The slippery slope of Cham ownership...

I can relate to this... You convince yourself that spraying manually numerous times a day is cool. 2 weeks ago I ordered my Mist King. It safe to say I've starting sliding!

I like to think of Chameleon keeping as a hobby now, not a pet.
 
if only my husband were as into them as i want to be,,,, i could slide down that slope really fast!!!!!!
 
Well I have crossed one more level on the slide. My microscope and fecal supplies just arrived. Looks like I am going to be pulling out and dusting off my old skills. Once upon a time I use to be in medical research and in the lab all day everyday so I figure it's not a huge leap :D:D Our Vets here in AZ are charging almost $50 for a simple fecal w/o exam so when you have a good collection that you want to check every 4 mo or so it just makes since..........right?
 
Well I have crossed one more level on the slide. My microscope and fecal supplies just arrived. Looks like I am going to be pulling out and dusting off my old skills. Once upon a time I use to be in medical research and in the lab all day everyday so I figure it's not a huge leap :D:D Our Vets here in AZ are charging almost $50 for a simple fecal w/o exam so when you have a good collection that you want to check every 4 mo or so it just makes since..........right?

so how difficult is it to do your own fecals?
 
so how difficult is it to do your own fecals?

I would be interested in knowing this as well. Im sure a microscope is fairly pricey but it would probably pay off in the long run

I don't think it is very hard. I got my scope off of Amazon and my fecal supplies off of some bearded dragon website. I think it helps if you know your way around a scope already, but once you know what you are looking for I don't think it should be difficult....but will let you know after I have done a few;):cool: Al I would think with your two WC's now would be the perfect time to do them you might be able to see some good stuff:eek: That is if your first test wasn't correct.
 
I don't think it is very hard. I got my scope off of Amazon and my fecal supplies off of some bearded dragon website. I think it helps if you know your way around a scope already, but once you know what you are looking for I don't think it should be difficult....but will let you know after I have done a few;):cool: Al I would think with your two WC's now would be the perfect time to do them you might be able to see some good stuff:eek: That is if your first test wasn't correct.

Well keep me updated please.
Ive used scopes b4, so not a prob there. just got to figure out what to look for.
with 5 chams and alot of babies coming, would be nice to know how to do it. even though they are all cb. still....
 
I don't think it is very hard. I got my scope off of Amazon and my fecal supplies off of some bearded dragon website. I think it helps if you know your way around a scope already, but once you know what you are looking for I don't think it should be difficult....but will let you know after I have done a few;):cool: Al I would think with your two WC's now would be the perfect time to do them you might be able to see some good stuff:eek: That is if your first test wasn't correct.

Lol yeah... Well I think it may not have been correct, The sample i got was reaaally runny. And idk anything else that could cause that. Could you pm me the info on yoir scope and the site you got your supplies from?:)
 
I guess I didn't tell my begining story. My sister (yes her again) convinced me to buy a baby bearded dragon. I got to know the LLL guys really well going down for more and more stuff for the beardie. I walk in one day, with my husband no less, and skillet (aka John) says to me, Laurie I have your chameleon. I am confused, I didn't order a cham. He had watched my look at and hold chams every time I came in. They got a nice shipment of sweet small chams. Arnold came home with us.

The real problem happen after I sent my 3 to my sister as we were getting ready to move to Montana. I asl my friend (??) Steve Sims to bring over a baby panther, as it was winter in Montana so my sis could not send my beardies & chams to me. He brought over 5, yes 5, for me to chose from. He then allowed me to buy 5 beaitiful chams who can to Montana with me. But they were all males so I needed a female or 2, or 5. I have finally slowed down from 20+ adults to only 5 chams right now. I am sooooo much better.:D:D:D
 
Well, Rob, that all sounds familiar! I guess I knew I was going down the slope when I got Lily back in 2008. That girl taught me so much - I had a fear of the very things that would keep her alive, so much so, that I would ask the shop keeper to get a tub of meal worms (for my sugar gliders) for me rather than pick up a tub of locusts or crickets to get to the meal worms myself!:eek: Yet, I wanted her so badly that I found coping strategies that I still use to this day (my tweezers, lol!) and even though I don't mind the feeders now, I draw the line at touching those fully grown Dubia! They are so gross! Now I have almost 30 cricket tubs of silkworms in various stages and spend a couple of hours most night feeding the feeders! Honestly, it comes to something when the food you feed your pet takes more looking after than the pet itself!

So, for me, it was my sweet Lily that started it all. That and the photos that people post on here - they really don't help when you get beautiful photos of beautiful chameleons posted every day! When I got Lily I didn't like the male Veileds, I thought they were rather 'fishlike' and I preferred the more rounded shape of the girly chams. Strange how things work out, lol! Tommy was the sweetest boy ever - these creatures have something far more than any furry pet, yet I can't quite put my finger on exactly what that 'something' is!
 
I guess I didn't tell my begining story. My sister (yes her again) convinced me to buy a baby bearded dragon. I got to know the LLL guys really well going down for more and more stuff for the beardie. I walk in one day, with my husband no less, and skillet (aka John) says to me, Laurie I have your chameleon. I am confused, I didn't order a cham. He had watched my look at and hold chams every time I came in. They got a nice shipment of sweet small chams. Arnold came home with us.

The real problem happen after I sent my 3 to my sister as we were getting ready to move to Montana. I asl my friend (??) Steve Sims to bring over a baby panther, as it was winter in Montana so my sis could not send my beardies & chams to me. He brought over 5, yes 5, for me to chose from. He then allowed me to buy 5 beaitiful chams who can to Montana with me. But they were all males so I needed a female or 2, or 5. I have finally slowed down from 20+ adults to only 5 chams right now. I am sooooo much better.:D:D:D

Thanks for sharing Laurie! It's funny how the snowball starts to roll:eek:
 
I hope there is room for me too!

There is no doubt that it is a multi-headed monster, this Chamy culture hobby. The desire on the heart of most is to be as efficient as possible, which leads to the raising of feeder insects, raising suitable plants, creating better habitiat(s), and looking for ways to peacefully coexist in a marriage that is now polygamous in a way. The limiting factor is always money. Time enters in, presence of children, job demands, space requirements. If one throws money at the equation, it is a bit like a chemical reaction: if one adds more of a certain ingredient, it can send the probable outcome in the opposite direction. I hope all who choose to read this timely started thread and identify with being on the slope, learn to either ski, snow board, or have some other way of coping with the slippery nature of the hobby. I have not found the way yet to my third attempt to get a breeadable female. I am looking.
 
Well, Rob, that all sounds familiar! I guess I knew I was going down the slope when I got Lily back in 2008. That girl taught me so much - I had a fear of the very things that would keep her alive, so much so, that I would ask the shop keeper to get a tub of meal worms (for my sugar gliders) for me rather than pick up a tub of locusts or crickets to get to the meal worms myself!:eek: Yet, I wanted her so badly that I found coping strategies that I still use to this day (my tweezers, lol!) and even though I don't mind the feeders now, I draw the line at touching those fully grown Dubia! They are so gross! Now I have almost 30 cricket tubs of silkworms in various stages and spend a couple of hours most night feeding the feeders! Honestly, it comes to something when the food you feed your pet takes more looking after than the pet itself!

So, for me, it was my sweet Lily that started it all. That and the photos that people post on here - they really don't help when you get beautiful photos of beautiful chameleons posted every day! When I got Lily I didn't like the male Veileds, I thought they were rather 'fishlike' and I preferred the more rounded shape of the girly chams. Strange how things work out, lol! Tommy was the sweetest boy ever - these creatures have something far more than any furry pet, yet I can't quite put my finger on exactly what that 'something' is!

Your too funny Tiff:D If you like this thread you will love my other thread

https://www.chameleonforums.com/real-part-hobby-bug-keeping-61859/
 
Only thing holding most of us back is lack of space & lack of more funds. lol

EXACTLY! theres this huge abandoned greenhouse just down the street from my house, ive had my eye on that thing for years.

and lol "Dubia beetles" i had to hide my lobster roaches (so freaking cute btw)

when did i realize that i had gone down that slippery slope? when i realized not one vet within remote driving distance knew quite as much as me.

the last straw was when i had a vet try to induce labor on an older female veiled with dystocia. the treatment failed and she offered to dispose of the body. I just stared at her like she had two heads and said "no, im taking her home right now and removing those eggs" she tried convincing me it was fruitless and the eggs wouldnt be viable. but literally what could it hurt to try? (other than traumatizing myself by slicing open one of my favorite females)

i got i think 52 viable eggs out of her. (there were many many more small and malformed ones) the largest of which was at least quadruple the size of an average egg, and he hatched out that big too :p (funny thing is he didnt grow as freakishly large as i had hoped)

so yeah i think the deep end was slicing Flora open, but it was worth it.

OH NO! HAHAHAH even better, ive got a good one for yall. my mom always reminds me i did this, i tend to forget.

I had a runt in one of my panther clutches very poor eatter, i tried offering him every option, the only things i think he had a taste for were fruit flies, but in an enclosure with all his siblings who were ravenous i had to contain him by himself.

it was in the first week or two and he was just going downhill since i removed him from his siblings so i reintroduced him and hoped for the best. he seemed to improve slightly, it rained some time in the next couple days and i found him down the bottom in a tiny puddle on his side. i figure he was dead.

i picked him up and he moved! so in a frenzy i ran inside put him on a paper towel carefully opened his mouth to make sure he had an airway. i gently nugged him trying to incite any sort of response after a few moments it became clear he was a goner (flatline). i ran to the hallway grabbed a 9v battery licked it to make sure it was charged and attached a couple of wires. my mom was standing by and so for theatrics i holler "CLEAR!" and i proceeded to attemp to defibrillate this week or two old chameleon. i even tried cpr (the most gentle cpr that has probably ever been done in the history of forever)

so thats when i knew. lol
 
That slope OH that slope it is just SO slippery, someone please throw me an ice axe or something so that I might have a fighting chance of arresting this slide!! It is just unbelievable what these creatures do to us (and our houses for that matter) I mean they are lizards after all....aren't they?? These, creatures are like crack and I am the addict.

When you completely remodel a room in your house just for your chameleons and their feeders you know something just has to be wrong with you.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/cham-room-makeover-84211/
When you not only buy bugs but pay for overnight shipping so they don't die on you in the AZ heat you know there isn't much hope of recovery.
When breeding projects just pop into your lap and you have boxes of eggs mounting in the closet...and you see the insanity and know it's insanity but are excited about it. You just start wondering if there is a bottom to this slope? Is it when I get kicked out of my house? That one little tiny chameleon so innocent has turned into 12 + oh so many eggs...
 
:holds my palms to my face and shakes head:....

Lets just say less than a year ago i didn't have any Reptiles (not for a while anyway).. Now i have 5 Chams and 5 Geckos!!:eek:

At one point i had 7 Chams.

I have sold parts off my racecar to fund the purchase of Chams (This coming from a guy who you could not keep out of a car or the track).

I have literally over 1000 hours of Cham research!! Its crazy how the public, my wife and kids has taken to my Hobby. This does not help the cause. At one point my wife was keeping me in-check, those days are long gone!!

I recently took a trip with my wife and kids to the Liberty Science Center in New Jersey, while there i saw signs for Chameleons on display:rolleyes:. Rushed upstairs to find no Chams:(. I asked what was the deal with the tease?. They said they had a pair of Jacksons and they were stressing over the Center's visitor foot traffic. But i did notice that they also had them housed in the same exhibit with 3-4 Leaf tail Geckos(Uroplatus). I assume this was the cause for them stressing. Explained to the keepers my concerns and they are going to make changes and possibly have a Chameleon Only exhibit.

I offered to donate a male Ambliobe Panther for the exhibit if i can come in and help with the enclosure :D. This may seem like a act of kindness. But it's my greed to immerse myself with Chameleons that's driving this "good" gesture. lmaooo boohahahaha boohahahah!!

In off the deep end for sure!
 
wow you guys all need rehab!:D lol! I don't know how, but I stayed with one for over two years and the only reason I got a second was because it was 5 minutes from my house and needed a good home when someone posted on the forum here. I still would probably have one! I have been tempted MANY times though I will admit!
 
yuuuuuup!

I will only buy this one turns into 2 and so on just bought a larger house and was making sure cage tables fit and drainage tubes would run thrugh wall and setting up section for when i have babies and havent even been doing this a year yet but we love em!!!!!!
 
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