Why mainstream?

Sticktongue

Sticktongue

Avid Member
I've been wondering this for quite some time...

Why did you personally pick to stay "mainstream"? By that i mean sticking to veileds, panthers and even maybe jacksons. Seems like the great great majority sticks to those two main chameleons. Is it because of their size and they are hardy? because you simply like their colors and look better? or are you somewhat intimidated of trying a more delicate genus. Or possibly because of the lack of captive bred quantity compared to veileds and panthers.

This is simply just a post out of curiosity.
 
For me it's lack of availability, although I have more contacts now than I did 4 years ago when I got my first chameleon. I live in the UK and it is difficult enough finding captive bred rarer chams, but I live on a small Island off of the south coast, which just makes things even harder! I waited almost 4 years to get my first Jackson, a species that is quite common in the US. It was purely because my friend had a wild caught breeding pair and the female gave birth. Knowing how much I have always wanted one, my friend reserved a male for me from the minute they were born.
 
Well, in starting out, I thought it was wise to mainstream. Everyone has a learning curve.

Now, I am planning, preparing, learning, etc. for keeping and hopefully breeding mellers when I get closer to retirement. I'm saving money to have a plumber come in and do a bit of work in my future meller's room!
 
I was in the reptile store yesterday and was trying to buy more calcium dust. The guy asked me what for. I told him "A Chameleon", he said "Oh cool a Panther or a Veiled?"

So I said it was for my Senegal and he acted surprised and seemed to think that was impressive... not sure why. I mean I like them but I wouldn't expect anyone to be impressed!

Either way it is amazing to me how very common Panthers and Veileds seem to be and I am also curious why people choose them in general.
 
I think people begin with those species because they are significantly more available, and they are a hardier species. though I feel that after a certain amount of time, we eventually venture out.

My pattern went- male veiled- male hoehnelli (tada not normal) female veiled, male special needs panther.

eventually i will have carpets, oustelots, mellers, parsons, and other stuff
 
one of the big things that i find is that keeping alot of the others requires a softer touch, so to say.
temp, and humidity must be monitored more closley, meaning they often require a special area away from other reptiles.as well as suppelementation is alot more sensitive. i would find it very difficult to keep my veileds or panthers in the same room as my montanes.
that combined with the fact that they are less popular, means there is less good info on care and other aspects, witch greatly affects their populaity

that said some montane chameleons like the quads and dermensis are gaining more popularity and being kept by more and more people all the time.

"when people get tired of casques and colors, time to check out the horns and fins";):D:D
 
For me I got my Jackson first because of the price and I later bought my panther because I was attracted to the color aspect they have, however I really wanted a Brady because they were the ones I saw on the bbc series life in cold blood but they seem to be hard to find
 
Mainstream? Tell that to the 8 melleri on their free range encircling my living room!

I do have veileds and I have them because I love them. I'm trying to breed to increase the blue rather than usual green. They are easy to breed and there is a demand for them (in any color) so it makes sense.

I also have a 1.2 breeding trio of k. multi. They are adorable and sweet chameleons but I am thinking of parting with them to make room for other things ... there really isn't a demand for them so I wonder why I would continue to breed them if I can't find homes for them at even rock-bottom prices?

I enjoy breeding and raising chameleons so it makes sense to have chameleons people actually want. Even people on here who have a senegal or a jackson's or veiled often say they want a panther "someday." People aren't lining up for my k. multi or flapnecks!
 
Panther and Veilds are just more available.....easier to learn all the "nuances" of cham keeping and they are very colorful.
The montanes, as above poster put, require a "softer touch", but once learned and you get into the habit of taking care of them(changing your schedule in life..:rolleyes:) they are very rewarding.

Once them Jacksons/Panther hybrids become more available, they'll be all the rage!!...:eek::rolleyes:
 
camimom said:
thank you!
kermit is a hoe, and hes super easy. and sweet. supplement once a week, cooler temps, more water. tada.
Click to expand...

I think one of the reasons people have panthers and veileds is that in addition to easy availability, many people on here insist they are the "starter" chameleons and that montanes are difficult. I have not found that to be the case either.
 
Very good points everyone.

thephotoprincess said:
I think one of the reasons people have panthers and veileds is that in addition to easy availability, many people on here insist they are the "starter" chameleons and that montanes are difficult. I have not found that to be the case either.
Click to expand...
I agree with that completely. When i first came around on here, i got a male panther like most everyone else but thought the montanes were cool, but just to hard for me. Buuut then after doing more research i realized its not that hard, you just have to have that "soft touch" and monitor everything a little bit more.

I dont think a lot of people that come around even know about K. Multi, hoes, quads, ect. untill later after they purchase their panther, veild or jackson. Simply because their are always threads everyday about those 3, but not nearly as often about the others. I personally would like to see more of them become more popular like quads and derms are starting to. Good point hoj.
 
My order was a quad, pygme, veilds, and a bunch of panthers when i discovered mitsios, and loved them, there was a 2 year gap in between the pygme and veilds. I was planning on saving for a parsons, they are expensive as hell, but i had to take my money out of viterra to pay a vet bill. If i had of pulled it out 1 day later, i would be able to get another male faly, so now my first proiority is to get valaria checked at the vet, since i already got lucy checked out, and then i will get another male faly and then il start saving for a parson again
 
For me I always have some rare chameleons with more mainstream chameleons. The reason for the mainstream chameleons in this case is simply due to the fact that Furcifer pardalis has got some of the best and most diverse variation of colors in the the chameleon kingdom. With the possible exception of the Bradypodion genus. As well I keep rarer chameleons just to work with extremely neat species that tend to fly in under the radar of most other chameleon keepers.

Parsonii has got some great color variation as well.
 
i dont think any of my chams are more or less hard to care for. they are just diffrent. i FR a veiled and a hoe together and they got misted 8times and have a carryation of temps so both chloe and clair are happy. jack just leave alone and he's happy :rolleyes:. imho...chams are easy to keep. its just when they get sick they are expensive. in general they are expensive and i feel the need to make them "happy" by buying them more trees and more basking spots ect. so what makes chams hard is the ding they put in your wallet. montane might put a little but more of a ding but idk ^^
 
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