Something on my mind 🧐

[pascal2023]

I’m not an expert but I often listen to my gut feeling when something does look or feel right.
Last weekend I visited a nearby reptile shop to buy some more supplements and insects, they also sold chameleons, frogs, snakes ect.

They had 3 veiled chameleons in separate enclosures built next to eachother, with wire meshes in between so they were obviously able to all see eachother which I didn’t think would’ve been a good idea since there was a male either end and a female in the middle, they were all young…ish ranged between 8 months and - 2 years … enclosures were so tiny, no privacy for them, and they just looked so dull (colourwise) trying to sit under the very few leaves and sticks in their enclosures on the floor. They all looked sickly ( to me ) but as I said who am I to judge really… I’m not an expert of course … the enclosures were landscape and the size id compare to the size of an A4 piece of paper ( Height x Width ) maybe a tiny bit bigger but still … that cannot be enough room. I desperately wanted to take photos for you guys to see what you thought, but was asked to put my phone away which I suppose is a red flag in itself.

it’s just been bothering me since I’ve been there, never been to that place before and I wish I never did now I’m a worried for the welfare of the animals there, I should’ve taken a close look at the snakes and forges ect too but was too locked on to the chameleons.

 

[Beman]

It does not matter where you live in the world you will see this in Pet stores... And 98% of the time they are housed totally incorrectly. It is extremely sad but it is what it is. My local Petco has Veileds on sale 50% off right now. So you can literally pick one up for $35. People see that small price tag and think this is a cheap easy pet to have. It is why so many of them die. People tend to mimic what they see thinking it is ok. Or they google and find outdated or incorrect husbandry info. Even in this world of social influence you see channels promoting incorrect husbandry. It can be hard with the more experience and correct knowledge you build. Because you can see the errors. They are so visually vivid to you because you know what they should live in and how they should be kept.

It is also why having this forum is so important. We may not save them all. But those new keepers that come here that are open to criticism and are open to being told that they learned the wrong information win in the end. Because we teach them the correct husbandry and they do not lose a chameleon to an early death.

 

[pascal2023]

It does not matter where you live in the world you will see this in Pet stores... And 98% of the time they are housed totally incorrectly. It is extremely sad but it is what it is. My local Petco has Veileds on sale 50% off right now. So you can literally pick one up for $35. People see that small price tag and think this is a cheap easy pet to have. It is why so many of them die. People tend to mimic what they see thinking it is ok. Or they google and find outdated or incorrect husbandry info. Even in this world of social influence you see channels promoting incorrect husbandry. It can be hard with the more experience and correct knowledge you build. Because you can see the errors. They are so visually vivid to you because you know what they should live in and how they should be kept.

It is also why having this forum is so important. We may not save them all. But those new keepers that come here that are open to criticism and are open to being told that they learned the wrong information win in the end. Because we teach them the correct husbandry and they do not lose a chameleon to an early death.

Couldnt agree more with this, I just wish I had the enclosure facilities to take those 3 I saw, I feel very guilty about coming home and not being able to take them with me.
And I know exactly what you’re talking about with the pricing, I’ve seen it before especially online how ever these people were charging an absolute arm and a leg for these chameleons £300-£500 I understand chameleons can go for this amount but if even the untrained eye saw these poor animals they’d know it’s not right and sadly I don’t think anyone would buy them either way

 

[Beman]

Couldnt agree more with this, I just wish I had the enclosure facilities to take those 3 I saw, I feel very guilty about coming home and not being able to take them with me.
And I know exactly what you’re talking about with the pricing, I’ve seen it before especially online how ever these people were charging an absolute arm and a leg for these chameleons £300-£500 I understand chameleons can go for this amount but if even the untrained eye saw these poor animals they’d know it’s not right and sadly I don’t think anyone would buy them either way

It becomes a double edged sword... Trust me I know I could give every baby that I have seen at Petco a better life. I got Beman there when he was 4 months old and he just turned 4 years old in June... But every baby I could bring home would be replaced with another. So you have to do what is right for you in your life. If you can support multiple chameleons and want multiple then great but to bring home to save just does not pan out in the end. I know it is hard to hear but where there is one there is another that will replace it. This is the ugly side to animal breeding... You see it with literally any animal you can buy. Look at how many unwanted puppies and kittens there are. In the states it is mind boggling. No rules in place saying dogs and cats should be spayed or neutered so you end up with tons of unwanted babies.

It is human nature to want "pets" often times people do not provide the right care but as long as there are not rules that guide breeding there will be animals sold to stores and put into crappy conditions. The lucky ones make it into homes where people do the work to provide what they really need to live a long healthy life.

 

[pascal2023]

It becomes a double edged sword... Trust me I know I could give every baby that I have seen at Petco a better life. I got Beman there when he was 4 months old and he just turned 4 years old in June... But every baby I could bring home would be replaced with another. So you have to do what is right for you in your life. If you can support multiple chameleons and want multiple then great but to bring home to save just does not pan out in the end. I know it is hard to hear but where there is one there is another that will replace it. This is the ugly side to animal breeding... You see it with literally any animal you can buy. Look at how many unwanted puppies and kittens there are. In the states it is mind boggling. No rules in place saying dogs and cats should be spayed or neutered so you end up with tons of unwanted babies.

It is human nature to want "pets" often times people do not provide the right care but as long as there are not rules that guide breeding there will be animals sold to stores and put into crappy conditions. The lucky ones make it into homes where people do the work to provide what they really need to live a long healthy life.

That’s what I was saying to myself, they’ll just end up being replaced and aw bless him! But you’ve got the means to give him a good life and he’s living that good life with you so that’s amazing! It just pulls on my heart strings when I see things like this, we’re only human and we only want the best for our animals. We hope they can see that too

 

[Beman]

That’s what I was saying to myself, they’ll just end up being replaced and aw bless him! But you’ve got the means to give him a good life and he’s living that good life with you so that’s amazing! It just pulls on my heart strings when I see things like this, we’re only human and we only want the best for our animals. We hope they can see that too

Yep... I understand. And it is why I have stopped looking when I go to pet stores. You just have to hope that they make it into a good home with people that actually go out and get the right info. You make a difference where you can. That is what I do. It is why I have stayed in the forum for so long. While I can not help every chameleon I see I can make a difference here helping others understand what correct husbandry is.