Reptile & Amphibian Forums

1) My veiled (DOT) has shed and I'm beginning to see mature colors!!! Goldish bronze bands are comming along. (BTW is she eating a random spider that wandered in her cage bad?)

2) I acquired a 4 month old Sambava from chameleoncompany for my b-day (you can see them in the classifieds) and boy is he awesome. I really wanted to give a heads up on the chameleon community to how great these guys are. Jim talked to me for hours as I debated between getting a Ambilobe and a Sambava and I finally decided to get Herp (my Sambava). I live in southern florida and he lives in central, and even got his brother who was traveling down south to deliver the cham personally! Both Jim and his brother were the most kind and reassuring people I have ever met. Jim's brother Patrick called me every hour to tell him where he was and we met somewhere only about 3 miles from my location making things very convenient. To top it off, I didn't have a cage for this guy and they sold me their carrying cage (22 GAL) with a ficus plant for $10!! because I told them PetsMart only had repitariums for $40. I didn't have that kind of money after buying the cham. They were so understanding and talked me through everything. You guys should consider these relatively new people!!

HI There, so glad your back and it's good to here Dot is doing good as well! Congrats on the new Cham!! Keep us posted!
Juanita
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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

>> To top it off, I didn't have a cage for this guy and they sold me their carrying cage (22 GAL) with a ficus plant for $10!! because I told them PetsMart only had repitariums for $40. I didn't have that kind of money after buying the cham. They were so understanding and talked me through everything. >>

Man you really sound like a responsible owner! No cage ready and not enough money to buy a proper cage. So I guess there is gonna be no UV?

Carl

Sheesh way to dampen my spirits. I brought $30 with me because thats how much Petsmart advertised their cages online. The reason why we met at Petsmart was so I could get the cage. The cage for $30 however was only 20 inches high which was not sufficient for its size. So nicely I asked if they were willing to sell the cage he was currently in, which was 25 high and wasn't outrageously priced. If push came to shove I would have gotten the 20 high cage. As for the UV I put this one in front of my window and I OPEN it so there is no filtration of sunlight, and he enjoys it very much. He is in direct sun and has a chance to move away from it 4-6 hours of the day.

>>Sheesh way to dampen my spirits. >>

I hope it did!

You don't go and buy without having things ready. What happens now if the animal needs vet care?

What happens in a month or two when he outgrows the little cage he is in now?

I can't believe in all the hours of conversions you had with them ahead of purchasing this animal the question of having a cage ready never came up.

Good luck little Sambava!

Carl

Most chams love spiders. Just don't give large very hairy aggressive ones like wolf or trap door types.

*pops a chill pill for carlc*

haha.. i know that he might have made some mistakes but wow that was just explosive..
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1.0 Savannah Monitor - Artimus
2.0 Emerald Swift - Jesus, unnamed
1.0 Baby veiled Cham - Sir August De Winter 1-20-05 RIP
1.0 Green Iguana - King Arthur
1.0 Rose-hair tarantula - Bill
1.0 Basilisk - Adam
0.1 Water Dragon - Lady

Seriously, calm yourself.

>>Seriously, calm yourself. >>

I saw pics of the animal you got. You should be ashamed keeping it in such a small cage. That cage was meant to be for transport only.

Why should I calm down? It's you who never seems to learn. You have problem after problem and the cause is usually something you are doing. It is just a matter of time before we all start seeing the posts about problems with this animal.

You first post about a problem didn't take long at all.

Carl

Dear Tass..Even though Carl's tone is a little harsh, I have to agree. I went back and lost count of the posts regarding your problems with Dot- (many from lack of funds to take her to a vet)..She is still young and you are not out of woods yet with her, she may require expensive vet care at a later date...a bigger cage...etc. Panther chameleons are delicate and expensive creatures. Minimum PROPER cage setups are at cheapest $200 (not including maintenance). All of us WANT different exotic animals, etc...but part of being a responsible adult and pet owner is knowing what you can afford to give the BEST (not the least) possible care to and the only way you can do this is to do alot of research on this. By your description of care, you have not done this and without the proper funds if one of your chameleons (aren't you also Jefferypeacock with the carpet chameleon?) is sick? Please rethink this little Sambava's future.

I hesitated to reply to this thread b/c I was just a pissed as Carl when I first read it and knew my reply would be harsh. That said, I have to agree with Carl's posts. His tone may be a bit off-putting, but I agree with his concern whole-heartedly.

You (and your brother) have had lots of problems with these young animals and you really need to be properly set up. You have barely had Dot for a few months (after exchanging another cham for her and then being sorry (at first) that she was a girl. Now you buy a new cham without a proper setup. You should certainly know by now the needs of these animals AND the sort of response you will get from the responsible keepers on this forum. Not to discourage you to post but we want to make you into a responsible keeper.

How many of the articles that were first recommended to you did ever read? Did you peruse www.adcham and www.chamnews and others to learn as much as you can? ChamNews "The Costs of Keeping Chameleons" should have been the first you ever read. I truly hope your animals don't suffer unnecessary illness and death due to the inexperience of their keepers and the excuse of "no money."

lele
cost of chameleons

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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)
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha

Allow me to clarify, my brother is JeffreyPeacock and he owns the baby carpet. I own the Sambava and Dot. I have only had chams for 4 months, I realize now that much of my "problems" with Dot are paranoia. Once I got over it I found me and her to be both better off. But as I recall all of you suffer from this. I remember reading a post from you LeLe about a power outage and Luna not getting a proper sleep cycle. There is nothing wrong with that. This forum should not disourage new cham carers (or old) from posting any kind of problem for fear of being dismissed as a "newbie" and that they "fear for the death of the animal" because of how "unpreparped we are" and it defeats the purpose of this forum. Most of the time, I just want a second opinion and some thoughts on a situation because of all of the scary stories we have read how little problems can lead to big ones.

I'd like to address my statement again. I had a set budget before purchasing the Sambava and the setup. I did all my research on what I needed, and I was under the impression the cage I wanted was only 27.99. When I drove to PetsMart an hour before we were suppose to meet to purchase the caging etc, it was $40 for that cage and 29.99 for a smaller one. Had push come to shove I would have purchased the smaller cage to keep him for that night, and then return the smaller one and purchase the bigger one the next day when I had more money on me. I asked the manager if the return would be possible, it was agreed that it would be possible because they were going to throw away that specific repitarium as it was ripped out of its box and the pieces were scattered.

Considering how he is only about 3.5-4 inch SVL a 22 gallon, 25" high cage seems perfectly fine to me. My vet, the VERY EXPERIENCED breeders who I purchased it from also seem to think so. He is not stressed and he is doing very well (I appreciate the fact that everyone on this forum is already predicting his death for me).

I hope you see my point, if not agree to disagree because all of my cham's are doing very well and I care for them very much.

Just remember that what we know of you is based on your "track record" of postings to this forum. The rest of us have listened to a lot of problems you have described and we can only react to that. I think the point we are trying to make is that you don't seem to prepare yourself before acting...for example, why not have your new cage completely set up and functioning before you went to get your newest cham? The price or size of a cage at PS was never the problem. If you were really prepared to take on yet another stressed and unknown animal worrying about a few dollars in price is a red flag for most of us. Are you ready for yet another cham when you have only been keeping them for mere months? We have your chams safety at heart, and your posting pattern does tend to set our opinion of your experience.

>>Allow me to clarify, my brother is JeffreyPeacock and he owns the baby carpet.

yes, I know that, thus the reference...

I own the Sambava and Dot. I have only had chams for 4 months, I realize now that much of my "problems" with Dot are paranoia. Once I got over it I found me and her to be both better off. But as I recall all of you suffer from this. I remember reading a post from you LeLe about a power outage and Luna not getting a proper sleep cycle. There is nothing wrong with that. This forum should not disourage new cham carers (or old) from posting any kind of problem for fear of being dismissed as a "newbie" and that they "fear for the death of the animal" because of how "unpreparped we are" and it defeats the purpose of this forum.
Most of the time, I just want a second opinion and some thoughts on a situation because of all of the scary stories we have read how little problems can lead to big ones.

That is fine - hey, I am the first to admit that I tend to obsess; sure, I do have ocassional concerns about Luna. However, I was entirely setup and understood her basic needs - and the cost - and had done months of research long before getting her. THIS is the point... I (and others) am trying to make with you: The fact that you had a budget which consisted of only $40 for a cage is just not enough. And I suppose that we all hoped you knew that by now.

I'd like to address my statement again. I had a set budget before purchasing the Sambava and the setup. I did all my research on what I needed, and I was under the impression the cage I wanted was only 27.99.

what cage for $27.99??

When I drove to PetsMart an hour before we were suppose to meet to purchase the caging etc, it was $40 for that cage and 29.99 for a smaller one. Had push come to shove…

...push come to shove should not be a consideration - you do what you need to do for your the life you have chosen to be responsible for. I just spent over $300 for x-rays, blood work, antibiotics (that I had to administer myself - not something I am comfortable doing, but Luna is depending on me), and need to do follow-up visit for blood work to make sure the antibiotics have taken care of the problem. Could I just assume that all is OK b/c she "seems" fine? Sure I could, but what if it did NOT correct the problem. I OWE HER a visit to the vet…. Don’t I??? $300 is a lot of $$ to me (as I am sure it to most of us) but it is part of the responsibility I took on when adopting her. My cat visits are nothing compared to Luna’s right now, (but even as the cats get older the cost will be greater. I spent hundreds of dollars on my last two in their final months of life). The distance I drive to a herp vet, the heat packs I need for her trip and the stress to us both – but she is worth every moment and every penny – she cannot do it on her own. Your budget needs to have funds built in for the emrgency trips to the vet – they will happen.

I would have purchased the smaller cage to keep him for that night, and then return the smaller one and purchase the bigger one the next day when I had more money on me. I asked the manager if the return would be possible, it was agreed that it would be possible because they were going to throw away that specific repitarium as it was ripped out of its box and the pieces were scattered.

Just a thought on that…by switching cages you are stressing the animal. The ideal situation is to have the setup all taken care of – meaning completely inclusive – then you intorduce your chamn and let her/him adjust over the time s/he needs.

Considering how he is only about 3.5-4 inch SVL a 22 gallon, 25" high cage seems perfectly fine to me. My vet, the VERY EXPERIENCED breeders who I purchased it from also seem to think so. He is not stressed and he is doing very well (I appreciate the fact that everyone on this forum is already predicting his death for me).

You are right…it may seem to you that we are in fact “predicting his death” because we know the potential problems that can arise from improper care and too much stress. Btw, are you prepared for Dot’s impending need for laying infertile clutches? My other question is you keep saying how perfect your setup is but still seem resistant to post a photo or list the specifics.

I hope you see my point, if not agree to disagree because all of my cham's are doing very well and I care for them very much.

I don’t doubt that you care about them I just wonder how well you care for them when you are willing to cut corners. Remember, this is all based on your own posts and the many problems and questions you had from the get-go. Look back at some of your earlier posts and understand how this has all been interpreted. Again, the health and well-being of the chams is our foremost concern. Do you remember the post about DOT PMSing??? You found it amusing that she kept falling, how she hid – and then you said it was not a problem you just wanted to tell everyone – it also contained several “lol.” What else are we to think??

Again, I don’t want to discourage you form posting I suppose it would make a difference if we saw you actually taking some of the advice you ask for - here’s hoping…

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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)
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha