B.thamnobates arrival(finally)

[Solid Snake]

i dont have these but if i did..this is what i would be doing.

Whatcha talkin bout Willis?
What would you be doing?

Id also pm chris anderson and ask if he ever measured direct sunlight temps in the regions these are found. ambient 80* degrees isnt 80* receiving all the sun wants to give .

That would be interesting data to have.
Im sure it fluctuates greatly though, like everywhere else.

The chameleon temps given, are surface-of the-chameleon temps.


I dont think any excessive water is going to harm them.

I do think they like it drier, RH wise for sure.

When Donahue is resting in shade, these things are out in full sun, trotting around proudly, doing their usual parade routine.

I misted/light-rained them lots today actually, and they did not seem to mind, but they were outside, were things can dry out in a timely and efficient manner.

Isnt that the issue? Stagnant, high RH air causing respiratory issues?

Thats what everyone says.

It is supposedly fairly hot, as well as fairly humid where they come from, but its not like jungle humid, its a drier humid, (<-like that one ;D) because of the heat, and lower(than the jungle) rainfall.

In the winter, it gets below zero at times there. (zero C or freezing or 32F)

They still live.

One person on the southafricanreptiles forum claims to have found a chameleon under a rock, staying warm for winter.

I think its important to understand that water is not the problem, but too low of temps, and insufficient ventilation.

Thats just what I have decided, it just seems to feel right for them so far.

A basking of 85F-90F w/ ambient of 75F-85F w/ a RH of above 40% and not over say 55-65%(for any length of time) <- As of right now, if someone asked me how to keep thamnos, that would be the best info I could give them, from my severely limited experience with them.

;D

 

[ataraxia]

Thats what im talkin about snizzy..info info info. I like whatcha doin.

Remember this? Your going to do something good for this community i just dont know what.

I read on one of those sites that it rains daily during one of the seasons where they are from. Also noticed that the natural RH is in the 70's a good part of the time.

 

[coldbloodedAL]

Whats up y'all?!?
first off... Excellent pics brotha! Wayyy Better than anything Ive gotten to date
Second... Good job of keeping up on observations, I have been slacking a bit but I do have a decent amount I will be posting eventually
Ive been very busy around here lately, and i no longer have a computer, just my phone so its a pain to post up long messages. So ive just kinda been lurking, posting here n there..
Lastly, the temps ive been recording are pretty damn close to what you have, give or take a few degrees occasionally(its expected).
Imo the biggest issue involving RIs is just a constantly high RH and lack of airflow(stagnant air). Which will probably give most chams an RI... A RH of 60% should be just fine, given that it is dropping throughout the day.
Now in regards to H20, Ive been doing 1x daily for approx 1 minute. And thats it.. I see them drink everyday as well. So far ive been able to find two urates and both were nice and white. So thats obviously plenty of water... RH in my cham room varies from 30%-65% daily(65% only for approx 2-3 hrs total due to T. melleris long mistings)...
I PMd Chris a while back concerning some of these issues, and have not heard back yet so we'll see..
ps: Stan I got your pm, ill get back with you SOON! My phone is just a b*tch

 

[Solid Snake]

Whoops! Corrected a few typos in that info above. (Snizzy is enjoying his Heineken)

Yes sir I do remember that.


The rain season is about three months long, that site says dec-feb, with weeks on end of rain.

God knows what they do during these heavy rainy, and super cold periods to survive, and since I A) Dont talk to god and B) these are CB, I am going to try and keep them in a fairly moderate environment for now.

Maybe Ill keep them in a special cage/refrigerator for wintering in the future though, and find out how they manage to survive.

 

[Dean Pulcini]

From what I read South Africa is more humid in the winter then it is in the summer. Dry hot windy summers and cool wet and humid winters thats the basic approach that im takeing.

 

[chameleonneeds]

From what I read South Africa is more humid in the winter then it is in the summer. Dry hot windy summers and cool wet and humid winters thats the basic approach that im takeing.

South africa has many different climates, not just one. Remember these chams are from the midlands of natal where the rainy season is in summer not winter. Winter days are warm, often above 20 degrees C and night temperatures frequently go below zero with snow regularly illuminating the peaks. Autumn is regarded as the best time to visit when the rainfall drops (this is around april/may). Its thanks to the warm current passing the KZN land that keeps the province relatively warm and humid all year round.
I sold 2 panthers to a lady that stays not too far from johannesburg and she managed to get thamnobates on permit, she however lost all her babies because the temperature went up to around 37 degrees. So whatch out with the high temps they can kill your baby bradyodions. Gauteng has rain in summer with hot temps. And in winter its dry and cold.

For you pumilum guys the raining season for the western cape (cape town area) is winter. Cold, wet and windy the rain and wind makes it much colder and its really horrible to be there in winter. However in the summer there is not much rain but it is a lot warmer. Its because of the cold Benguela current along side the western cape that keeps the land cold in the winter and generally cooler in the summer too. If you guys want to understand the humidty and such for selected areas on the coasts of s.a then you need to take in consideration of the ocean current alongside the area. Warmer air will hold a greater amount of water vapour as opposed to cooler, thus making that area more humid than a cooler area. This plays a significant role in the formations of deserts, such as the namib desert.

 

[showjet95]

Awesome info chameleonneeds!!! Thank you for that response. Im sure none of us keeping these wonderful bradys knew any of that info. You are a S.A. native so any helpful info from you would always be greatly appreciated.

 

[laurie]

South africa has many different climates, not just one. Remember these chams are from the midlands of natal where the rainy season is in summer not winter. Winter days are warm, often above 20 degrees C and night temperatures frequently go below zero with snow regularly illuminating the peaks. Autumn is regarded as the best time to visit when the rainfall drops (this is around april/may). Its thanks to the warm current passing the KZN land that keeps the province relatively warm and humid all year round.
I sold 2 panthers to a lady that stays not too far from johannesburg and she managed to get thamnobates on permit, she however lost all her babies because the temperature went up to around 37 degrees. So whatch out with the high temps they can kill your baby bradyodions. Gauteng has rain in summer with hot temps. And in winter its dry and cold.

For you pumilum guys the raining season for the western cape (cape town area) is winter. Cold, wet and windy the rain and wind makes it much colder and its really horrible to be there in winter. However in the summer there is not much rain but it is a lot warmer. Its because of the cold Benguela current along side the western cape that keeps the land cold in the winter and generally cooler in the summer too. If you guys want to understand the humidty and such for selected areas on the coasts of s.a then you need to take in consideration of the ocean current alongside the area. Warmer air will hold a greater amount of water vapour as opposed to cooler, thus making that area more humid than a cooler area. This plays a significant role in the formations of deserts, such as the namib desert.

Wow this is great, but you left out my transvaalense. My babies feel neglected. What area would they be closest to? The pumilum or the thamnobates? You are such a wonderful resource for us. Thanks for helping us with these little jewels.

 

[chameleonneeds]

Glad to supply info from what I know

Sorry Laurie I was thinking of posting for the transvaalense but forgot lol!

The thing is with those bradypodions is that they are found in limpopo and mpumalanga those 2 provinces are found closer to the midlands but still not very close to the midlands. The climate is also very different there as compared to natal and the cape region.
The wet season is roughly from November to April and the dry season roughly from May to October. East limpopo is where it is more subtropical and not as dry and dusty as most parts of the area.

Limpopo has a great climate for most of the year. With almost all year-round sunshine, it can get quite hot in the higher parts during october - may averaging 27ºC.

Rains can come very fast and unexpectedly and will not have a very constant
attern. Clouds can come and go in an instant.
Winter is typical of the interior highveld plateau. A sunny season of chilly, early mornings, warm middays, dry afternoons and cool nights.
Generally in places that are not close to the coast with a warm current then they will have wet hot summers and average winter days with bitter cold evenings and its pretty dry.

And I went to most of the spots in Mpumlanaga where you can find transvaalense and the different areas vary quite a lot. Sabie was very mountaneous with thicket like plants but not much for any "forests" Graskop was much more gently sloped ... The land was pretty flat and much more green. I found a female at Mac Mac falls, she was a couple metres away from the actual drop of the mac mac falls waterfall, there it was pretty humid, relatively cooler as you got closer to the fall and lots of greenery with closed canopy.

 

[laurie]

Glad to supply info from what I know

Sorry Laurie I was thinking of posting for the transvaalense but forgot lol!

The thing is with those bradypodions is that they are found in limpopo and mpumalanga those 2 provinces are found closer to the midlands but still not very close to the midlands. The climate is also very different there as compared to natal and the cape region.
The wet season is roughly from November to April and the dry season roughly from May to October. East limpopo is where it is more subtropical and not as dry and dusty as most parts of the area.

Limpopo has a great climate for most of the year. With almost all year-round sunshine, it can get quite hot in the higher parts during october - may averaging 27ºC.

Rains can come very fast and unexpectedly and will not have a very constant
attern. Clouds can come and go in an instant.
Winter is typical of the interior highveld plateau. A sunny season of chilly, early mornings, warm middays, dry afternoons and cool nights.
Generally in places that are not close to the coast with a warm current then they will have wet hot summers and average winter days with bitter cold evenings and its pretty dry.

And I went to most of the spots in Mpumlanaga where you can find transvaalense and the different areas vary quite a lot. Sabie was very mountaneous with thicket like plants but not much for any "forests" Graskop was much more gently sloped ... The land was pretty flat and much more green. I found a female at Mac Mac falls, she was a couple metres away from the actual drop of the mac mac falls waterfall, there it was pretty humid, relatively cooler as you got closer to the fall and lots of greenery with closed canopy.

Thanks so much for the info. It is really helpful & very nice of you to do it. Next time you are out there take pictures for all of us.

 

[Solid Snake]

BIGGEST chameleon frak-up, in the history of chameleon frak-ups.

Thank you chameleonneeds. I will comment on the previous comments later/soon/hopefully.


Here are a few quick update pictures of the thamnos, taken today.

They show way cooler colors than this, I promise, they just wont do it for the camera monster. ;/

Male:

Here is a pic that came out really dark, I tweaked the crap out of it to show his colors/patterns he can get. This is how he looks in person, at least on my monitor:

Female #1:
This one is very shy, and HATES the camera. This is literally the best shot I could get of her this time. She loves her shed-cap I think, as its been there for a week or so, and she wont let me take it off:

Female #2:
This girl is super photogenic it seems.
This chameleon, is in the picture I entered in the photo-contest.
She shed today. (the reason I decided to take a few snaps)

They are all quite jolly, and doing well.

Well, female #1 may have escaped earlier, but Im not sure yet, but go ahead and start praying, please.

Other than that though, they are all doing great.

 

[Brad]

I like that last picture. The lighting is better and you can really see the different scale types and color.

 

[Solid Snake]

I like that last picture. The lighting is better and you can really see the different scale types and color.

Thanks.

I like it for the same reasons.

Its easier to see how much detail is in them through the camera, they are still super small.

I like the "earthy", "mineral" tones they throw out.

If anyone caught what I said in that last post, I honestly did think one of them (Female #1) had escaped in to the wild, never to be seen again!

After a 5+ hr SAR mission,(during which time I was supposed to be asleep) I found her safe and sound, in her cage. With this exact look on her face:

On the whole, these things are doing quite well I think.

I have named them as well:
Male: Hideo Kuze (Kuze)

Female #1: Yoko Kayabuki (Yoko)

Female #2: Motoko Kusanagi (Motoko)

They are super awesome! Im very glad I have been able to work with them.

 

[DavidBuchan]

Lol, Yoko is a little minx hey - it's always the quiet ones, right?
I like the little Buddha statue in the first video, is that still in there with them? My Ashleigh has a Buddha that I bought in Japan, but she keeps knocking it about and burying it. No respect, these lizards, that's their problem.........
Glad to hear all is going well with your new bunch, even if they cause the expected trouble

 

[Solid Snake]

No respect, these lizards, that's their problem.........

Your absolutely right David.

That is exactly their problem.


This Buddha also came from Japan.

It gets placed in all my chameleons cages when I first get them, sort of a good luck charm.

I have moved them outdoors, and am setting up seperate indoor housing for all three of them now, so no, its not still in there.
Mine have always respected Buddha thus far.

It will get soaked in vinegar and scrubbed, and go back on my shelf, awaiting the next poor, unfortunate chameleon to pop out of a box in my house.

 

[Solid Snake]

B. thamnobates....

 

[showjet95]

Wow, they look amazing!!! The males color and patterning is gorgeous ALREADY! and that larger females casque is huge! Youre doing a great job with them.

 

[Solid Snake]

Thanks.

They are super awesome animals!

Kuze

Motoko

Yoko

 

[ataraxia]

Take me to school snizzy. Show me what you are talking about between male and female. Im still lost as all get out.

 

[Motherlode Chameleon]

Great Bradypodion pictures thanks for posting.