Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Just today I arrived home to my home, and I was eagerly waiting to post this topic. I had stopped at a subway after a morning at the beach, when I saw a small rinky-dink shop simply called "Reptiles" in a small strip mall. I couldn't help my self, but had the promise that I wouldn't be bringing home another roommate. I was dissapointed a little bit, becuase as soon as I stepped in the door way I was greeted with a terrible stench, but it didnt stop me. I was mostly was exicted to maybe find some cool chams, but all I found was a two veilds, and a lot of snakes. I saw a small pinky wiggling in the bottom of the females cage, and I asked the lady about how often she offered them and her thoughts about them. I know that a lot of people steer away from this choice, and wanted to hear her opinion. She said "yeah we feed them pinkies and adult mice to the male". My jaw dropped in disbelief, and couldnt believe my ears. I just agreed and nodded, but did not belive her. I remember her saying "its how they keep them very healthy". I also didnt beleive her after I had seen two water dragon and a juvenile green iguana in the same terraruim as the male vieled. Could this be true? And what are any thoughts/ideas on pinky feeding, I have also heard they are a "once every two month treat" for breeding females. Any comments?

I think pinkies aren't that far off from a natural food source. They would eat many small mammals, small birds, and lots of other lizards from day geckos to Uroplatus geckos to frogs to other chameleons in their natural habitats. I don't see anything wrong with a high protein diet, as they are very high on the food chain, especially ones of Madigascan descent, more so than mainland Africa. Also, roaches are a major foodsource for wild reptiles, and they are pretty high in protein as well.

As for the other lizards in the cage, I'd disagree with that because those are larger species of reptiles. I have seen different reptiles housed together with chameleons, namely giant day geckos with panther chams, successfully.

Those are my thoughts.

-Brock

What a sad pic. I know it is your choice and I wont say any more on that.

As for pinky mice. I fed one to Pudge on the advice of my local pet store...and things went down hill from there. I am not sure if there were other contributing factors, but I think that wild chams are probably a hell of lot more active, there search for food is greater, and a small animal here and there doesn't harm them. I have heard of pinkys after egg laying, but with silk, wax, supers and crix....what's the use.

I feed mice to my snake, but he won't eat worms.

Kris
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2.1 Black Labs Tucker, Raider and Lacey
1.0 Lepoard Gecko Kumar (Another lost pet RIP and party on with Harold!)
2.0 Horses Smoothie and Rocky
1.0 Husbands (he puts up with me)
1.2 Kids-Trevor (congrats c/o 2006), Logan and Rylie
1.1 Ferrets Tank and Ellie (The fun fuzzies)
1.1 Veiled Chams Squiggy and Pudge (may she RIP)
0.1 Snowflake Cornsnake Lucky

Just thought I would clarify that the photo that Brock posted was taken by Bill Love of BLUE CHAMELEON TOURS and IS of a wild chameleon IN its wild habitat completely untouched IN madagascar. Thus proving that other chameleons, the same species or not, are a tasty treat for larger chameleons. This is the caption that goes with the photo:

"It's a dog-eat-dog world out there ! A huge male Oustalet's chameleon zaps a juvenile carpet chameleon below it with its tongue. - BILL LOVE
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CANADIAN SILKWORMS

Didn't mean to assume that this person feed live animals...and if he/she did..I understand.

Kris
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2.1 Black Labs Tucker, Raider and Lacey
1.0 Lepoard Gecko Kumar (Another lost pet RIP and party on with Harold!)
2.0 Horses Smoothie and Rocky
1.0 Husbands (he puts up with me)
1.2 Kids-Trevor (congrats c/o 2006), Logan and Rylie
1.1 Ferrets Tank and Ellie (The fun fuzzies)
1.1 Veiled Chams Squiggy and Pudge (may she RIP)
0.1 Snowflake Cornsnake Lucky

Love, I'm going to ask him if he set that pic up!

I bet he did, what are the odds of coming across that?

considering hes gone all jungle man and spends months and months of each year there, over the course of several years, it HAD to happen at least once on camera!

Haha, man I love his shots. In all his photos he lookes like a big scruffy jungle bear.
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CANADIAN SILKWORMS

Of course he did, look at the backround.
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TFFF
(Tootie Freakin' Fruity Feenie)

you mean the blue sky and blur from a flash and long exposure?
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CANADIAN SILKWORMS

Ummmm Yaaaa, the blue sky and long long flash... Deep in the jungle, high high up in trees where there just happens to be a clear view of the blue sky with no other branches or tree's in the backround and there just "happens" to be a little carpet chameleon taking a stroll right in front of a big Out. Cham, who just happens to decide to have him for lunch, while Bill Love just happens to be sitting there with his camera ready to pic a loooong picture with his loooong flash.. Um ya.... that backround.
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TFFF
(Tootie Freakin' Fruity Feenie)

Oustaletti's are often found in shrubs... I have a feeling that you misunderstand what exactly Madagascar looks like. Pardalis, Oustaletti and lateralis are found in fields near the borders of thin forests. Its normal to see them in shrubs only 5 feet tall.
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CANADIAN SILKWORMS

Ha ha ha, sorry Will I think she's got a point.... I'm definately on the side of the fence that thinks this pic is set up. Months or years in the jungle doesn't matter, that's a heck of a good shot (with a nice blue backdrop) to be taken high up in a tree (where a baby carpet likely wouldn't even be).
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Tyler Stewart
Las Vegas NV
www.BLUEBEASTREPTILE.com

NO Tyler... this all took place in a shrub... Sheesh haven't you ever been to Madagascar! I think it's time for a road trip!! Anyone else want to come?? AND I'm Definately bringing my camera!!! I'll Drive!!
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TFFF
(Tootie Freakin' Fruity Feenie)

Shotgun.... Think we'll see any elephants? Maybe they eat the monkeys (natural selection??)....
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Tyler Stewart
Las Vegas NV
www.BLUEBEASTREPTILE.com

I am pretty sure it's set up. No big deal. I've seen worse. Nature shows where every darn snake is eating a chameleon - ON THE GROUND. It's clear that they used chameleons, in order to demonstrate the snakes' feeding habits, because chameleons were the easiest things to catch!

Bill's a good guy. I haven't seen him in a while, as his schedule is different than it used to be (used to be at all the shows I work at). IF you've ever seen the other pictures he takes, you'll agree, this one is TAME by comparison (girls wearing nothing but snakes!)

I'm a huge fan of Bills work! But come on!! That pic was soooo set up!! I mean what are the chances of having a camera at that particulare time!!

Sooo there was this one time I SOO wish I had a camera!!
So my boss was reading somewhere that fish tanks are suppose to help relax people.. so he decides to let us have a fish tank in our office. He gives us a budget and send us on our way.. So we work as a team pretty good all the time and had gotten a 150 gallon tank, everything we needed and set the bad boy up. We decided that each person in the office could buy 2 fish to put in the tank and to be fair we decided we would buy the fish in seniority order. SOO my boss goes first and he comes back with 2 bali (sp?) sharks, the next guys goes in gets two Tin Foil Barbs, I go in and 2 sucker cleaner fish, the next girl takes the list of fish we have and goes in and gets 2 Jack Dempsey Chiclids. In case you are not following.. all of these fish are aggressive... So the very last girl, who happens to be a stubborn girly girl goes to the petstore, doesn't need our list, and buys 10 little Tetra's to "brighten" up the tank. So we are all excided because they are the last fish to go in and the whole office is standing around the tank as she proudly dumps in her Tetra's..... Man.. it looked like a bad JAWS movie!! There were Tetra parts everywhere! The big fish were fighting over them and the larger Tinfoil Barb had one is his mouth like a dog with a bone and he was swimming all happy around the tank! We all just stood there, no one said anything until Tetra fish girl goes,"Bad fish.. stop it!!" Poor girl was ready to cry and the rest of us couldn't stop laughing... Horrible I know, but I still wish a I had a dang camera that day!! Needless to say the tank didn't last very long at work, and we now have a digital "office" camera!!!
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TFFF
(Tootie Freakin' Fruity Feenie)

And it'll be even better when the jack dempsey's grow up, and tear
apart everything else! There's a reason that particular species was
named after one of the toughest boxers of all time.

Poor girl.... so funny though.

Good move getting the plecos - they live forever, and are nearly
indestructible.

We always had "mean fish" tanks. Gars, big chiclids, crenchicla, arrowana, shovelnose catfish... The tank was almost like the cold war - peace was only kept because everyone in the tank knew they could all kill each other.