where is the best place to acquire a chameleon?

[mdd0101]

Hi everyone I am new to the boards and new to chameleons and am in the process of
doin my research to ensure my future pet is happy and healthy. In the future when I know im comfortable and ready what is the best way to get my chameleon? Im interested in a male jacskon and i have seen them at local petstores but they keep 3-5 in the same cage and i want to ensure my pet wont be stressed from the start. I was also shocked to see you can order them online? Im located in Ct and if someone has any advice or knowledge thatd be awesome.

 

[Murrdox]

Click the "View our Sponsors" link on the upper right of the page. Several of the best breeders in the US are sponsors of this page. You'll also find links there to just about everything else you'll need if you really want to get into chameleons. Very little other than crickets and maybe a UVB bulb can be found at your local pet store.

I know it sounds odd to mail-order a creature like a chameleon, but it works really well, trust me. I've used breeders in FL and CA for all my chameleons, and I've never had a problem with it. The breeders really know what they're doing to ensure your animal arrives healthy and safely.

Welcome to the forums!

My first bit of advice is do your research and setup the cage before you buy an animal!

 

[maxttu]

Hi and welcome! I personally visit reptile shows and look at the ones that I'm interested in. You can take all the time you'd like to examine your purchase.

"Typically", a vendor would take better care of his critters than a big chain store would, if you believe what's written on these forums.

Also, visit the sponsor link on the top of the page. Lots of quality and trusted breeders at you beck and call...

 

[javsto]

Hey I just wanted to give you some personal info that may or may not agree with some people on the forum. I also have seen several local reptile stores here on Long Island and also some chain stores like petco both of which tend to keep multiple chams of different species in the same cage.

I recently purchased a male Jacksons cham at a reptile expo and I housed him in the same cage with my 1 year old Vieled cham and they both stressed out immedietly until I bought a seperate cage for each of them and now every thing is ok. I can tell you from experience that store prices will vary. The store where I purchased my veiled cham sells jacksons for $85 each or 2 (male & female) for $150. Other stores sell them indiviually for around $180.

The cham I bought last week I got him for around $60 cash at the expo but with very little information. I have him scheduled to go see my vet later this week for a full check up but since I got him his own cage and fogger he has been doing ok, he eats about 12-20 crickets a day and is a nice shade of green when happy to total black when upset, but that only happens when I turn on his fogger and mister.

there is an upcoming expo in White Plains on April 22 if your interested. Here is the link to it.

http://reptileexpo.com/nyfirst.htm

I got alot of the necessities for the jacksons cage at the expo for almost half price of what I would have spent at any store. I only bought his cage at my normal reptile store because they had a table there and gave me a few 25% off in store coupons for that day so I loaded up on feeders and an 18x18x36 inch cage with all those coupons. So thats just my opinion on the subject, if you want to know anything else feel free to hit me up and I'll see how I can help you. Good Luck.