I'm back with some more ???'s

Rebecca · 10-18-03, 06:44 PM

Ok as some of you might know my little brother and I (I'd look after it mainly, he'd just help) want to get a cham. Now my local pet store does have some veiled chams for 150. Question is how bad would that be for a starter for me and him?? Also is 150 alot for one?? If I did get one how can I tell if they are healthy, other then asking to see it feed??

Geofft · 10-18-03, 06:47 PM

I would say 150 is alot.. they are about 90 in pet stores and i have seen 50 for veileds direct from a breeder.. plus, then you know where they came from!

dank7oo · 10-18-03, 07:22 PM

Hi Rebecca
Many places and people do recommend veileds as a good beginner chameleon. Heck! My first chameleon was a veiled. However, I would never EVER recommend a veiled as a first cham. I personally would go with a male panther. As babies they might be pissy, but one they hit sexual maturity, they calm right down, and are prolly the most social of all chams.
Best of luck
Jason (visit my new site

)

Collide · 10-18-03, 08:11 PM

Humm I would have to say that a veiled is best at first they are hardier and if any mastakes are made a veild is a much more hardy creature, yes they do tend to be a little groutchyer then others, but chames are not good pets to have if you really want to handle them alot anyway.

What u should look for is plump eyes, not too skinny, ect..
u already have reptiles soo u should be able to spot any thing weird. As for price $150 is kinda high unless your talking about an older cham (bigger), Id say somewhere in the range of $50 to $90 is what u should be looking for.

Also if your have a choice when chosing a veiled get a male (spirs on back feet), and try and get one that might want to climb out on you, put your hand in and see if one lunges to get out lol,

Hope that helps..

PS
also i noticed a add in the classifides on this site "Jacksons Chameleons young adult pair" they are also selling one male for $175 if you are willing to spend that much they are really cool chams too and good as beginers too and i think they guy is in BC too, they are not as commin as veilds interisting pet i whish that guy was in ontario id snatch them all up, not sure if they are still avalible just thought id mention it.

meow_mix450 · 10-18-03, 09:00 PM

YA i aldo saw that add, i wanted to get it but it was in another country lol, hmm ya 150 is way to much, i saw adults for 90 bucks one, so see if you can find a breeder near you. Ya i wish they had jacksons here

meow

choriona · 10-19-03, 06:59 PM

when you are looking for a healthy cham - look at it's colors. You've probably seen lots of them on this site and elsewhere on the net. You may notice that the veileds are green mostly, which is the "i'm comfortable and happy" color. If the ones at the pet store are mostly brown, that may mean they are stressed out. Stress almost always leads to sickness in chameleons, so if you've never owned one before MAKE SURE the one you get isn't already stressed.
Look for skin left-over from the last shed. It may be along the back, or around the ankles. This is a sign that the cham isn't hydrated enough. You don't want to start there either.
See if you can see the muscle lines down the back - it is too skinny then. (although they are deceptive creatures.)
- one last thing you may want to do is try to get one that is 3 months old or more. If they've made it that far, then they were healthy to start with!
Good luck.
(p.s. I would not pay more than $75 for a baby veiled, but you wont find that at a pet store.)

Rebecca · 10-19-03, 11:46 PM

I'd say these were about 6 or 7 in from nose to tip of tail. So I'm thinking they are not babies. The ones I saw were kinda brown aroud the ridges of the face, kinda like where our forhead would be. I don't think I'll get one from there, price is too high buy the sounds of it. Jacksons have the horns on their face right??

Trace · 10-20-03, 07:39 AM

Quote:

Jacksons have the horns on their face right??

Yeppers! They are one of my favorite species too. If I had the spare cash right now, I would be all over that pair in the classifieds. Ah well. Jackson's are a little harder to care for then the Veileds or the Panthers but not impossible. They like cooler temperatures with a higher humidity level. Otherwise caging requirements are the same.

Click here for a good caresheet on the Jacksons.

Cheers!

Trace