lizard) and in other cases bad for the animal as they don't have the same needs as humans, nor do they express emotion the same way.

 

[sandrachameleon]

I water and feed, and watch and admire. But I dont "love" my chameleons overly much - I dont love most human animals much either. I would buy from someone who ensured the well being of the animal was paramount - I dont mind if this doesnt include loving the animal. You dont need to be in love with something to care for it properly. Chameleons dont need humans to be emotional about them to thrive. Indeed they may do better if we remember they are lizards, not people.

All animals, humans or otherwise, should be treated well and cannot be "replaced" as individuals. To me all animals, lizard, human, rodent, cockroach, have equal rights to life. But in the bigger scheme of things, none of us are all that important. Just short term blips, insignificant to the universe.

 

[DavidBuchan]

In the event of cataclysmic famine- I would feed the lizards to my children, and never the other way around.

That probably wasn't meant to be as funny as I found it.......but it's funny 'cos it's true

 

[ataraxia]

honestly this wasnt meant for excessive, extreme behavior/situations. i hope many know the difference between humans and animals. loving them as a kid/human was meant as a euphemism.

i had a 10 yr old boxer and a 5 yr old eclectus parrot die last year. i will admit they made me cry pretty damn hard. i did care for them but in no way are/were they comparable to my child.

cain did make a good point. you can provide good care even keeping basically with minimum interaction.

although this type imo doesn't have a very good ratio of keepers of a animal that actually stay with them and care for them good. not saying people can keep a animal with limited interaction and give it a great life cause some people can do this. from experiences with owners of this type (no interaction with the animal). what i see eventually they will either perish from the lack of care or will manage to survive under pretty bad conditions or will be sold off. before you attack this statement volunteer at a shelter, operate a rescue, own a independent pet store, etc

i own a pet store and operate it personally. i see just about every different type of care giver possible in a real life situation. not behind a computer or from what i read. ive learned over the years a bunch about behavior of keepers towards there pets.

 

[Olimpia]

I'm also one of those people that never plan on having children, at least not in the forseeable future. But I have always, always wanted dogs. So I have my beautiful sheltie girl (and in a couple months a brother/sister for her), who I love unconditionally. I would leave boyfriends for my dogs if they made me choose between the the two. But it's because dogs truly are friends, who sleep with you, seek comfort in you (and provide it back), and have fun with you at parks, walks, and cafes.

I do care for my chameleons, and I was really depressed when they were all getting health problems at once and I wasn't going to have the money to deal with it all. I've had some die and some given away, but I'm never as torn up about it as I am with the death of a dog. The level of interaction is just soooo different. Even my social ones, which are my favorite by far, I care for them dearly but I couldn't tell you that I love them like my dogs.

However, I do firmy believe that by choosing to bring this animal into my life I can do nothing less than try to give it the best home possible, because it can't do it itself. So mine get spoiled with large cages, free range time, great food treats, and anything else I can come up with to really take excellent care of them.

 

[katrina]

I'm going to throw my input in on nothing other than the "big names" you can buy these creatures from that, I agree, rarely seem to take care of their creatures. But doesn't that make you want to buy them more?! Doesn't that make you love them more? You can rescue these animals from the hell they're in and nurture them back to the health they need to be in. I always feel so guilty when I see these guys staring at me in their tiny cages looking sickly and emaciated. It's the same when it comes to cats and dogs. I would feel guilty knowing I could have gone and saved one of them from the pound rather than getting one that already has a good home and has more than 5 days to get noticed.

So where I get my pets has nothing to do with how much I love them. Maybe saving one from a store that treats them like ass would make you appreciate your pet more and you'd probably have the feeling returned.

 

[pssh]

Maybe saving one from a store that treats them like ass would make you appreciate your pet more and you'd probably have the feeling returned.

I don't personally believe this is true with reptiles. Personable mammals perhaps, but not reptiles.

 

[Leza]

For sure my little cham is well treated, gets the best food(his feeders get good stuff too)--I even sit in the chair beside him and watch him til I fall asleep from time to time. but I would never love an animal like a child, even my parrots, are still parrots. All my pets are just that--pets. I agree, the adoption thing takes it pretty far.

I am glad I found my little cham and that I was the one to get him first, I know if anyone else got him, he would not live very much longer in the conditions he was in.

 

[stom]

i love it will ol my hert