The only advice I can give you is to hold off on buying the cham at the moment. I feel that the arguments for the Chameleon's needs have already being mentioned and have strong evidence that support their concerns. I do hope that you did, indeed, read those posts because everyone on this site/forum is here to help ensure that your animal will have a long and healthy life.



That being said, I must mention that buying and caring for your chameleon is a huge investment financially. Especially if you're choosing a panther chameleon. The amilobes especially are both beautiful and costly. Ask yourself this: if you do go and pick up this Chamelen (I think that you may already have) are you prepared to spend upwards of $1000 in the next few months on the animal, its cage, lighting, feeders, and vet bills all on account of being unprepared?



While I don't doubt that you will do research on the chameleon, the time just doesn't seem right for you to invest in the chameleon, not yet at least. Myself, during the winter months in Saskatchewan, I was setting up a home for my veiled. I did all my research, hat a vet lined up, and had the cage set up. I took 3 temperature readings per day and found that at night it got a little bit too cold to keep the chameleon comfortable (it was an empty cage, mind you, I was waiting for our annual reptile show to buy a Veiled). I tried for close to two weeks trying to get the temperature right (It got down to below -40C at night for about 3 weeks in a row). I moved the cage to a windowless room (only for the winter months, I planned) but the house jsut couldn't maintain the humid warmth I needed. I had spent about $300 on the cage and setup which are now packed away in my garage. I'm not complaining: I was so exicted at getting the animal that the price didn't really matter. I simply felt that I couldn't provide the animal with the environment it needed.



An unhappy herp is not very fun: it won't have its vibrant colours and it will most likely not be the pet you desire. I held off on buying mine because I knew that it gets too cold in the winter. I didn't buy it because I couldn't guarentee that it would be comfortable.



Maybe you might want to think about it too.



I know that i can't stop you from buying it, but please, hold off for a few months and make sure that you can provide it with the care it needs. Then go out and make your purchase. Bring it to a good home and then you can have an animal that you can enjoy for many years. Think about it.





-Michael-

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