Getting first cham!

[brightandshiny]

I have been anxiously awaiting today, as today is the day I was supposed to be picking up my first cham. However, I recieved a message last night from the breeder that my (soon to be) chameleon has an upper respiratory infection. She offered me to pick out another cham or wait on the one i had chosen to finish his antibiotics. I'm torn on what to do. From all of my research, upper respiratory infections are caused by poor/improper care so I'm now hesitant to even get one from her at all. I dont want to set myself up for failure with my first cham. So my question is, should I still get a chameleon from her? And if I was to wait on the one I originally chose to finish his antibiotics, would he be back to 100% or still sickly?

 

[andrearamirezo91]

I'd personally be hesitant about buying a chameleon like that

I might be completely wrong and I'm no expert at all, but I just think the first months of life for any living being are crucial because this is when the baby is shaping up. It wouldn't give me much peace of mind to buy a baby from someone whose chameleons are getting sick, but at the same time people try their best and even with proper care sometimes things happen, even to the best of them. From what I've read a URI is caused by stagnant or low quality air. I wonder what type of enclosure she's keeping the chameleons in. Props to her however for letting you know up front that the chameleon is currently sick. Someone else would have just sold you a sick animal and left you to deal with it.

Let's wait to see what someone with more knowledge has to say.. Good luck

 

[bloftis1]

I'd personally be hesitant about buying a chameleon like that

I might be completely wrong and I'm no expert at all, but I just think the first months of life for any living being are crucial because this is when the baby is shaping up. It wouldn't give me much peace of mind to buy a baby from someone whose chameleons are getting sick, but at the same time people try their best and even with proper care sometimes things happen, even to the best of them. From what I've read a URI is caused by stagnant or low quality air. I wonder what type of enclosure she's keeping the chameleons in. Props to her however for letting you know up front that the chameleon is currently sick. Someone else would have just sold you a sick animal and left you to deal with it.

Let's wait to see what someone with more knowledge has to say.. Good luck

You do make a great point. But agreed we can wait and get another person's opinion on this post.

 

[brightandshiny]

I'd personally be hesitant about buying a chameleon like that

I might be completely wrong and I'm no expert at all, but I just think the first months of life for any living being are crucial because this is when the baby is shaping up. It wouldn't give me much peace of mind to buy a baby from someone whose chameleons are getting sick, but at the same time people try their best and even with proper care sometimes things happen, even to the best of them. From what I've read a URI is caused by stagnant or low quality air. I wonder what type of enclosure she's keeping the chameleons in. Props to her however for letting you know up front that the chameleon is currently sick. Someone else would have just sold you a sick animal and left you to deal with it.

Let's wait to see what someone with more knowledge has to say.. Good luck

He is a year old, so not a baby. After questioning her, she does not use UVB lights so I'm assuming that's why he got the infection. She does take them all for regular vet checks, etc and was very upfront and honest about the situation but I'm still questioning whether I should purchase a different one from her as they have all been lacking the UVB. If one has had a recent well check, would I be able to purchase it and provide the proper lighting and vitamins and it be ok, or is that just something I shouldn't even attempt?

 

[Syreptyon]

He is a year old, so not a baby. After questioning her, she does not use UVB lights so I'm assuming that's why he got the infection. She does take them all for regular vet checks, etc and was very upfront and honest about the situation but I'm still questioning whether I should purchase a different one from her as they have all been lacking the UVB. If one has had a recent well check, would I be able to purchase it and provide the proper lighting and vitamins and it be ok, or is that just something I shouldn't even attempt?

Does she keep them outside? If she does, then they won't need the supplementary UVB from an artificial source. If, however, she keeps them inside and without UVB, then you should absolutely run from the hills and not even think about buying from her!

 

[brightandshiny]

Does she keep them outside? If she does, then they won't need the supplementary UVB from an artificial source. If, however, she keeps them inside and without UVB, then you should absolutely run from the hills and not even think about buying from her!

This is the picture of the setup that she sent me, it looks to be inside kept.

 

[CamrynTheCham22]

A lack of UVB would not contribute to a URI, mainly because URIs are caused by something wrong with the air, not by a sunlight deficiency. Without UVB, and without sunlight, then the chams are at risk of MBD and vitamin deficiency. Does she use calcium dust on her feeders?

At this point I would definitely buy from someone else. Just like @Syreptyon said, run for the hills. There are so many other amazing breeders on this site alone! I would absolutely buy from one of them because they can almost guarantee a healthy cham for you.
I would not risk it with this breeder.

 

[Syreptyon]

Are you sure that the dual-dome light she has doesn't have a UVB bulb in one of the domes? That's probably what's going on. Even if that is the case, I would still shy away from her. Reputable breeders would not be caught dead using a compact fluorescent bulb like what would fit in that. There are so many chameleon breeders available, I would recommend going with someone with verifiable credibility

 

[brightandshiny]

A lack of UVB would not contribute to a URI, mainly because URIs are caused by something wrong with the air, not by a sunlight deficiency. Without UVB, and without sunlight, then the chams are at risk of MBD and vitamin deficiency. Does she use calcium dust on her feeders?

At this point I would definitely buy from someone else. Just like @Syreptyon said, run for the hills. There are so many other amazing breeders on this site alone! I would absolutely buy from one of them because they can almost guarantee a healthy cham for you.
I would not risk it with this breeder.

Thank you for the advice! She does use a calcium with d3 to dust. Is there somewhere I can find a list of breeders?

 

[brightandshiny]

Are you sure that the dual-dome light she has doesn't have a UVB bulb in one of the domes? That's probably what's going on. Even if that is the case, I would still shy away from her. Reputable breeders would not be caught dead using a compact fluorescent bulb like what would fit in that. There are so many chameleon breeders available, I would recommend going with someone with verifiable credibility

It doesn't, I specifically asked if she had UVB lighting for them and she said no

 

[Syreptyon]

What species are you looking for?

 

[brightandshiny]

What species are you looking for?

I would like a Panther.

 

[kyle0417]

A lot of users recommend Kammerflage for panthers.

 

[andrearamirezo91]

Someone here just had a bunch of spectacular falys. i'm not sure if theyre selling them or not but you might want to look into them... they're stunning

 

[andrearamirezo91]

https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/faly-colors.164350/#post-1420894

Here's the link and @KBear2727 is the one that posted it

 

[KBear2727]

Thank you so much! I do have some still available

https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/faly-colors.164350/#post-1420894

Here's the link and @KBear2727 is the one that posted it