Madagascar new arrivals...rare!

BackwaterReptiles

BackwaterReptiles

Avid Member
Here are some hand-picked chams that I was able to procure from a very recent Madagascar shipment. I took a few pictures as I was unpacking them this evening--I'll post better pictures once they are acclimated and better hydrated.

Male O'Shaughnessy (sole male)...
IMG_5336.jpg


Female O'Shaughnessy (sole female)...
IMG_5334.jpg


Male Calumma brevicornis (#1 of 2 males)...
IMG_5326.jpg


Female Calumma brevicornis (#1 of 3 females)...
IMG_5322.jpg


Female Calumma brevicornis (#2 of 3 females)...
IMG_5318.jpg


Female Calumma brevicornis (#3 of 3 females)...
IMG_5319.jpg


Male Calumma malthe (sole male)...
IMG_5306.jpg


The only two that I didn't take pictures of were the second brevicornis male (it looked identical to the first), and the female malthe (just forgot).

Thanks for looking.
 
Motherlode Chameleon said:
They look dehydrated water ASAP. What other species arrived with this shipment?

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich
Click to expand...

If you've ever opened a fresh shipment from Madagascar or Tanzania I'm sure you know that a several-day trip dehydrates reptiles to varying degrees. Keep in mind--these were hand-picked, consider the ones that were passed over :eek:

They all have their own individual cages and are drinking from a drip at the moment.
 
brevicornis and malthe are so cool.

You would think with the collection limits and higher pricing, the exporters/collectors would take a little more care with their handling. Bite marks like on your o'shaugnessy female are just almost inexcusable for modern times IMO. If the indigenous want to get paid they should learn to collect and handle with respect to the lizards and buyers down the line...

I know that you had nothing to do with that, but importers should be complaining and insisting on quality from the exporters.
 
BackwaterReptiles said:
If you've ever opened a fresh shipment from Madagascar or Tanzania I'm sure you know that a several-day trip dehydrates reptiles to varying degrees. Keep in mind--these were hand-picked, consider the ones that were passed over :eek:

They all have their own individual cages and are drinking from a drip at the moment.
Click to expand...

No surprises:eek: about it I have seen freshly imported chameleons from Madagascar, Tanzania, Cameroon and elsewhere before. They could use water ASAP though other than that and a bit of food they look good. When did you say you were going to post your prices?

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich
 
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fluxlizard said:
brevicornis and malthe are so cool.

You would think with the collection limits and higher pricing, the exporters/collectors would take a little more care with their handling. Bite marks like on your o'shaugnessy female are just almost inexcusable for modern times IMO. If the indigenous want to get paid they should learn to collect and handle with respect to the lizards and buyers down the line...

I know that you had nothing to do with that, but importers should be complaining and insisting on quality from the exporters.
Click to expand...

I think other than being a bit under fed and dehydrated they look good for wild caught chameleons. These are in much healthier condition than the recent West African Trioceros shipments. The ware and tear on those was much more prevalent than on this shipment of Madagascar chameleons. These I would recommend to be kept for a couple days to be fed and watered.

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich
 
Motherlode Chameleon said:
I think other than being a bit under fed and dehydrated they look good for wild caught chameleons. These are in much healthier condition than the recent West African Trioceros shipments. The ware and tear on those was much more prevalent than on this shipment of Madagascar chameleons. These I would recommend to be kept for a couple days to be fed and watered.

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich
Click to expand...

Hi Jeremy,

Yes, agreed, for fresh imports I thought they looked pretty good overall, especially the brevicornis. I'm tentatively optimistic, and just really pleased to see these species in person.

Regarding pricing, they're all going to be made available I just want to make sure they're eating/drinking plenty before I ship. The brevicornis seemed very robust and heavy in my hand, which is good.

I will probably post an ad within the classifieds section here in a day or two.
 
BackwaterReptiles said:
Hi Jeremy,

Yes, agreed, for fresh imports I thought they looked pretty good overall, especially the brevicornis. I'm tentatively optimistic, and just really pleased to see these species in person.

Regarding pricing, they're all going to be made available I just want to make sure they're eating/drinking plenty before I ship. The brevicornis seemed very robust and heavy in my hand, which is good.

I will probably post an ad within the classifieds section here in a day or two.
Click to expand...

I look forward to your advertisement. You have got to allow me to hand pick some of these pairs out. Your are only a couple hours away from where I live and the only retailer who offers these kinds of chameleons.

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich
 
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I think other than being a bit under fed and dehydrated they look good for wild caught chameleons. These are in much healthier condition than the recent West African Trioceros shipments. The ware and tear on those was much more prevalent than on this shipment of Madagascar chameleons. These I would recommend to be kept for a couple days to be fed and watered.
Click to expand...

Oh I agree- don't get me wrong. The bite mark is not a huge deal in and of itself and I would not hesitate to buy them myself if they were in my budget/plans.

But even your comparison is a reflection on the state of the industry. Improvements in collection are long overdue. Bite marks only come from stupid handling such as being dumped in a bag or bucket with other chams, most likely during collection. That kind of thing is just careless and ignorant, and unnecessary. The fool responsible probably never even noticed the bruising and is back out there doing more of the same.

Sorry didn't mean to rain on this thread- it was late last night when I checked it out. Wish the brevs were on my list...
 
kameleons jvo said:
They dont look good at all,lets hope they recover(or some) in the upcoming days.
Click to expand...

With all proper respect, I couldn't disagree with you more strongly. You can't compare captive bred chams with ones imported directly from Madagascar.

Every single one of them is hitting the crickets hard, and I truly couldn't be happier with them. I really think plenty of people don't realize that imported chameleons spend weeks in a cage in another country, then are shipped to the US, a trip that takes days. Right out of the box, they of course will not look like a captive bred Panther that has been well cared for in captivity its entire life.

Really surprised at how many forum members think they look rough. Really puzzled. Perhaps it's because I've seen what freshly imported chams usually look like out-of-the-box.

Thanks,
Sam
 
Montium said:
Exactly, I hope they can be turned around. I need females badly but not that badly.
Click to expand...

Here she is eating one of many crickets today, she's doing great. I have several PMs asking for pricing on her so you won't have to worry about "settling" for her ;) Once she finishes shedding she'll be stunning.
IMG_5346.jpg


Here are a couple pictures for your namesake. I had a cham breeder visit last week because he wanted to hand-pick a pair of montiums, and he ended up leaving with two pairs.
IMG_5350.jpg


And one of the little guys...
IMG_5357.jpg
 
BackwaterReptiles said:
With all proper respect, I couldn't disagree with you more strongly. You can't compare captive bred chams with ones imported directly from Madagascar.

Every single one of them is hitting the crickets hard, and I truly couldn't be happier with them. I really think plenty of people don't realize that imported chameleons spend weeks in a cage in another country, then are shipped to the US, a trip that takes days. Right out of the box, they of course will not look like a captive bred Panther that has been well cared for in captivity its entire life.

Really surprised at how many forum members think they look rough. Really puzzled. Perhaps it's because I've seen what freshly imported chams usually look like out-of-the-box.

Thanks,
Sam
Click to expand...

Agree!
I was quite surprised too, as i thought they (& still do) looked fantastic for newly imported chameleons. The male oshaughnessyi is absolutely beautiful & my favourite. Though would be happy to keep any of them.
 
fluxlizard said:
Oh I agree- don't get me wrong. The bite mark is not a huge deal in and of itself and I would not hesitate to buy them myself if they were in my budget/plans.

But even your comparison is a reflection on the state of the industry. Improvements in collection are long overdue. Bite marks only come from stupid handling such as being dumped in a bag or bucket with other chams, most likely during collection. That kind of thing is just careless and ignorant, and unnecessary. The fool responsible probably never even noticed the bruising and is back out there doing more of the same.

Sorry didn't mean to rain on this thread- it was late last night when I checked it out. Wish the brevs were on my list...
Click to expand...

Be careful with the words. Who is the fool responsible? They are importing adult Calumma parsonii parsonii! The farms where they come from have got holding enclosures. I actually have openly have stated many times (new Madagascar quotas, Quotas for West African species, new ways to ship chameleons) that there are many things in this industry that could be done to improve this industry. As well the shipment that arrived At Snakes at Sunset had chameleons that had sunken in appearance due to travel. However given a day and some water that Yellow Lip Parsons regained his non sunken in appearance the next day. The female Calumma breviconris look good. The male Calumma brevicornis and Calumma oshaughnessyi need to be fed more.

If these species are going to be imported I would much rather see them imported go for higher prices to eliminate buyers who are not experienced enough and to stop them from buying these chameleons on a whim. Plus to support non mass exports of these chameleon species. However as stated in other threads a B grade chameleon is a B chameleon. You cannot be expected to pay a top dollar price for a chameleon that is not at top dollar value.

Give these chameleons a some time then decide.

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich
 
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