Your Reptile and Amphibian Resource and Information Site

Back to Chameleons Forum   Forums   Home   Members Area  

Chameleons Forum

Bamaldam   LunaC   Cammo08   Bamaldam   Girlygecko95  
 Member  Message

 #1786327


Bamaldam
View Profile





 Pet store horror

HI
I went to the pet store today to buy some food for my cham and i saw the most awful thing.. they have a male cham in there who is very obviously sick! his crest is deflated and he has these bumps all over him his back legs hung limp and he looks terrible..I was asking about him and the girl who works there totally wanted to sell him to me!! she said he was just growing to fast for his own body to keep up.. they have another little female cham with him in the tank.. i dont want her to suffer the same fate.. is there anything i can do can i report them to anyone??? i will try and snap a photo...



07/07/08  09:57pm

 #1786442


LunaC
View Profile



  Message To: Bamaldam   In reference to Message Id: 1786327


 Pet store horror

He’s obviously dying. Slowly, painfully. Likely from a combination of dehydration, MBD, starvation and possibly parasite infestation. Yeah, he’s growing too fast ... and they aren’t giving him proper supplementation, diet, UVB or moisture to keep him healthy. As if it’s the cham’s fault he’s growing. Such BS.

Take whatever chameleon husbandry knowledge you have and go back. If you have none, then even 30 minues of research on the net will give you ammunition. Tell them what you see when you look at that poor cham. Educate them. They likely won’t care, the cham is just a dollar-sign and they want to move it before it dies and they lose the little bit they spent on him.
Also let them know that chameleons are solitary ... they should not be kept together in the same enclosure unless they are very young. Chams over 3-4 months generally need their own enclosures. The female (for her own health reasons particularly) should be moved to separate quarters.

And please DO NOT buy it. The poor thing is going to die and probably soon. Perhaps if enough pet stores lose money on exotic reptiles they either can’t care for properly or don’t want to care for properly, they will stop stocking them. They ain’t goldfish or gerbils!

Very sad. Very maddening.



07/07/08  11:14pm

 #1786465


Cammo08
View Profile



  Message To: Bamaldam   In reference to Message Id: 1786327


 Pet store horror

I agree with luna, and I would also be very stern with them and let them know that unless they do better when having chams in their pet shop and stop trying to sell this dying cham that you are going to report them!!

So sad..we are very lucky to have at least decent pet shops around here. I didn’t buy my cham from a pet store. I drove an hour to pick him up from a breeder, but at least the pet stores around here seem to have knowledge about them, have proper clean enclosures with proper lighting and humidity, and feed them right.

Sorry to hear the bad news :(



07/07/08  11:29pm

 #1786527


Bamaldam
View Profile



  Message To: Cammo08   In reference to Message Id: 1786465


 Pet store horror

i never ever had intentions of buying him.. i just want to help him if i can.. thats where i got my cham and she is healthy besides that little stint she is doin great. still really happy and friendly. i am going to go back.. i just dont want to burn the bridges that is the only place i can get crix.. but i am goin to say something.!! thanks now i am goin to need a place that i can report her to in case she calls my bluff?? any ideas



07/08/08  12:06am

 #1798665


Girlygecko95
View Profile



  Message To: Bamaldam   In reference to Message Id: 1786527


 Pet store horror

i dont know anyhing about chamilians, i might get 1 so i was looking around here and saw this, but it doesnt really matter if u know much bout them in this case cuz this is still animal abuse so i say report ’em.



07/16/08  09:39pm


Back to Chameleons Forum   Forums   Home   Members Area