Reptile Care Sheet: Chameleon
CHAMAELEO CALYPTRATUS (the veiled
or Yemen chameleon).
These animals
when found in the U.K. are mostly captive bred
and therefore do not suffer from the usual stress
and parasite problems associated with other wild
caught chameleons. Yemen chameleons make a good
first chameleon for the reptile enthusiast.
Description:
The males
grow to be approximately 20-25cm overall, and
the females to around 17cm.
The male
colouration is generally pale green with vertical
yellow bars. The female is normally green with
yellow blotches but often when approached by the
male will change to black with vivid yellow spots
in a threat display. Also both males and females
may react to their surroundings and mood with
colour changes.
Both sexes
develop a casque on top of the head, but it is
much larger in the male. The male also can be
identified by small spurs on his back feet. Maturity
is reached in six months, but full size in the
males is not reached until twelve months.
Housing:
A large
roomy, well ventilated cage is essential for these
animals. a vivarium of 100cm x 50cm x 75cm tall
with a wire mesh ventilation panel would be ideal.
Sand may be used as a substrate and sterile reptile
sand is available from most good pet shops, you
may also decorate the enclosure with branches
& plants such as figs or artificial plants.
These chameleons like to climb and hide among
the leaves of plants, so choose plants with large
evergreen leaves whenever possible.
UV lighting
must be provided in the form of "Reptisun
5.0 UVB" or "Activa" tubes, these
tubes provide UV and a bright light in one tube.
An overhead spotlight is also used to provide
a hot spot. All lighting if possible should be
situated above the mesh for safety or covered
by guards.
These animals require water regularly (at least
once daily) which can be provided using a dropper
or by spraying the foliage in the cage.
Daytime
temperatures should be in the range of 24°
- 28°C with normal hot spot techniques used.
If housed in a warm room no night-time heating
should be required but a heat mat may be used
to provide some background heat.
Feeding:
Hatchling
chameleons should be fed on small crickets, fruit
flies and any other available insects, dusted
with a vitamin/mineral supplement. Liberal dusting
of the food at every feed, especially during growth,
is essential to ensure good bone formation and
prevent the development of metabolic bone disorders.
It is important that they are not overfed, so
that the food is taken as soon as it is offered.
Crickets left to run loose in the cage will be
taken by the chameleons at leisure but will have
lost the initial effect of the dusting. Some greenstuffs
should also be offered. If regularly hand fed
they will learn to recognise their keeper(s) and
become very tame.
As the chameleons
grow, the size of the food items can be increased
until the adults are feeding on large crickets,
locusts, super giant mealworms. etc. still dusted
with the vitamin/mineral supplement, Wax worms
are also relished. A small amount of greenstuffs
should still be offered. It is advisable to also
offer chopped/crushed cuttlefish bone, this will
be taken readily by gravid females.
Breeding
Females
reach breeding size in about six months and become
quite fat when gravid. A large box (30cm x 25cm
x 20cm deep open at the top) filled with a mix
of damp sand and peat should be placed in the
cage, into which the female will burrow down several
inches and lay between 20 and 30 eggs, initially
(later clutches will be larger). When she has
completed laying and covering the eggs, the box
should be taken out of the cage and the eggs carefully
removed and placed in damp Vermiculite. These
should then be incubated for approximately six
months at a temperature of 28.5°C, ensuring
that they are not allowed to dry out. Subsequent
clutches of eggs will be laid at approximately
three to four month intervals.
Care
should be taken to ensure that a female who has
just laid is given plenty of water to drink to
avoid dehydration.
The following are just a few
of the Reptile Care Sheets we have available.
For the full list please contact
us.
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