Should I Report This Company?

[perkinschammie]

Hello - so I ordered a male veiled offline recently from what seemed like a fairly nice, and prestigious company. However, when he arrived he was extremely skinny, dehydrated, and appears like he may have coccidia. As soon as I put him in his cage he scarfed down twenty some crickets in like ten minutes. He was starving. I showed my vet a photo of him today when I was taking my snakes to see her, and she said that he did look terribly skinny. I'm taking him to the vet Thursday to be tested for parasites. I was wondering, if he does have parasites, would I be able to report this company for animal cruelty considering the poor condition I received him in?

 

[jannb]

Unfortunately plenty of breeders sale chameleons with parasites. Most breeders do not have fecals done on babies before they ship them out. I did fecals on my babies but as I said, most don't.

 

[junglefries]

Use the Fauna BOI site. Good luck with it, might as well of been in Mandarin for me. Understanding quantum physics was much easier. I gave up.

 

[SocialNumb]

I saw your thread earlier. Whoever is responsible for that needs to be slapped in the face for many reasons. Several times, possibly starved as well.

 

[VeiledChams]

Thank you for not mentioning the business on here - the forums is not the place for a BOI, but as junglefries said go to Fauna and use the BOI there.

 

[LindsayG]

I second the face slapping!

 

[perkinschammie]

Shipping Conditions

I will post photos of the conditions he was shipped in, there were incredibly poor. He was in a tiny box filled with styrofoam, in an ungodly small bag where he had no room to move around.

 

[VeiledChams]

I will post photos of the conditions he was shipped in, there were incredibly poor. He was in a tiny box filled with styrofoam, in an ungodly small bag where he had no room to move around.

The box is actually a well used shipping method by most people.. It is insulated, and the small bag preventing movement actually helps in preventing injury during shipping. While it is a stressful trip, it is usually for 12-18 hours and then it arrives at what I hope is a loving home with adequate accommodations.

 

[perkinschammie]

..

I don't know - to me it seems very inhumane, as veileds are very high stressers.

 

[VeiledChams]

I don't know - to me it seems very inhumane, as veileds are very high stressers.

Veileds are, to me, one of the species that tolerate it best.

I do not see it as inhumane. Once it dark, they go to sleep most of the time. you can try putting it inside the box and closing it.. then opening it up 5 minutes later. I find them sleeping.

My question is, how were you expecting to received an animal that was shipped to you?

 

[guanagator]

I've received many reptiles through the mail, that's pretty standard shipping practice especially for a young Cham. They usually come either wrapped in a moist paper towel inside a deli cup or in a bag like yours. The only adult I received actually had a perch inside his container but for a young one that's not necessary better off with restricted movement and vision so it's not grasping at the sides the entire time in transit.

 

[Carlton]

I don't know - to me it seems very inhumane, as veileds are very high stressers.

This shipping setup isn't terrible nor is the bag. As a cham will usually just nap its way through a shipment (in the dark) it will want to be able to grab something securely so it doesn't get bounced around or keep trying to escape the container. Other shippers might use a plastic deli cup instead of a bag, but that will need some sort of packing to keep the cup from sliding around. The bag may be more stable. Not sure which would be best. You don't really want the cham to move around too much. The styrofoam box lining is acceptable, shipping rate and labeling was OK too. Was there a heat pack or cool pack inside the box? What were the shipping temps on each end? Maybe none was necessary.

I'd like to see pics of the cham itself to see its condition. The shipping method wasn't all that bad IMHO.

OK, I just found your pics. Yes, that is one sad looking cham! He may bounce right back with proper care, but he doesn't look great. I don't see MBD, injuries, or obvious illness, just poor body condition.

 

[Carlton]

I don't know - to me it seems very inhumane, as veileds are very high stressers.

All creatures shipped in a box will go through some stress. In many ways diurnally active herps may suffer a little less as they tend to show down and sleep most of the time due to lower temps and darkness. If they are well cared for and healthy to begin with and there is no delay in shipping they get over it. Most of the chams I've had shipped were alert and eating by the end of the day amazingly.

 

[perkinschammie]

Reptiles I've received in the mail have always been in plastic containers that are well fit for there size, where they can move about at least a little bit. I'd even be happier to have received him in a pillow case rather than a paper bag.