Want a Chameleon

[bakednowningz]

I'm looking to get a Chameleon... I live in Florida so I'm not sure if I even want to order one since theyre pretty cmon down here. I'm not sure how it works if I was to order one so I guess I'm looking for advice. I used to have a Carpet and Jackson chameleon when I was younger, much older now and understand how hard they are to take care of compared to other animals.

Now that you know a little bit about me, now about the chameleon that I want. I've had smaller chameleons, now I want one that is BIG, whether its small now and grows bigger later is fine. Some species I was looking at was the Meller Chameleon or the Deremensis Chameleons, they look pretty cool

I like the Horns look, I would like them to be big, prefer them to be atleast green or colorful, not looking for a dark type of Chameleons. Open to suggestions!

Also I live in specifically the Orlando area, so if anyone knows any reptile shops tell me, I'm really interested

 

[DragoLikesReptiles]

If you want one of those, you will most likely get a wild caught one which is most likely money out of your wallet with so many vet bills. I've heard melleri are better free ranged, don't know much about deremensis. I'd say go for it!

 

[LilBlue]

Both the Mellers and Deremensis are beautiful, good picks

Both will be wild caught, not too many captive bred that I hear of. Occasionally they are available though.

In February I purchased 2 mellers, and 1.1 Deremensis. I got them all the day after they arrived at the pet store(I did my home work and was prepared). They all got showers as soon as I got them home, and everyday for the first week or so. The mellers were showered for weeks, almost everyday. Between two and three weeks they started their rounds of Panacur.

Mellers were in rough shape. Lost one after 3 weeks, it was sudden. The other passed after 3 months. I worked really hard to save these guys, above and beyond what most people would under take. I miss them

On the upside, my Deremensis have been fantastic right out of the box. I had got a second pair a few weeks later. I did lose my first female at 5 weeks, she was perfect the night before, eating and drinking fine, and then on her side the next morning. My two males and one female are going strong and loving life. And I sure am enjoying them.

Mellers are known in general to be tough to acclimate. Some people call them the "3 month lizard," because they'll be fine and then bam their dead. They come in with a very high parasite load.

My Deremensis might have just been a lucky batch. I will try Mellers again, but this time with a free range. Not too familiar with breeders outside of Canada, but I think FL Chams is a popular place with a good selection. Check the forum sponsors too.

 

[bakednowningz]

Thank you so much for the picture! He looks GREAT, and I'm glad you were really honest about the whole experience and yeah pretty sure I'm gonna go with the Deremensis now because I've read the same, that they are very hard to acclimate. I'm sorry to hear you did lose some, which kinda worries me about getting them, because they can be a bit expensive and theres no 100% guarantee theyll live long, it's a struggle, and as you said sometimes you wont even see any signs that the creature is dying, just one day the battery will run out

Now I just have to figure out where to get them? You said they arrived so I assume you ordered them? Kinda scared of ordering them from somewhere. Theres plenty of sites selling them but which are even good :/

 

[LilBlue]

I got mine from a pet store, who had ordered them from a Canadian importer. My 3 horn pairs were $375, and for here that is a great price. Ordering online isn't such a bad thing, it's just finding someone reputable to order from. Google some pet stores for your area, or even go into your local store and see what they can bring in. I hope someone will chime in with places they have bought from. I know of LLL Reptile, Backwater Reptiles, Underground is another, but I can't order from them so can't speak of any experiences. When you do have a list of people you may want to order from, check the Board of Inquiry on fauna classifieds. You can also Google their name and add BOI on the end, it will bring up posts and you won't have to scroll through hundreds of pages. Remember to look at any suppliers "Terms of Sale," if it's not available, ask for it. This protects buyer and seller.

It's hard to find decent info on the 3 horns, the best I have found is by searching their Latin name on here. Most important things are for these guys: lots of water, temps in the low 70's F(they rarely even use a basking bulb, but I still give them one, like a 40-60 watt), and watch what you feed and how much. These guys get fat easily because they don't move around much.

I hope you find a 3 horn, I just love love love mine!

 

[bakednowningz]

Thanks for the reply, it's good to know that I could order online, I just live in Florida and figured there SHOULD be something really near by me that I can just go to, much rather see it in person and see how healthy it looks and its current environment before I bought it.

 

[SSimsswiSS]

Thanks for the reply, it's good to know that I could order online, I just live in Florida and figured there SHOULD be something really near by me that I can just go to, much rather see it in person and see how healthy it looks and its current environment before I bought it.

Try T.R.Herp for captive three (Deremensis) horns. I think they are in Orlando or Winter Park, FL.

 

[bakednowningz]

try t.r.herp for captive three (deremensis) horns. I think they are in orlando or winter park, fl.

sweet found them thank you so much

 

[laurie]

sweet found them thank you so much

Luis will not only sell you a cham, he will answer all your questions, both now and in 6 months. Luis is a wonderful chameleon keeper.

 

[bakednowningz]

Luis will not only sell you a cham, he will answer all your questions, both now and in 6 months. Luis is a wonderful chameleon keeper.

On facebook it shows he's literally right around the corner too, I'm totally hyped to go check it out tomorrow

 

[bakednowningz]

Got ahold of their Facebook page, seems they've only got 2 of the ones I want and they are both Female, about a year old. Was hoping for a male really. I was told there is a reptile convention at the end of may that I should take a look at and browse to see what they've got, I'm still looking if anyone else knows some more in florida