how to tell the gender

[ChameleonsTree]

I would put it back out on the tree you found it on...most likely it will stay near. You can put certain types worms out on the tree and he or she will find them. Keeping it in a glass enclosure will harm him and you arent providing enough water.

 

[Brandy]

looking at the last pic the tail base looks like a male to me, but its hard to tell without knowing the species it definatly is a bradypodion species but thats as far as i can say

here is a link i found looks similar to your, http://www.cmda.org.za/chamaeleon/chameleon.htm

 

[Tygerr]

What more can a captive chameleon ask for but to live in captivity in its own country?

I can see how that would be ideal, but unfortunately in this case the native country is South Africa, and South African chameleons are protected species.
So captivity, in any form, is not an option.

In fact, even keeping exotic species has its legal problems in SA, but it is currently a grey area at the moment, so for the moment the pet chameleon industry is growing - consisting mainly of captive-bred Veileds and Jackson's chameleons.

 

[dimpleti]

Hi guys,

I am very confused and stressed now. Surely I do not want to hurt this little creature, nor do I want to commit a crime.

I would really want to keep this one... but..A cage is not going to work, sorry, becoz it is small: just about 5 cm in the body and another 5 cm of the tail. It is less than 1 cm wide, about the size of my finger, the small one, I think. Maybe a small whole cage . That might work.

I wont be able to keep it in the garden. The garden is surely too big:900 square with fence to open ground outside. It can be gone in less than 60 seconds. Plus, I hav 3 dogs, 2 great danes. They will kill the pretty in any sec.

I hav got very good sun shine here daily. Cape Town has more than 300 sunshine days a year, and temp is very good. Only in a couple of months if winter comes, there might be a problem to keep the temp up. Even in winter raining season, if it doesnt rain, there is always sunshine during the day, and temp can be as high as 25-26 degress for a couple of hr at lunch time.

Well, it does sound more than I thought to keep this one. I like skinny. The first one cham I hav seen, and first one I am keeping, I just bought the fish tank yesterday, cut some branches of umbrella tree leaves and ficus branches in the house to make a climbing space for it.

I went to the local pet store. No chams. Well, I will take time to think about it and talk about it to skinny, see whether I should let this one go. If in that case, I would not keep another one in future.

Really glad to know so much, thanx guys

kristi

 

[Tygerr]

looking at the last pic the tail base looks like a male to me, but its hard to tell without knowing the species it definatly is a bradypodion species but thats as far as i can say

here is a link i found looks similar to your, http://www.cmda.org.za/chamaeleon/chameleon.htm

It's definitely not the same chameleon as the one in that link. Although the two chameleons are related, they are distant cousins, and the one in the link concerned is found only in a very small part of Kwazulu-Natal (which geographically is on completely the opposite side of the country to Cape Town).

There are at least three Bradypodion species native to the Western Cape, and I'll have to check the books I have at home to be certain about exactly which one this one is.
I thought at first that it would most likely be the Cape Dwarf because that is the most common species in that area, but that chameleon usually has quite a prominent stripe of colouration down the side of the cham, whereas this one doesn't have that.

I know Chris Anderson would probably be able to nail the species with just one look... Maybe I can get home and beat him to it this time

 

[dimpleti]

oh, great, at least I would be able to know which kind of cham I hav kept after I release this one. Only thing is to find out the gender b4 it goes...

 

[dimpleti]

BTW, I dont close the cap of the fish tank where I keep him. The pot with soil where the branches are, is in the middel of the tank, and all the branches are standing sticking high above the tank edges, but nowhere near the edges. My cham is basically in the air, not enclosed.

 

[Tygerr]

Well, I will take time to think about it and talk about it to skinny, see whether I should let this one go.

I must impress upon you again that there really is no option here. You cannot keep the chameleon.

Firstly, he will not survive very long in the set-up you have provided.
Also, although Cape Town has plenty sunshine (up north we have even more), you are keeping the cham indoors in a fish tank. The UV light that the cham needs for its health does not penetrate through glass, so sunshine through your windows is not adequate.
You would have to obtain UVB lights from a pet store. Those are expensive, and need to be replaced regularly.
Without the correct lighting, the chameleon will develop MBD and die a slow and painful death.
And he may be small now, but from the sound of it, he is just a juvenile. He will grow much bigger, at which point that fish tank will no longer be adequate.
And on top of all that, wild-caught chameleons just don't handle captivity very well in general, and they often don't last very long.

Secondly, like I said, it is illegal to keep captive South African chameleons. You may be able to get away with it, but in some small way you are ruining the ecology of the local environment. I thought Capetonians understood this well - the Cape fynbos is one of the most threatened ecosystems in South Africa.

If you are worried about your dogs killing the chameleon (and that is a very real worry: dogs, and especially domestic cats, are one of the biggest killers of wild chameleons in urban South Africa), then I suggest you release the cham into the forest you mentioned nearby your house.

 

[Tygerr]

By the way, after checking out Adcham, I think it may in fact be a Southern Dwarf chameleon, whose habitat overlaps that of the Cape Dwarf.
The Southern Dwarf (Bradypodion ventrale) seems to exhibit the same colouration as the one you found.

You can check it out here: Bradypodion ventrale

 

[dimpleti]

Wooo, my...cats? I hav a neighbour who has too many cats hanging around all the time. It might be a nice brunch...

 

[roo_71]

I havent read through all the responses but the initial one from Tygerr is spot on and I'm sure the other replies have good content as well.

I will add this though ... If I lived in South Africa and had chams in my backyard I wouldnt bother keeping ANY in captivity but rather focus on a nice envrionment for them in my backyard so I can enjoy them. I SO ENVY you for where you live in regards to chameleons. It's really best to let it go, you sounds like a critter lover and that's really the best course of action.

If you want one in your home then do some reasearch come here to ask questions and when you are ready I'm sure that there is place close where you can buy one legally.

-roo

 

[Jewel]

looking at the last pic the tail base looks like a male to me

I know sexing them has to do with the base of the tail, but how exactly do you sex them this way?

 

[Jordan]

I would release the chameleon and hell if you want to see them just throw little scraps of meat (not enought to where it smells to bad) and fruits/vegatables. Seems like that would attract alot of bugs and where there are bugs there has to be some chameleons. Of course I am unsure of other animals you may have around there so that may or may not be a good idea.

 

[Chris Anderson]

Bradypodion is a difficult genus to identify. Relatively little is out with definitive photographs and good differentiation information. Further, a number of the species are quite variable. There is a new book out by a couple South African Scientists that is supposed to be an identification guide. My copy is in the mail somewhere between South Africa and here so I'm having to use my older resources. Based on the fact that you say you live near Cape Town, and what I can tell from the photos, I think you have a Bradypodion pumilum. B. ventrale lives significantly further east. The next closest species to Cape Town are B. karrooicum and B. gutturale but neither fit with the animal in the pictures in my opinion. I do agree though that it should be released.

Chris

 

[dimpleti]

how long can they live?

 

[Chris Anderson]

He will not live long in the environment you're providing. On top of keeping him being illegal, your enclosure, watering, etc., is simply inadequate and he won't live long under those conditions. I know you're worried about dogs and cats getting it and they may but they've survived for a long time with predators and are well adapted to avoid them. Also, the cham will be better off if you don't see it again, even if you'd like to. You really have no option in the interest of the animal's life other then to let it go where you found it.

Chris

 

[Tygerr]

According to Tolley & Burger, "Dwarf chameleons are thought to have a life span of 3-5 years."

I'd think that in the urban sprawl of Cape Town though, they probably don't get to live as long as that. Cats and cars are formidable foes. They can mate and reproduce from the age of about 9 months, so presumably the species could survive even if they don't make it to 3 years, but obviously not as successfully.

Wild-caught chameleons living in captivity don't usually last more than 2 years (although I'm sure the experienced keepers like Chris and Will have had ones that lived longer).

 

[TylerStewart]

throw little scraps of meat (not enought to where it smells to bad) and fruits/vegatables. Seems like that would attract alot of bugs and where there are bugs there has to be some chameleons

LOL... I have bugs around, haven't seen any wild chameleons lately though... In South Africa, you'd probably end up attracting a cheetah to take away your firstborn.

 

[Jordan]

LOL... I have bugs around, haven't seen any wild chameleons lately though... In South Africa, you'd probably end up attracting a cheetah to take away your firstborn.

Yeah I read what I wrote after the fact and was like wow that maybe a bad idea. Not really sure what is running around those parts. I have did this to catch flies, although, I did not let the food spoil.

 

[Tygerr]

In South Africa, you'd probably end up attracting a cheetah to take away your firstborn.

Not to worry guys. The only cheetahs running around in South Africa these days are in game parks.
That's what you get for years of injudicious hunting, and urban expansion.

But the bugs you plan to attract to the home could pose an even bigger risk... After all, the biggest killer in Africa remains the mosquito!