New Dwarf Fischer's chameleon

[Mike Fisher]

Pretty much the exact opposite of how I keep mine. I use screen caging, live plants, more lighting. If a WC chameleon takes water from a dropper provided by a human, they are really thirsty IMO.

 

[Mike Fisher]

He might be perfectly content in an enclosed vivarium like that, without knowing much about this species requirements it is possible. I keep Trioceros perreti, which has been kept in vivariums successfully.

But I've never been a fan of plastic plants. There are so many real plants that would do well in your enclosure. Not sure if you have an automated misting system, but heavily misting by hand two to three times daily will keep him from becoming too thirsty.

I know a lot of people have tight budgets and you didn't expect to own one of the more rare chameleons, so just do the best you can and let us know how it goes. The fact that you've had him a month and he is still alive says something.

 

[Motherlode Chameleon]

It also goes to show you that collectors have to travel to more obscure area's for collection and are easily able to cheat the system that is in place to protect these species.

Carl

Exactly that is what makes these imports interesting and at the same time concerning. These Kinyongia uluguruensis imports are supposed to be of Farm Raised F1 generation and they seem to be wild caught adults. The system requires some fine tuning. However I think this is a problem that can be solved and progress achieved.

Just to play devil's advocate, given the wide range of K. oxyrhina, T. deremensis and T. werneri, I don't think that we can really definitively say that these were previously being collected in the Uluguru Mountains at all. All three are also found in the Udzungwa and Nguru Mountains, and there are other mountain ranges that each of these species are found in too (K. oxyrhina: Rubeho Mountains; T. deremensis: Usambara Mountains; T. werneri: Rubeho and Ukaguru Mountains), so its likely that they were collected from different locations independently of each other. That said, given the restricted range of K. uluguruensis, obviously the collectors are starting to collect there.

These specimens seem to be wild caught adults. That meaning the collectors are expanding there range to or to new parts of the Uluguru Mountains in Tanzania to export apparently wild caught chameleons that are supposed to be a F1 Farmed Quota species. That is what is concerning. Chris thanks for the elaborating about the range of the rest of the other species (I stated Trioceros deremensis were from the Usambara's). I was mostly concerned with the species that were from the Uluguru Mountains, meaning there are the prospects that these species were being collected from that region in the past.

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich

 

[Mrice]

Cage

I originally had a wider cage with glass on the front and back and screen on both sides and top. I was having a really hard time keeping the humidity up. I recently switched him over to an Exo terra reptarium. It's got a vent on the front and full screen lid. So far it's helped keep a constant humidity level. I do have an auto-mister. Goes off every hour for about 5 seconds and a dripper in addition.

 

[Mike Fisher]

I was having a really hard time keeping the humidity up. I recently switched him over to an Exo terra reptarium.

Understood. Live plants help keep the humidity up too.

 

[Mrice]

Plants

I've got a small ficus in there now. What all do you keep in your enclosures?

 

[Mike Fisher]

I've got a small ficus in there now. What all do you keep in your enclosures?

Mostly Japanese Knotweed, Dwarf Bamboo, and Pothos. My enclosures are fully planted and fairly dense.