Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is "THE BOOK", September 5, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: The New Chameleon Handbook: Everything About Selection, Care, Diet, Disease, Reproduction, and Behavior (Barron's Pet Owner's Manuals) (Paperback)
What you need to know about chameleons is in this book! I enjoyed reading it and learning everything about this little creature. From it's history and evolution, to it's anatomy and manerisms. What I really wanted was a book which explained how to care for the chameleon and I picked the right one.Francois LeBerre makes me feel comfortable caring for the chameleon. The size of the book is good for handling and storing. The print is large and clear, easy to read and the pictures are messmerizing. When I browsed through other books on the topic, they seemed like a joke compared to this informative publication! I recommend this to beginners (which I am) because you'll feel like an expert (LeBerre) when you're done. Enjoy!!!
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This IS a good book, but can be improved., June 22, 1998
This review is from: The New Chameleon Handbook: Everything About Selection, Care, Diet, Disease, Reproduction, and Behavior (Barron's Pet Owner's Manuals) (Paperback)
In light of the two previous reviews, I felt compelled to add my own thoughts. It is a very good book, but lacks some information I think is essential for the beginner. The author makes little or no reference to common names of the organisms (where a common name is ascribed). This would make it difficult for the typical beginner to relate the scientific name of the organism with the common name that is usually available at the site of purchase. The author also fails to give adequate information regarding the size attained for a full grown adult specimen. This is especially important when a budding herptologist decides to embark on caring for a "beginners" specimen, but is not told that the animal will be two feet long as an adult. This can be critical when one is designing a habitat.It is not at all uncommon to see beginners think of these wonderful animals as being "small and cute", when in fact many of the easiest to care for become quite large. That being said, LeBerre has certainly prepared an excellent guide, and the photos are wonderful. It is the best book out there for the layman, and does in fact rate five stars.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Good Info/Bad Info, August 2, 2008
This review is from: The New Chameleon Handbook: Everything About Selection, Care, Diet, Disease, Reproduction, and Behavior (Barron's Pet Owner's Manuals) (Paperback)
I'm sorry, but I just had to counter the 5 star reviews for this book. Yes, there is a lot of good information and pictures, but there are far too many short-comings for this to be a reliable source. As another reviewer pointed out, Le Berre NEVER refers to species by their common name, only scientific name. This is very confusing for the beginner and beyond...you will need to go through and write all the common names down so you know what species he's referring to. Additionally, he rarely ever tells you the size of any of the chameleons. Considering chameleons range from 1 inch to 30 inches or so, this is an extremely important fact when considering species and housing needs.
He also rates each species on a scale of Beginner/Intermediate/Advances. However, Le Berre isn't quite clear as to the criteria he is using for this rating system, or explicit as to why a particular species is more difficult. He seems to possibly include difficulty of breeding into the equation, which I could not care less about, since I don't intend to breed. For example, he lists the Montium as being an "Advanced" species, but says it has similar needs to the Quadricornis, which he lists as being for "Beginners". I'm confused.
However, the biggest faux pas by far is Le Berre's suggestion of using a glass terrarium to house your chameleons! There is not a single reliable chameleon authority out there who suggests this (except for possibly babies/and certain pygmy species) and in fact pretty much EVERYONE else cautions that this is the worst possible idea and will probably lead to illness/death. Not only is glass conducive to stagnant air and bacterial growth, chameleons can often see their reflection in the glass, causing major stress (thinking it's a rival chameleon). They can also injure their tongues on the hard glass which can lead to serious eating issues.
It is unfortunate that these issues exist with this book because there are some excellent parts to it. If you do buy it, be sure to supplement it with others. The most complete guide out there seems to be the Linda Davison book. Check that out as well as the dozens of excellent websites that will give you better and complimentary information.
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