Furcifer oustaleti

[creepycrawler]

hello, I just recieved my Furcifer oustaleti a week ago, he's eating great and loves to have a light mist over him and drinks for me well, but i have had a hard time finding info on them as for caresheets and such. I am the only one who has one in my area and can't find anyone with personal experience with them, I am hopeing i can get a great caresheet to read. What their temps are, cage set up, food, can they be housed together are they aggressive towards other same sex? things like that. I would be greatful for any help. thank you

I have had veilds, carpets, and panthers before and they always did great and i have 76 other reptiles and exotic pets but this is my first chameleon of this kind.

 

[peacenlove]

hello, I just recieved my Furcifer oustaleti a week ago, he's eating great and loves to have a light mist over him and drinks for me well, but i have had a hard time finding info on them as for caresheets and such. I am the only one who has one in my area and can't find anyone with personal experience with them, I am hopeing i can get a great caresheet to read. What their temps are, cage set up, food, can they be housed together are they aggressive towards other same sex? things like that. I would be greatful for any help. thank you

I have had veilds, carpets, and panthers before and they always did great and i have 76 other reptiles and exotic pets but this is my first chameleon of this kind.

76 reptiles? just curious what are they?

 

[spawn]

The males are hit or miss as far as being cage mates. I had one NASTY wild one that bit both ME and the other male in its cage so that didn't last long (broke my skin, still have a scar). Females are a no-no unless you're actively breeding obviously.

They crawl and climb on everything so you need sturdy branches. They're fairly hardy, so I can't give exact temps or humidity. I would suspect a little more humid than what I do currently, 60-70%, and mine have good appetite at 80-86 Fahrenheit. They will use the WHOLE cage too, ground as well. Avoid plastic mesh because frankly when full grown their claws are too thick to go through the holes and grip it well.

They also will eat bugs bigger than you'd think. Mine will eat full grown B. dicoidalis females, and I suspect they'd also eat B giganteus as well. I've also fed cicadas, bumblebees, earthworms, crickets, horn worms (always a challenge depending on who's used to them). Things that fly will catch their attention. I've wanted to try feeding dragon flies to them too, but no luck so far.

*Edit: if you're going to be moving him and transporting him for cleaning the cage or whatever, I recommend a glove. My biggest has talons like a falcon and it rips my forearm up. The thing treats me like I'm a tree. It's not like a cute lil jackson that will grip your fingers and you're like "aaw" - this thing will pierce your skin if it's skittish.

How old is your guy?

 

[Miss Machine]

Cool! An oustalets! I had one for ten months, just sold him to someone who has 2 females in a very large chameleon room and wants to breed with them.

Mine was wild caught, and indeed pretty aggressive! Bit me a couple of times Very curious, indeed walks trough the whole enclosure, also on the ground.

Temps are pretty much the same as for verrucosus. They like it warm under their heat bulb. Average temps in the rest of the enclosure. Have a huge appetite and will readily eat anything. I also fed mine Rose beetles and their larvae..large roaches, hoppers and caterpillars. There is a youtube vid in which a large male is eating wasps and bees in a tree near a restaurant on Madagascar. They're curious but shy..hides behind a branch, totally elongated/stretched out..

Nice species to keep!

 

[creepycrawler]

we have ball pythons, corn snakes, kenyan sand boas, children's pythons, tarantulas, scorpions, whites tree frogs, leopard geckos, grand terre leachie, fat tailed gecko, bibron gecko, the chameleon, bearded dragons. then i have rats and a lab and two fish tanks lol

 

[creepycrawler]

we have him in a tank with a basking light and a uv light, he is super friendly, but i don't see him drinking a lot. I have a dripper, and I mist him 2 - 4 times daily. Lots of fake plants and branches, his body is only about 2-3 inches long. I got him from a pet store so i'm not sure what his back ground is. But i don't know if he's a WC or not. he just seems to friendly to be WC but who knows. thanks for the info it's great to read from people who have experience with them. Where i am it's illegal to have any tye of roach, so supers, crickets, butter worms, hornworms and such is all i have for feeders.

 

[carol5208]

what kind of tank are you keeping him in? Tank as in fish tank?

 

[Meow Kitty]

we have him in a tank with a basking light and a uv light, he is super friendly, but i don't see him drinking a lot. I have a dripper, and I mist him 2 - 4 times daily. Lots of fake plants and branches, his body is only about 2-3 inches long. I got him from a pet store so i'm not sure what his back ground is. But i don't know if he's a WC or not. he just seems to friendly to be WC but who knows. thanks for the info it's great to read from people who have experience with them. Where i am it's illegal to have any tye of roach, so supers, crickets, butter worms, hornworms and such is all i have for feeders.

Chameleons Live in vertical Tanks, lol children pythons look not so children friendly. (saw one at a pet store) Just curious do you have a GTP?

 

[creepycrawler]

right now because he's only 2 -3 inches in length (body) we have him in a tank that's 3 feet tall 3 feet wide and 2 feet deep. It has the proper cover not an aquarium cover! we have the dripper coming in and landing in an extra large water dish. I tried to post a picture of his set up but I don't know how it won't let me import it?

 

[creepycrawler]

my children's pythons are great to handle they love ther food and have a great feeding response, but we feed in a feeding bin and not their home so they don't mind coming out to play. Our four year old helps us with their cleaning and handeling. They are great with him. That's not saying all of them would be great lol, and no we don't have any green tree pythons.

 

[Meow Kitty]

Ahh well chameleons are arboreal and require tanks that are taller instead of wider so they can climb up they don't sit on the ground much, they also don't drink out of dishes they need to see the water land on plants or leafs to drink it. Chameleons also need good ventilation to avoid respiratory infections/problems so a screen cage is excellent
Welcome to the stressful life of a chameleon owner

 

[creepycrawler]

this actually isn't my first Chameleon, but this is the first of this species. I can't have this guy in a mesh tank becuase they say he gets so heavy his claws can get either stuck in the mesh of so big they can't get threw to climb, These guys actually use their whole cage so wide is more room to climb across to the other side as well as three feet tall is only for him now, while he's small not for the rest of his life, and the drip system has to go somewheres hence the dish! lol i don't want it just dripping on the ground, the water is a nice steady drip and he sees the water moving becuase of the drip, earlier i mentioned i think that i mist 2 - 4 times Daily so he does get water from the leaves as well, plus he goes in the sink and drinks from the little shower like nozzle. thanks for the info though...

 

[Meow Kitty]

this actually isn't my first Chameleon, but this is the first of this species. I can't have this guy in a mesh tank becuase they say he gets so heavy his claws can get either stuck in the mesh of so big they can't get threw to climb, These guys actually use their whole cage so wide is more room to climb across to the other side as well as three feet tall is only for him now, while he's small not for the rest of his life, and the drip system has to go somewheres hence the dish! lol i don't want it just dripping on the ground, the water is a nice steady drip and he sees the water moving becuase of the drip, earlier i mentioned i think that i mist 2 - 4 times Daily so he does get water from the leaves as well, plus he goes in the sink and drinks from the little shower like nozzle. thanks for the info though...

alright cool, so you're pretty well informed and have thought this out i didnt know much about that species and figured to generalize most chameleon husbandry