Please Help! Sick Chameleon! No One knows whats wrong!!!

Honestly, I don't think taking him to a petsmart vet is the way to go. You need to find someone that is familiar with chameleons. Your chameleon is in very bad shape and needs someone qualified. I have no confidence in petsmart whatsoever. If they sold you a chameleon like that, what does that say?
 
carol5208 said:
Honestly, I don't think taking him to a petsmart vet is the way to go. You need to find someone that is familiar with chameleons. Your chameleon is in very bad shape and needs someone qualified. I have no confidence in petsmart whatsoever. If they sold you a chameleon like that, what does that say?
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i agree.. if you want to do what you can for this fella and are willing to take him to a vet we can help you locate a good reptile vet that is qualified to work with chams if you tell us where you are located
 
Man i wish i could have seen him in that store! I wouldn't really want to start an argument, but I would really be interested in as what the manager or workers there really thought about his condition. Just to see what response or thoughts they had. I mean anyone experienced or not should be able to see that the poor thing is in bad shape. It does not take a expert to tell that he was bad off. It just blows my mind that they would 1. Have him on the floor without trying to give him care and nurse him back. 2. Sell the guy to a customer and tell them he is Ok. 3. Actually think that any animal in that condition looks ok. Maybe they just don't care all together. Did any alarms raise when you seen and purchased him? Seems like a tough investment. Im just curious how all these signs are missed. I really don't want to be confrontational but was he walking at all when you bought him or was he just dangling from the ONE branch in the cage?
 
I made the mistake of buying a chameleon from a petco for my first veiled. When we got him home and observed him we realized he could barley hold himself up or climb, he would not eat or drink, and slept for 3 days straight. We brought him back the 4th day and they told us he was in perfect condition and he acted like that because his instinct as a baby was to act like that so nothing would eat him =/. We got our money back and he ended up dying 2 days later :(
 
many of these corporations dont seem to care about the animals they carry and its horrible... im sorry you lost your first little one i lost my first veiled due to improper care from the breeder as well and its really sad :(
 
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MTldrmr518 said:
I made the mistake of buying a chameleon from a petco for my first veiled. When we got him home and observed him we realized he could barley hold himself up or climb, he would not eat or drink, and slept for 3 days straight. We brought him back the 4th day and they told us he was in perfect condition and he acted like that because his instinct as a baby was to act like that so nothing would eat him =/. We got our money back and he ended up dying 2 days later :(
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Stores like that should be reported to their corporate headquarters, IMHO.
 
Never think that your letters and comments will be useless.
Sometimes, the right person reads it, and heads roll!!

This happened to me when I wrote a letter to PetStupid a few years ago.
Next time I went into that store, they had it cleaned up, and a few of the staff were no longer working there!! :eek:

You CAN made a difference.
 
I agree 100% Do not take this poor guy to the Petsmart vet. I hate to admit it but I worked at Petsmart for three years and the vet there had NO knowledge of reptiles. We took ours to an outside vet. I myself had a lizard (collared lizard) die from mbd because a petsmart employee failed to tell me I needed a UVB light for him. It only took me one time to learn my lesson. I now do my own research. I know that my manager used to get upset with me because I recommend that customers go home and research the needs of the animal they wanted and see if it was the right pet for their family. I am so saddened that the employees at Petsmart let this guy get in such bad health. I will be keeping up with yalls progress. I wish you all the best.
 
Speaking from the vantage of having worked in the retail pet industry I shall share some info:

Large discount retailers like Petsmart and Petco long ago sold their souls to jump into the multi billon dollar profits the North American pet industry offers.

In doing that, they decided to sell mostly dry goods. This results in lower overhear but maintains profits. Where pet stores lose their profits is when they have to care for animals and all that entails. As such, any of these stores simply offer dry goods cheaper than the local reptile store. Over years of this however many small specialty stores went out of business. Since you can't sell dry goods to customers if they don't have a pet, the large retailers started selling animals but in keeping with the high profit mentality, the animals don't tend to be as well cared for nor do the employees tend to have much experience to share. A classic example of cheaper is not better.

As a matter of just principle, I always buy my reptile equipment from my local reptile shop. If rather save my solid reptile shop over saving a few bucks.

In just looking at the photos I can see numerous issues. There seems to be MBD, additional vitamin deficiencies, and even some injuries to the chest areas from mishandling. If you are going to pull it off, saving that one critter, you are going to need a reptile vet and a good one at that.

Take good photos of the animal, return to Petsmart, and get your money back so at least they don't profit from this. As for a learning experience, now you have a good idea of what not to purchase when looking for a Cham. This is not being mean not sarcastic. The simple truth many Cham owners have in common is that at some point in our hobby we end up seeing a poor animal like this and learn from it.

I wish you good luck in helping the animal, never give up since some you will save.
 
camillethechameleon said:
Thank you all for your valuable info and support. First thing in the morning I am taking the trip to the closest petsmart with an animal hospital in it so he can get the best care he can. I got some veggies and fruits for easy eating in case catching crickets was to hard for him. I also got him to drink a little by spraying him for about 20 mins straight. I promise you all that I will try my hardest and not give up on my little guy!
Thanks again soooo much!
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The vets inside PetSmart stores don't treat anything but cats and dogs, unfortunately. They should be able to bring the chameleon to a vet outside of the store. I believe this is your best route. I am so sorry to hear this, see this. I wish the little guy the best of luck, he is in very bad shape.
 
szpond said:
The vets inside PetSmart stores don't treat anything but cats and dogs, unfortunately. They should be able to bring the chameleon to a vet outside of the store. I believe this is your best route. I am so sorry to hear this, see this. I wish the little guy the best of luck, he is in very bad shape.
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u breake my heart more :(
 
OldChamKeeper said:
Speaking from the vantage of having worked in the retail pet industry I shall share some info:

Large discount retailers like Petsmart and Petco long ago sold their souls to jump into the multi billon dollar profits the North American pet industry offers.

In doing that, they decided to sell mostly dry goods. This results in lower overhear but maintains profits. Where pet stores lose their profits is when they have to care for animals and all that entails. As such, any of these stores simply offer dry goods cheaper than the local reptile store. Over years of this however many small specialty stores went out of business. Since you can't sell dry goods to customers if they don't have a pet, the large retailers started selling animals but in keeping with the high profit mentality, the animals don't tend to be as well cared for nor do the employees tend to have much experience to share. A classic example of cheaper is not better.

As a matter of just principle, I always buy my reptile equipment from my local reptile shop. If rather save my solid reptile shop over saving a few bucks.

In just looking at the photos I can see numerous issues. There seems to be MBD, additional vitamin deficiencies, and even some injuries to the chest areas from mishandling. If you are going to pull it off, saving that one critter, you are going to need a reptile vet and a good one at that.

Take good photos of the animal, return to Petsmart, and get your money back so at least they don't profit from this. As for a learning experience, now you have a good idea of what not to purchase when looking for a Cham. This is not being mean not sarcastic. The simple truth many Cham owners have in common is that at some point in our hobby we end up seeing a poor animal like this and learn from it.

I wish you good luck in helping the animal, never give up since some you will save.
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Really beautiful, thank you.:)
 
I have concluded that PetSmart is the puppy-mill of Chameleon sales... As others have said, I strongly recommend reporting them, a letter or phone call to management is not a bad idea. Take PLENTY of pictures, maybe even a picture of your receipt if you still have it. Make sure you can see the date purchased, etc. That way they can not deny that you recently purchased it. I hope you get some good results!
 
well, I agree , MOST are really bad- but do try to tell them, the petsmart by us, they DO give good care- mist, bask spots- ONE per cage- and if they get stressed, they will take them off the floor to let them settle for a week or so- so hats off to them - and there was a local "Mom & Pop" - I went and very nicley told them how the care was off - day after day.....LOL - well, one day I went in, they still had 3 in one cage, but the cage was very nice - they went from bird cages, to a screen 2' X 3' X 4' with vines, dripper, bask & uvb light- so dont be rude, but DO speak out- you just may change something for the little chams ( I think they did that to shut me up - LOL :p )
my heart breaks for little ones like you have- but THANK YOU so very much for trying to make a difference in the chams life, even if it should pass, I just know they feel the love around them - you are doing a great thing !!
 
I am so sorry. If I were you I will be very pissed to ever experience such a thing and have to pay for such horrible experience. On the other hand, i'm thankful a lovely person would fight for the cham. Good luck and I would like to know more..
 
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