Why are some species not readily available in the hobby?

[scags]

Specifically wondering about Arabian chameleons and Indian Chameleons (Chameleo arabicus, Chameleo zaynalicus).

I’m surprised they aren’t seen in the hobby.
Arabian chameleons are quite beautiful, similar to veileds but with a more distinctive patterning. I’m guessing care would be similar. Just seems surprising that I don’t see them in anyone collections.

 

[javadi]

Lots of the species not available never got CITES quotas (or got a quota of 0) so could never be exported, or the country of origin doesn't export them due to x y z reasons. Alternatively, a lot of species have come in in the past (T. deremensis, T. montium, Rhampholeon spp., and more) but few people really bothered establishing them so once imports stopped from that country (Tanzania being a famous example) there were almost none left in captivity, so the species stopped being represented in the hobby. But there's myriad reasons. There's a few success stories (F. lateralis for one) of new species being added to the mix of somewhat readily available species and becoming established. But it's a short list. Most folks go for the flashy panthers or big veileds but don't show much interest in many of the other species. So they are not as well-represented as a result. I think if more people were aware of the beautiful diversity of chameleons that get overlooked, it would help this problem and we'd see more diversity of chameleons in the hobby as well.

 

[scags]

Lots of the species not available never got CITES quotas (or got a quota of 0) so could never be exported, or the country of origin doesn't export them due to x y z reasons. Alternatively, a lot of species have come in in the past (T. deremensis, T. montium, Rhampholeon spp., and more) but few people really bothered establishing them so once imports stopped from that country (Tanzania being a famous example) there were almost none left in captivity, so the species stopped being represented in the hobby. But there's myriad reasons. There's a few success stories (F. lateralis for one) of new species being added to the mix of somewhat readily available species and becoming established. But it's a short list. Most folks go for the flashy panthers or big veileds but don't show much interest in many of the other species. So they are not as well-represented as a result. I think if more people were aware of the beautiful diversity of chameleons that get overlooked, it would help this problem and we'd see more diversity of chameleons in the hobby as well.

Great reply. Thank you. You make some good points. It’s one of the reasons my brother and I are attempting to establish a small captive breeding population of oustaleti. Hardly anyone ever seems to breed them in captivity. It seems like almost all the available oustaleti that pop up from time to time are wild caught.

I really wish more people knew the diversity that chameleons have. Undoubtedly some of the most beautiful species are rarely bred in captivity.