I was confronted with doing a presentation on chameleons for the
NC herp society. Though they managed to find a replacement
speaker before I could take the spot, it got me thinking.
I have been interested in doing a presentation on chameleon
husbandry for quite some time, and this has sparked my interest.
There's a meeting in May, and I think I'm going to do it.
I've got many ideas, and a few animals to bring. I'm going to put
together an outline and a photo (and illustration) intensive power
point presentation. In such a show, what would you guys like to
see? There are many MANY reptile speakers at the various
reptile shows, but they're all similar: snakes, crocs, and
beardeddragons and skinks - cute and docile lizards. Nobody
messes with the difficult stuff. I think it'll be unique. Plus, so many
of the vendors at the shows fill the public with lots of
mis-information so they can sell useless, high profit reptile items.
I'm always helping with chameleon care at the shows, I'd like to
make a bigger impact.
So, I plan on discussing basic requirements, misconceptions and
myths. Nutrition and housing are big issues. Lighting and
supplementation are big too. Also, selection of healthy animals
should be a great way to decrease the numbers of
"definatly-going-to-die" chameleons at the shows. I'm sure it'll
piss off some of the less reputable vendors at first, but they'll have
to learn to not sell crap.
What else would be a good topic to cover in a presentation (I'm
guessing 30-60 minutes)? I'm hoping to do this at the Raleigh
show this May, if it doesn't conflict with the herp society meeting,
where I also hope to do it at.
Eric A
