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LLLReptile is selling 3-4 month old GTP's for 299.00. Is this just a good deal or are these just low quality animals?

Squirrel

I just came from a convention that LLLreptiles was a dealer at. The animals seemed very high quality to me, though I am limited in my knowledge of GTPs. Hope I could help!
~SK

well, honestly i am not fond of lll, but they get chondros from kameron of bushmasters, kamerons animals are from his farm in indonesia, hes a great guy, so ask them, if they say yes, then why not, the source is what really matters. d

No matter who you buy them from or who produced them, the most important thing is the care that the animal has received since the day it hatched. Any experienced Chondro breeder or keeper will tell you that.

Having said that, if it is a farm bred Chondro, that means that it would've had to have been shipped to the US from the farm in Indonesia. Even when baby Chondros are shipped within the US, they get stressed and can have problems. This problem is just when an animal is shipped here all the way from Indonesia. Aside from the long journey with no water, sometimes they're not kept in the best conditions (too dry, no water, etc.) when they get to the importer's facility.

Considering baby Chondros are one of the most delicate animals in the world, and that even the slightest bit of dehydration when they're young can cause irreversible kidney damage, you're taking a risk by buying one. The bad thing about that for the buyer, is that the kidneys don't always shut down immediately. In fact, in most cases they will begin to gradually deteriorate over time, and you won't even know for several months whether the animal is going to have problems or not.

I had a farmed baby (that I paid $450 for) that did fine for 4 months, ate every time, and then it just started acting funny one day and died three days later.

On the other hand, I have purchased farmed Chondros that were in the country for about a year before I bought them, and they did fine. Of course, after someone has cared for a Chondro for a year or so, they're not going to sell it to you for anywhere near $299. In fact, the last farmed Chondro I got was a gorgeous yearling female that I paid $600 for.

It's a judgement call that you'll have to make, but personally, after the experiences that I've had, I will probably never buy another farmed baby Chondro.
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Anthony Caponetto
www.ACreptiles.com