Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, I was visiting a local pet store and was horrified by what I saw. Sitting in a 10 gallon glass aquarium tank, were 3 chams. Two larger Veiled Chams 1.1, and 1 little Peacock Cham. The little guy was in bad shape! Looks like he or she had been bitten several times and was missing part of it's lower lip Although the store said that they had it on antibiotics and were swabbing the mouth out, it was not healing. I think the 2 veiled were picking on it. The owner said is was not for sale until it got better, but I think I can convince him to sell it to me. I can't stand to see them suffer! And I just don't believe they are trying to make him/her better! I just want to know what anyone else knows about them or can give me any pointers so I'll know what I'm getting myself into!
Thanks,
Feenie
-----
Feenie

1.1 vieled cham.- Stitch and Chloe
2.2 Canines Junior-pitbull chiuahuah mix, Jose- chiuahuah, Pearl- Staffie, and Daisy- Red nose Pit- foster child
1.0 boyfriend- Trent species unknown

>>Hi, I was visiting a local pet store and was horrified by what I saw. Sitting in a 10 gallon glass aquarium tank, were 3 chams. Two larger Veiled Chams 1.1, and 1 little Peacock Cham. The little guy was in bad shape! Looks like he or she had been bitten several times and was missing part of it's lower lip Although the store said that they had it on antibiotics and were swabbing the mouth out, it was not healing. I think the 2 veiled were picking on it. The owner said is was not for sale until it got better, but I think I can convince him to sell it to me. I can't stand to see them suffer! And I just don't believe they are trying to make him/her better! I just want to know what anyone else knows about them or can give me any pointers so I'll know what I'm getting myself into!
>>Thanks,
>>Feenie
>>-----

I know this would(and is since i am in the same situation as you with an AWESOME looking veiled) be hard but I would advise you not to buy them. Even if you tell them 'Im just buying this so you can;t hurt it anymore", you still give them money for it and allow for more improper treatment. Really(i might catch some flak for this) the best thing to happen is for the cham to die. Cham dying= no money for seller and maybe a leson learned. I will take a pic of the veiled i am talking about when i get back from Tahoe this Friday(im leaving tomorrow). Anyway, by all means, tell him exactly what you think he is doing is wrong and I would not buy anything there unless you absolutely have to(I buy crickets a the place i was talking about only when my main place is out).
Matt
-----
A truly wise man will always be humbled.

Hi Juanita,
It is a sad thing to encounter but unfortunately many (especially chain) pet stores are notorious for improper herp care. The fact that there are 3 chams in a 10-gallon tank the manager will soon have 3 dead chams.

This is a topic often visited on this forum and most of us will agree with Matt - as cruel as it may seem. By buying an animal from a store that does not have proper care you are condoning their sale - as Matt said, money is money. I rescued three anoles from a PetCo a couple years ago and eventually shipped them down to my Mom in FL to set them free. I realized afterwards that it may have made a difference to those 3 anoles but it made no difference to the store. The next time I was in there nothing had changed and the "reptile keeper" in charge got very defensive about my suggestions.

What you might try is to enlighten the storeowner by bringing in some care sheets and offering advice as an experienced cham keeper. If you feel the need to care for this cham offer to take it free (therefore they have now lost money) to try and nurse it back to health. Just be prepared for vet bills and a good chance of losing the cham. If the owner is not receptive to your help (changing things not necessarily the adoption) then I would go to the local animal humane society, herp society and/or local animal welfare department. It seems a drastic step but often has to be done - and that doesn't always do the trick either. We have a local pet store that has been reported several times but is still in business – it is sickening. If the store is not a chain store, you may have better luck developing a relationship with them.

There are stories of both success and failure from folks on this forum and it is heartbreaking each time simply due to the fact that the poor animal was subjected to this in the first place.

You are in WA, right? Here are links to your local societies.

lele
herp societies in WA

-----
0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta
1.0 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.5 Mad. Hissers
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula (no name yet)
?.? Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula (no name yet)

I know, I don't want to buy it to have it die on me, but When I talked to the clerk, she "seemed" to have all the answers. The cage was only temp. They were working on a set up for them. The little guy was on meds ( I really doubt it) yada yada yada. I did ask to talk to the owner and offered to build them a set up with their supplies for free on my own time!!! So I'll be stopping by there on wed. to see if he'll accept my help. The rest of the store (it's not a major chain) is really nice and I've been going there for years it just seems he has some really dumb people working there and I'm not sure he even knows it. Wish me luck!
Juanita
-----
Feenie

1.1 vieled cham.- Stitch and Chloe
2.2 Canines Junior-pitbull chiuahuah mix, Jose- chiuahuah, Pearl- Staffie, and Daisy- Red nose Pit- foster child
1.0 boyfriend- Trent species unknown