Help with gauging health of male veiled

[summoner12]

The local Petsmart I buy crickets from has a male veiled. He seems to be healthy as far as weight. I can tell he is probably dehydrated because his eyes are slightly sunken. His eyes move around and seem clear. He is active whenever I am there watching him. Last night I asked if I could hold him. I had my GF snap a picture of him with her camera phone. I am wondering if he is worth 'saving' from a dolt or the poor husbandry of the store. I realize saving any animal from giant chain stores is always worth it... but I don't want to blow $90 on a cham who might not make it. I have a young male right now and have kept two other chams in recent time, so I am not new at this.

Any input on what might be wrong with him would be great!

Thanks in advance!

This is the picture we took. All I really noticed about him are his eyes and skin color. The store clerk said she has never seen this cham so friendly with anyone. As I held him he started to get patches of green coming through the dull gray that seem to cover most of his body. Is his shading a result of stress and maybe cured once in a much better habitat?

Here is the cage he would probably live in.

The large cage would be his new home. The smaller cage houses the male I currently have (I don't want to move him to a new cage yet... hes too high strung).

 

[PardalisGirl]

Veiled.........

It's always hard to see reptiles at pet stores and not want to take them home. Unfortunately, buying them only encourages them to get more to sell. Having said that, I am not really discouraging you from getting him. His eyes are a tad bit sunken. But his body looks well formed and he does not look dehydrated or starved. His color is probably a stress thing. I think he's pretty handsome actually. I think he would do well under your care. I would encourage you to get a fecal check done. Stores like that are more likely to get their reptiles from large scale suppliers who often have large scale parasite problems. The supplier may not clean cages between various reptiles being housed in them. Let us know if you get him (does he have spurs on his hind legs? I can't see them in the picture.).

 

[summoner12]

I remember checking to make sure he had spurs. Judging by his cask I would also assume it is a male. lol I will double check before I buy him. I don't want another female.... not yet at least. My first cham was a MBD recovering female. I got her nice and strong she even laid 25 eggs... but I fear it wasn't enough... she died one weekend when I wasn't home. I had her for about 9 months and I think she was about 4 or 5 months old when I got her. She was also a pets store saved cham, but she was free due to the MBD.

I do miss her

This picture was taken about one or two weeks before she died. You can see the dirt on her feet from digging... and that she is still rather plump.

 

[dectr6]

I recently rescued a male veiled from a petsmart about a month ago. He did seem to be in a little better condition than yours but I've had no problems with him. He was in a 5 gallon aquarium with only one dead branch and a bowl of water to drink out of. I had his stool checked and he was parasite free. Pardisgirl has a very valid point about it only encouraging them to keep replacing those that sold, but I completly understand your sentiment as I did the same thing. He has shed twice in one month and is about to shed again. He seems very happy. Good luck with him!

 

[summoner12]

I recently rescued a male veiled from a petsmart about a month ago. He did seem to be in a little better condition than yours but I've had no problems with him. He was in a 5 gallon aquarium with only one dead branch and a bowl of water to drink out of. I had his stool checked and he was parasite free. Pardisgirl has a very valid point about it only encouraging them to keep replacing those that sold, but I completly understand your sentiment as I did the same thing. He has shed twice in one month and is about to shed again. He seems very happy. Good luck with him!

Thanks! Yeah.. I know what you mean about them replacing the one that is sold. The clerk helping me said another was actually on its way. She said they don't sell very many chams... and it made me wonder why they bother. I asked who they buy them from but I can't remember now.

This little guy is in a small cage like you described. He just seemed to be so bummed I can't stand to see him there. My other attraction to him is his size. He seems very plump compared to my little guy. I think I will run down to the store and pick him up. My GF won't be happy, but I have a $100 bill burning a hole in my wallet (free Benjamin from work, sales bonus)

 

[PardalisGirl]

Did you get him?

So did you get him? If you did take pictures in a few days after he gets settled in. I bet he will be a lot more comfortable with you. I totally know that feeling of wanting to give him a good home. Believe me, I have several lizards in my home aquired after feeling that way. There is also a feeling that if you don't get it, someone that won't care for it properly will, and it will be dead in a month. I don't like to encourage large pet stores to get more, but sometimes you just can't help buying one from them. Let us know if you got him

 

[summoner12]

I did get him! I will post some more pictures as time goes on...

I am even more glad I got him after watching three clerks try to take him out of the cage. They were all scared he would bite them. The little guy was definitely agitated by the time they were trying to fetch him. The clerk pulled everything out of the cage and the cham kept falling to the substrate. So by the time they wanted to actually remove him he was not willing. Remember... when I handled him he just walked onto my hand. To see him stressed and thrashing about as they tried to get him just angered me. Finally the 'macho' clerk pushed the others aside and put his hand in to try and grab him and even HE couldn't get the cham. I offered several times to take him out myself each time I got a look of 'yeah like you can do any better'. The clerk finally took one of the branches from the cage and got the cham to walk onto it as a mode of transit to the box. As I said, once he was in the car he chilled out. I had to pick up my GF from work. She had told me not to buy the cham but I felt like rebelling. When I went in to get her I left the cham in the car climbing on my cell phone charger hanging from the rear view mirror. He looked VERY content sitting in the warm sun. When we returned to the car my GF was like "why is the charger hanging like that.... OH!! he looks to pretty!!" she quickly forgot her feelings of not wanting him.

Here he is sitting on her hand on the way home. (its another crappy camera phone pic)

 

[summoner12]

I would also like to add that once he was home in his cage he seemed to just chill out under his heat lamp. After about two hours I turned on the mister and he went right for it taking a long shower. He just sat in the mist for about 15 minutes. I am gonna let him adjust for about three or four days before I try and take him out for pictures.

 

[Sage]

are those pictures on top the color of light stress?