You can't blame general public for buying these animals. The issue is how accessible they have become. When an animal that requires such specific care and husbandry is sold in a cage next to green anoles and hermit crabs, novice don't see them as an animal that requires anything special.
In the early 2000's, veileds were still being sold for $150 a piece and that was a good price. Now $40 is an average price. There is no thought or commitment needed anymore to purchase these animals. So why do we expect that people are going to spend $400 on their setup? It doesn't work that way.
The real issue is the undervaluing of these animals. To many people breed for NO reason. This species is well established and doesn't need anymore breeding. Yet I see so many keepers wanting to buy pairs and breed them. Why? If you are willing to spend money and time to breed a species, put your effort into a species that needs help and needs work establishing. There are hundreds of species and we as a community have successfully established 2. We're rocking and rolling aren't we? When you overbreed a species, you have to sell them for cheaper prices to get rid of them. The average whole sale cost of a veiled chameleon is $8. That is what it has come to. Very pathetic. Newcomers don't understand the costs of raising a brood of chameleons. It is no small task physically and more importantly, financially. So people mass producing these animals are trying to get them off their hands as fast as possible.
So, yes...I see the OP's point of not wanting to see chameleons die from crap husbandry. But I get more annoyed at the people "rescuing" animals and thinking they are doing the right thing. If you have resources and you want to make a difference, put those resources to use in areas where resources are needed. I'm not saying that people are wrong for buying a PetSmart veiled chameleon. You will here that when you buy them you are allowing them to sell more. I don't see it that way. They will be replaced whether they die or sell the animal. It cost them $8. If three die and they sell one, they still made a profit. So I can't get behind that idea.
But all the people I see that declare themselves "rescuers" because they bought a veiled from PetSmart with MBD would shit their pants if they were present for an import. You would understand that the overbreeding of a species is much different than animals pulled from the wild that need proper care. My wish is that people would expand themselves a bit and get into more species because it would help them, not because they think they can breed a veiled and make some money......because trust me, you WON'T.
