shipping chams2-3day?

[royden]

Sorry spook, I was just responding to some of the comments made after your request.

I don't know what you can do to help a 3 day shipped cham de-stress. Just take good care of it, and I'd say don't handle it for several weeks (if you subscibe to the idea of handling at all). Get it on a good schedule right away with feeding and misting and hours of light vs dark.

In the future - or if you your cham does end op DOA, I would recommend Mike Monge at FLCAMS. I'm new to the hobby as well, he took the time to answer several questions and shipped me a great little veiled overnight.

I know Bluebeasts have great service and animals as well.

Do you live in a major city? Sometimes the overnight delivery is not garunteed if you live in the tulips.

 

[Kent67]

Spook,

Sorry to hear what is happening. Don't give up though. An initially healthy chameleon should be able to handle it barring extreme temps. Where do you live? If temps permit it, I would try to put the cham in it's cage outside and start a normal day/night cycle. Also, at Home Depot they sell little misting hose attachments for $7 that work great for simple outdoor use. Concentrate on rehydration first and foremost and good luck.

 

[Ren]

Spook,

Sorry to hear what is happening. Don't give up though. An initially healthy chameleon should be able to handle it barring extreme temps. Where do you live? If temps permit it, I would try to put the cham in it's cage outside and start a normal day/night cycle. Also, at Home Depot they sell little misting hose attachments for $7 that work great for simple outdoor use. Concentrate on rehydration first and foremost and good luck.

That is a good idea, good luck on getting your guys home in one piece and god willing alive and well... some lessons are learned the hard way, the guy said he shipped to you overnight you can only take him for his word and without that a man is nothing... so it will come back around to him soon enough.... I don't suppose he gave you a guarantee?
Anyways, I got my little ones from reptile depot in Cali. and they overnighted and were totally healthy and settled in very quickly... good luck and keep us informed...

 

[spook80]

it's arrived!

 

[spook80]

well the big girl seems no worse for wear. she walked out onto my hand and onto her schefflera,plant went straight up into the top leaves basking under the lamp and 5.0 set the mister she drank good 30 min later i entroduces some crickets she wolfed thsoe down.she does not seem 2 be stressed at all.when i first seen her she was plain jane light tan, now not 45 min later she has some nicely colored side bars, and did i mention she is pounding crickets left and right.she has a happy home

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Hooray!
They are resilient, and I am happy to hear this story came to a good conclusion.
Still....that's a long time to be in a box being shipped....I would take issue with the sender despite the good outcome.
Overnight is in my opinion, not a problem (they just sleep) but more than a day is taking a huge risk with an animals life/ well-being.
At any rate ...congrats!

-Brad

 

[Chamgirl]

I too am very happy to hear she arrived o.k. You should tell the seller you are not amused he risked your chameleons life though.

 

[Kent67]

Whew, good... Just keep moving the water through her, as much as possible, and if she was well hydrated prior to shipping all should be fine. Congrats on your new kid

 

[Ren]

I too am happy to hear she made it home safely.... enjoy!

 

[angus310]

I don't understand how some people disagree with overnight shipping? I have never had any problems and don't know anyone who has.

Is there possibly a disconnect across the pond to realize how big the U.S. really is? California to the east coast would take close to a week to make the drive yourself (one way). That would be more stressful on the chameleons. If you wanted to drive to Florida, it would still take 18-20 hours each way from Pennsylvania.

Because our country is so huge, there aren't many options here. I honestly don't mean this to be disrespectful in any way. I just don't see logistically any other way to ensure a healthy chameleon than to do the overnight shipping.

 

[Dankmeleon]

why don't you just put it in a casket while your at it, that way you won't have to do anything else

 

[angus310]

why don't you just put it in a casket while your at it, that way you won't have to do anything else

If you equate overnight shipping with putting a cham in a casket, then I guess you must have personal experience with receiving a dead cham. Please let us know this way we can avoid the breeder who obviously doesn't know how to ship.

Thanks for the insight, as it may help save more chams.

Note - Screameleons is a very responsible breeder who refuses to ship over a certain temp., this way it helps to ensure live and healthy arrival. I truly respect breeders who have guidelines and refuse to ship unless they believe the chameleon will be safe.

 

[Dankmeleon]

no I was saying for 2-3 day

a chameleon can generally survice a 1 day shipping if the destinination and shipping location are in reasonable distance and weather permits as long with experienced packing

 

[Dankmeleon]

the way I like to look at it, is its already a stress for overnight shipping, so why add on top of that stress?

its much like trying to pass a police car above the speed limit when you have a car full of contraband

 

[angus310]

I would never ship anything more than overnight. Sorry if that wasn't clear. I took your reply as a response to my message when I am sure u were replying to the overall topic. Sorry for the confusion

 

[danielle609]

I don't understand how some people disagree with overnight shipping? I have never had any problems and don't know anyone who has.

Is there possibly a disconnect across the pond to realize how big the U.S. really is? California to the east coast would take close to a week to make the drive yourself (one way). That would be more stressful on the chameleons. If you wanted to drive to Florida, it would still take 18-20 hours each way from Pennsylvania.

I agree with you angus. I have had 3 chameleons shipped to my door over night (2 from cali and 1 from chicago) and all were eating within 30 min of being put in there cage. If we didn't ship overnight then a lot of us would end up with a reptile from a "chain" pet store that 1) was most likely shipped to get to the pet store 2) was most likely shipped in a much worse fashion then that of the breeders here 3) If not shipped then likely bought from some "breeder" that have 1 week olds making room for the next. I'm not saying all pet stores are bad because I know of one good one in my area(not a chain) But you have a better chance of getting a higher quality animal straight from the breeder. Most pet stores wont release where they got their animal from so how are you going to go about getting their history??

my next rant...... If for some reason someone decided to make a trip to purchase a chameleon..lets say me for example. I live in Michigan. If I wanted to purchace one from florida (That seems to be a hot spot for them ) I would drive at least 18 hours, and probably take a sleep break at some point. So that could be well over 24 hours. That 24 hours would consist of loud music (probably country.. I would have him singing the blues ) me peeking at him every hour paranoid about how he is, and light because he wouldn't be tucked away in a nice quiet box, which mean no sleeping for him which would be very stressful! IMO a dark box, with good insulation, and overnight shipping would bring a much less stressed chameleon than a 24 hour road trip w/the keeper. That is just my 2 cents. I know this thread is about a month old but I didn't want to start a new thread, and after reading this I had a few opinions of my own I felt like releasing

 

[angus310]

I agree with you angus. I have had 3 chameleons shipped to my door over night (2 from cali and 1 from chicago) and all were eating within 30 min of being put in there cage. If we didn't ship overnight then a lot of us would end up with a reptile from a "chain" pet store that 1) was most likely shipped to get to the pet store 2) was most likely shipped in a much worse fashion then that of the breeders here 3) If not shipped then likely bought from some "breeder" that have 1 week olds making room for the next. I'm not saying all pet stores are bad because I know of one good one in my area(not a chain) But you have a better chance of getting a higher quality animal straight from the breeder. Most pet stores wont release where they got their animal from so how are you going to go about getting their history??

my next rant...... If for some reason someone decided to make a trip to purchase a chameleon..lets say me for example. I live in Michigan. If I wanted to purchace one from florida (That seems to be a hot spot for them ) I would drive at least 18 hours, and probably take a sleep break at some point. So that could be well over 24 hours. That 24 hours would consist of loud music (probably country.. I would have him singing the blues ) me peeking at him every hour paranoid about how he is, and light because he wouldn't be tucked away in a nice quiet box, which mean no sleeping for him which would be very stressful! IMO a dark box, with good insulation, and overnight shipping would bring a much less stressed chameleon than a 24 hour road trip w/the keeper. That is just my 2 cents. I know this thread is about a month old but I didn't want to start a new thread, and after reading this I had a few opinions of my own I felt like releasing

I totally agree and appreciate your rant.

 

[Scaley]

not to mention the fact that the really great breeder who you drive to to pickup a cham probably had their breeders shipped to them in the first place.

A note on hardiness. I have a 2-3 yr old male veiled that shipped from Pennsylvania USA to Georgia USA. He came looking great and acclimated well to his new home. Several months later my house was struck by lightning less than 100' feet away from his cage in another room. By the time I got the call and got home the firemen wher just finishing. The roof of the home perforated and the entire attic was ablaze. Smoke and thick black soot covered every nick and cranny in the house including Louie my cham and his bride in the cage next to his. Every animal including cat, 2 birds, 8 leopard geckos and Louies bride Lilly all died. Louie was gaping his mouth barely holding onto a twig in the bottom of his enclosure. He wasn't dead but I had no hope for him. I grabbed him up and layed him into a bush outside just to get him out of the house and periodically checked on him for the next hour while we poked around the devastation that was once our home. upon leaving I sent Louie with a cousin who owned a local reptile store. She planned to soak him in pedialyte but couldn't get any as the grocery stores had closed for the night. She went to a convenience store and picked up some Gatorade propel fitness water and soaked him for the rest of the night. To my awestruck surprise day after day he was still alive. A month later when I finally had a place for him to live I picked him up from her. He was still covered with soot. My cousin didn't want to risk any more stress I guess so she hadn't tried to wash him. I took him home and washed him with some Aveda sensitve skin shampoo and a soft toothbrush (that wasn't fun) and resumed normal care. That was one year ago this month and he's doing great. They are truly resiliant creatures. I only wished his bride Lilly had lived although I'm certain he doesn't care. Thats my story and I'm stickin to it!

 

[angus310]

Who from in PA?

 

[danielle609]

I am sorry about you losses, but glad to hear that the one is still doing good. Chams can definatly suprise us!