Oustalet's?!

[Bigheadben]

Hey I'm a newbie to the forum,and am thinking about getting an Oustalet's Chameleon but am struggling to find care info online, I've kept Yemen before and have kept a range of other lizards from uromastyx to Cuban rock iguana so not a newbie to rep keeping! Just wondering what the general temperament of these guys is like? As rather something a bit more handleable than my Yemen was. What are people's experiences with them & any setup pics would be appreciated! Thanks, Jay
Thanks, Jay

 

[Miss Machine]

Hi Bigheadben,

An oustalet's is a wonderful and docile chameleon. They get pretty large, in length. Of course every character differs but in average this species is very docile and laid back. My Jack (11 months) is housed in a full screen enclosure 24x24x48 and goes to a larger one when he is fully mature.

Since they are found in very different environments throughout Madagascar, shrubs, bushes, in crowded areas, forests, drier and more humid areas, the caring for these chameleons is pretty much the same as for veileds and panthers.

They love to eat. My Jack loves hoppers, large crickets, Rose beetles (Pachnoda sp), baby mice once a month, super worms, roaches and all kinds of worms.

Give them a larger enclosure, well planted and mist at least twice a day for a good few minutes. They like a good source of heat so a basking spot with 90F is sufficient.

Good luck!

 

[Bigheadben]

Thank you miss machine for your reply! Great help! You've basically sold it to me haha, your setup looks great too

 

[Miss Machine]

You're welcome! And thanks for the compliment!

 

[LLLReptile]

Yep, in general they thrive under the same kinds of conditions as panthers and veileds.

They're honestly one of my favorite species, the females are often a brilliant green color and are beautiful. A few customers locally have some adults they raised up from CB babies we had available a year or so ago and share their pictures with us. A popular thing here to do during summer months is to set up the larger sized reptarium cages, and house them outdoors when the weather isn't too hot or cold. Since the reptariums are mesh, you can put the hose on a mist setting and just mist them super thoroughly for a while as well.

-Jen

 

[Chameleonmaster]

i like that type of green on him looks good

 

[christacey91]

I have an 8 month old female and my cage looks almost identical...and yes, they LOVE TO EAT!! here is a pic of my girl and her enclosure.

 

[Miss Machine]

What a cute girlie! To bad you live so far away. I bet Jack wants to meet Pandora some day. You live in Holland though, only not in Europe

 

[Bigheadben]

Thanks for all the responses & christacey your female looks great! I really hope in able to get one of these now!!!

 

[Goldenarcher1328]

I would love to get some of the oustalets! haha I think the larger chams are amazing! not to diss the smaller species which are amazing in their own, but i love the big reptiles. they are just something no one else has!

 

[christacey91]

Miss Machine...yes, Jack and Pandora would be great together, if not for the distance Thanks for the compliments, she is super awesome!!

 

[eriksorg]

If you go back you can check out some of my old posts for more info...I HAD been breeding and raising Oustalets for many many years...but thanks to some thoughtless person or people, there is an abundant population in Florida, I just couldn't compete with the prices of wild caught local animals...
By the way...those Oustalets that LLLReptile was selling is some of my second generation babies...and I believe some may have been Kents also here from the forums....

 

[Miss Machine]

I would love to get some of the oustalets! haha I think the larger chams are amazing! not to diss the smaller species which are amazing in their own, but i love the big reptiles. they are just something no one else has!

Totally agree! I started out with all the biggies. Veiled, panther and so on. Last saturday I picked up the second largest in the world, my Meller's
Oh boy!! I'm in luv... Those gorgeous big feet...so adorable!

But I also love my smallest, the quads and my pygmy's temporalis!
I hope to find some baby pygmy's one of these days. I have to heavily pregnant females!

 

[Bigheadben]

Thanks again for replies, all been a great help! Hopefully will get my Oustie at the start of next month, will be sure to take pictures

 

[nightanole]

Quicky on feeding.

I just got mine from lllreptile. Normally I feed the heathens once a day till they stop eating, then i remove any extra crickets or what not. However Mr. Ousty is a machine when it comes to eating. Should i continue feeding till full once a day, or feed it like a dog where it gets a preset amount 2x a day?