Like I said earlier, if a breeder can get $300+ for a Panther, by all means, all the power to you for that. Who wouldn't like $300+ for a Panther? But as I see it right now, the supply and demand is in trouble with Panthers here in Canada. That itself lowers the pricing of them, not to mention...
Yes I prefer Panthers over Velied too but with less people buying Veiled and more people buying Panthers, that obviously will drive the price down from supply and demand. That's another reason Panther pricing is in trouble. It's already started and I'm sure it won't get better.
Breeders...
It would be a lot more expensive but I see no problem as long as they can't fit their head through the wiring. I've heard of Veiled in particular getting their head caught since they have the large casque that would be difficult to get out of a tight bird cage. They could severly injury...
I'm going to agree with Trace here. I've heard that Velieds eat a lot more then Panthers, so the cost of raising the chameleon doesn't factor. They require the same caging, lighting, heating, suppliments... and so on...
This is my line of thought too. Yes, people like to pay for quality, but, the thing a lot of people don't understand is, the smaller breeders charging less have the same bloodlines as the larger breeders. They do this to compete for sales in an already small market. So why pay more for the same...
So if you pay top dollar for your chams, that breeder must love your business... Any returning customer deserves a break. How does it make your animals better by paying more? This statment is pretty weak.
A long time Canadian breeder (no name mentioned) is selling for $175 and isn't a pet store. Sure, they aren't Ambilobe but they are still furcifer pardalis nonetheless. Other breeders in Canada are also selling at $200 each. To them, $200 each is better then selling wholesale for $50-$75 each...
As much as I'd like to agree with you Harry, I can not. There is no way people will continue to pay $300+ for Panthers here in Canada when they can get the exact same thing for $175-$200. It's the way it is. Best of luck selling them at $300+ though. All the power to you if you do.
Right now in Canada, since the economy has been spinning downward, the going rate for a Panther is $175-200 and I've seen people selling 2 for $350. What a drastic change in price. Unfortunatley, that price will never get higher in Canada now that it'll become the standard. It'll only go lower...
Sorry, but that isn't going to happen. He needs a professionals help. If you weren't intending on taking it to the vet, you shouldn't have taken on the responsibility, knowing it was sick.
Get him to a vet.