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Purchasing a Chameleon |
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Back to Chameleon Creatures |
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Back to Veiled Chameleon Care Sheet |
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Buying a chameleon is a big commitment and is not a decision that should be spontaneously made. Before you buy a chameleon you must know what species you plan to get and then set up the cage for the chameleon beforehand. Chameleons are hard to keep and die easily. Because of this when you buy a chameleon you have to get the healthiest and highest quality available. Do not go out looking to buy a chameleon and buy the first one you see, shop around and find the best. Also don't just go out and buy a chameleon on impulse. |
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The most common ways of purchasing a Chameleon are:
1. From a pet store
2. From a reptile show
3. From a reptile breeders website |
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1. Pet stores-this is probably the worst place to buy a chameleon from. Most pet stores do not specialize enough in reptiles to properly care for chameleons. You do not want to start off with a chameleon that has been poorly cared for. It is a common sight to see pet stores keeping chameleons in glass aquariums, which is not an appropriate cage for chameleons. I kind of view pet stores as used car dealerships. They buy bulk reptiles for discount prices then sell them for huge markups. I do not trust what they say about anything. It seems like everything they tell you is just to get you to make a purchase. Overall most petstores should be avoided for purchasing a chameleon. Quality chameleons are available online and at reptile shows for much less than in petstores. I will give some pet stores credit. If the pet store has chameleons in a mesh or screen cage, also see if the cage has flourescent uvb lights and the employees are very knowledgable, then it could be a good place to shop, but 99 percent of the time I advise not purchasing from a pet store. One easy test is ask them if a chameleon requires flourescent uvb lighting and vitamin mineral supplementation if they say no to either then just leave, because either they are lying to you to get a sale, or they are improperly caring for the chameleon, either way your not getting the quality you deserve.
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2. Reptile shows-I find this to be the best place to get chameleons. Reptile shows offer the best prices and best quality animals. You get to meet the breeder and talk with them. At reptile shows you tend to get the most knowledgable breeders selling good quality reptiles. Be wary of care advice some breeders provide. Some of these breeders will say anything to close a deal. Again use the test of asking if they require flourescent uvb light and do they require vitamin mineral supplementation. If they say no you say no to the purchase. I find these two questions sort out the good breeders from the bad very easily. Also if they are poorly housing them at the show that is a clue to how well they care for them. If you live on the East Coast a great monthly reptile show is the All Maryland Reptile Show in Havre De Grace Maryland. Other good East Coast shows are the Mid Atlantic Reptile Show and the Northern Virginia Reptile Expo, both are worth a visit or two. These reptile shows are also great places to get feeder insects, plants, cages, cage furniture, and everything else reptile related for great prices. Also I advise even if you do not plan on buying anything to go to a few reptile shows just to look at some of the exotic and colorfull reptiles on display. |
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3. Reptile Breeder Websites-online sales of reptiles. The internet is the second best place to buy reptiles from. Reptile shows are the best but a good online site is just as good. Only issue is the site has got to be a good reputable dealer that has good quality animals. Also I am a bit wary of making orders while it is very cold or very hot. You need to check temperatures from where the reptile is being shipped from until where it is arriving. I advise ordering when temperatures are above 50 and below 90. One benefit of online purchasing is that you can find almost any reptile species. Price should not be your biggest concern with online reptile purchasing. Your biggest concern should be with finding the best breeders to purchase from. |
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Wild Caught or Captive Bred, which should you get.
Wild Caught: Wild caught chameleon purchasing is like buying a used car with no warranty. I advise that unless a new bloodline is needed for breeding purposes that people avoid wild caught chameleons. Wild caught chameleons are difficult to keep. They may reject any cage you put them in and then refuse food and die. They will just rub their head against the cage trying to escape until they are bloody. Also wild caught chameleons tend to have large amounts of internal and external parasites. This is why they are cheaper then captive bred chameleons. Overall wild caught chameleons are better off in the hands of very experienced breeders rather than your average pet owner. Another good reason to avoid wild caught chameleons is because the numbers of wild chameleons is being depleted every day. Thousands of wild chameleons are sold every day, annually worldwide the number of exported chameleons is over a hundred thousand and few survive more than 6 months in captivity. In "1994 137,035 chameleons were captured and exported to be sold into the pet trade worldwide". (E. Bright and Mike Fry) (Chameleon import data)Between deforestation of chameleon habitat, particularly rainforest and the constant exportation of thousands of chameleons there are several species that are going to become extinct. Many species are found in only a few remote pockets and the loss of habitat can destroy some species literally overnight. Already there are bans on exporting some chameleons due to their endangered status. I predict eventually that nearly all species of chameleons will either become endangered, or extinct. Do your part by not buying wild caught chameleons and consider donating money to help preserve habitat especially rainforest in Africa and Madagascar.
Captive bred chameleons however tend to have less parasites and overall will live longer. They are also less likely to reject a cage. They cost more normally, though some captive bred species are cheaper than their wild caught relatives. Overall captive bred species are more docile, hardy, and just a better deal. While captive bred chameleons tend to be much hardier than wild caught chameleons, I must still point out that chameleons wild and captive are very delicate and require exact living conditions. You cannot buy a chameleon based on the idea that you will get the rest of the stuff you need at a later date. If you half @$$ care for a chameleon I gaurantee you will no longer have one in six months or less. |
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Back to Veiled Chameleon Care Sheet |
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Back to Chameleon Creatures |
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