Another ass't box mystery, any guesses on the locale of this little fella ?

[JoeyTwilight]

I got this little guy out of an ass't box of panthers about 4 months ago. I estimate his age to be about 6 months now as he was about 1.5 inches snout to vent when I got him, the whole lot were incredibly tiny and I was nervous about purchasing one. But I cant help myself with ass't boxes, they are usually cheaper and you never know what you will end up with ( like a kinder surprise but way more kickass). He has grown like a weed and is about 5 to 6 inches from snout to vent, he has always shown color at even a small size but lately he is seeming to hold it without much variation (unless he is pissed then he smokes). He eats like a machine and is absolutely crazy, he acts like a WC cham on speed, I have seen him literally jump from branch to branch of his own accord to catch a loose cricket or hang from his tail to get one way down low, Im thinking of naming him Tarzan. This is the second time I have gotten a cham from an ass't box from this supplier and the first turned out to be one of the most colorful females I have ever seen.
So any guesses on the locale of this little guy would be greatly appreciated, thanks everyone.
At first he looked very nosy be, but now he looks more ambanja like. . .

 

[AndrewH]

nice blue on blue ambanja, 5 months old? hes a pretty looking boy.

 

[emessis]

I don't have any guesses as far as locale goes, but I'm curious about these assorted boxes (ass't = assorted, right?). Do some breeders just take a bunch of babies of unknown lineage, pop them in a box, and sell to whoever happens by wanting a cheaper panther?

 

[Rocky]

i think the assorted boxes are wild caught

 

[CleanLineChameleons]

Yep, I agree with Rocky. We can probably give you more information if you let us know when that guy came in? I am guessing you are in florida? I think I know where he came from but not 100%. He looks like something I got from an importer down in FL about 4 or 5 months ago, and I don't think he is ambanja if it is from the importer that I am thinking of, do you have sleeping pics?

-chris

 

[SoCaliSon]

I don't have any guesses as far as locale goes, but I'm curious about these assorted boxes (ass't = assorted, right?). Do some breeders just take a bunch of babies of unknown lineage, pop them in a box, and sell to whoever happens by wanting a cheaper panther?

From what I understrand exporters gather chams from around their area, Throw them all in a box, and export them labeled with the name of the area they were exported from (ie, Ambanja, Ambilobe, Nosy Be, Sambava), There is no gurantee on the locale or "Color Morph" of the chams in the shipment, just that they were collected and shipped from a certain area of the island.

Now if captive breeders are selling "Assorted Panthers"... I would have a lot of questions before ever, if ever, making a purchase.

I would agree, Ambanja.

 

[JoeyTwilight]

I don't have any guesses as far as locale goes, but I'm curious about these assorted boxes (ass't = assorted, right?). Do some breeders just take a bunch of babies of unknown lineage, pop them in a box, and sell to whoever happens by wanting a cheaper panther?

They are ordered from a wholesale distributor who lists them as ass't sometimes they offer both assorted and specific locales sometimes its just one or the other. The lists change week to week and are faxed to the retailers, a lot of the time there are no chameleons available whatsoever (chameleons are more difficult to obtain out here in Western Canada). Im not sure but I think "assorted boxes" may be leftovers from several different batches of chams that have been conglomerated together for wholesale housing reasons and they just sell them at an average price. It also saves them time and labour in having to identify them which can be difficult. They have so many different types of reptiles to worry about already I think it just makes it easier. There aren't many herp wholesalers in Canada that are willing to do the C.I.T.E.S paperwork for reptiles that need one so you have to take what you can get for the most part.

This guy came from Murdo Reptiles in Ontario Canada, but often we get a lot of stuff from Florida from strictly reptiles and a few other companies, there is a very good chance that Murdo could have gotten this guy from Florida. Most of the stuff up here comes through the States.

 

[Rocky]

sounds kinda what people do in chameleon "labs" mass producing and selling them as whatever they want to call them. Its hard to tell the locale to me but if its 100% pure and not a mix at all i'd probably call him an ambanja. He looks like he is going to have some nice blues.

 

[lewboo2]

that looks an awfull lot like the guy i bought a few months back in my avatar.
nice cham you got there though

 

[CleanLineChameleons]

Joey,

If you can get some sleeping pics. To me his eyes and barring don't look Ambanja. His barring doesn't look strong enough above his lateral line and he has orange in his eyes. He very well could be, but I think sleeping pics may help.

-chris