Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am looking for someone with first hand successful keeping and/or breeding experience with Brookesia sp.
I would like to know what set ups; heat, light, moisture, misting systems, ventilation, food, sex/individual animal ratios per cage, etc, that have worked for people.
I am trying to determine if I can successfully care for the little guys or not.
You knowledge is greatly appreciated
Thanks,
Jason

Jason,

Which species of Brookesia???
The care can differ for different kinds.
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At this point I am not sure which species. This is a confiscation situation and details are limited. What species have you kept? If anyone has had experience with any of the species let me know how it went/ is going. Thanks for your help.

Currently there are not too many Brookesia keepers in the US. These tiny chameleons are not long-lived, and there have been few that have come in with the import shipments in the past year or so.

There are by far more species of Rhampholeon coming in than the Brookesia.

Either way, these little guys can be tedious to keep. While the Brookesia come from Madagascar - and the Rhampholeons from everywhere else - the housing temperatures and humidity requirements differ respectively.

For both Brookesia and Rhampholeon:
You can keep small groups in 15-20 gal aquariums - but you must be careful not to have 2 mature males together.

Substrate requirements will differ with the sub-species, as would temperature ranges.

Food intake is much the same: very small crickets; termites; hydei fruit flies; etc.

Due to their size, it is not easy to treat them for parasites or other illnesses. Most vets would scratch their heads if you were to take them in for diagnosis.

There is a yahoo forum that is dedicated to these little guys - do a group search using the word Brookesia - you will find us. There are experienced keepers who post about care and problems (folks like Andrew Brinker(host); Chris Anderson; Trevor Dell; and many others). Once you identify which kind, you should be able to get much more detailed information.

Hope this helps,
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>>Currently there are not too many Brookesia keepers in the US. These tiny chameleons are not long-lived, and there have been few that have come in with the import shipments in the past year or so.
>>
>>There are by far more species of Rhampholeon coming in than the Brookesia.
>>
>>Either way, these little guys can be tedious to keep. While the Brookesia come from Madagascar - and the Rhampholeons from everywhere else - the housing temperatures and humidity requirements differ respectively.
>>
>>For both Brookesia and Rhampholeon:
>>You can keep small groups in 15-20 gal aquariums - but you must be careful not to have 2 mature males together.
>>
>>Substrate requirements will differ with the sub-species, as would temperature ranges.
>>
>>Food intake is much the same: very small crickets; termites; hydei fruit flies; etc.
>>
>>Due to their size, it is not easy to treat them for parasites or other illnesses. Most vets would scratch their heads if you were to take them in for diagnosis.
>>
>>There is a yahoo forum that is dedicated to these little guys - do a group search using the word Brookesia - you will find us. There are experienced keepers who post about care and problems (folks like Andrew Brinker(host); Chris Anderson; Trevor Dell; and many others). Once you identify which kind, you should be able to get much more detailed information.
>>
>>Hope this helps,
>>-----
>>

Over the years, I've kept a number of species: B. decaryi (1 1/2 years), B. ebenaui(4 years), B. perarmata( 3 1/2 years), B. stumpffi (3 years), B. superciliaris (1/2 year), and B. thieli (1 1/2 years). I've indicated how long I maintained individuals of each species. I maintained my animals in glass enclosures of various size depending on species and number of animals but other experienced keepers also keep them in screen. I had the best success when they were housed in a tank that measured 3' x 2' x 2 1/2' tall. In this enclosure, I was able to vary the density and size of plants. The entire cage was planted and covered with soil like a forest floor. I maintained a smallish open area with a couple branches going across in the front/middle of the cage (with the other plants going around this area) which I would only have been able to do in a tank this sized. In this area, i placed a shallow dish with standing water as I found that ofter (the B. perarmata in particular), they would go and soak in the water possibly absorbing some through the skin. I had UVB tube lights and a basking bulb on the edge of one side of this open area in the middle. The soil was covered with dried leaves. I found they liked larger pray items for their size as apposed to fruit flies (although I never worked with B. minima). Once in a while, I'd buy a mantid egg case from a garden shop and put it in one of these large enclosures and when it hatched, the animals loved it. These animals do require good ventilation which is why i liked this larger tank rather than the smaller ones as the area on the top (3'x2') was so large that it allowed for good ventilation. I personally found that I could have a lot of success if the animals were healthy from the start. I had a lot of trouble bringing sick and weak animals back to health and as a result, I tended not to buy Brookesia sight unseen and only buy animals I felt were in good condition. Hope that helps. Feel free to ask any other questions.
Chris
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Chris Anderson
parsonii_hoehnelii@hotmail.com
Chameleon Care and Information Center (CCIC) - http://www.geocities.com/ccicenter/
Chameleons Online E-zine - http://www.chameleonnews.com/

Chris,
I really appreciate you sharing your experienes. That is a great post and very helpful links. They definitely are a challenge.

I have kept a few Brookesia with mixed results. Several years ago, I got a pair( I think, its tough to sex these little creatures) of Brookesia perarmata and they survived for about 6-9 months. I've also had B. superciliaris that did not survive for half that time, and I was alot more informed of the species and the proper husbandry to keep them. As of this writing I have 1 B. decaryi that I have had for almost 2 years now and it seems to be thriving still. I had gotten 2 of them I thought a pair but they looked more like 2 females, the other one died on me just last month. I think that these guys just require so much more attention to their natural micro-climate than larger chameleons do. Having said that, if you can accomplish that you've just passed amjor obstacle in keeping them alive. Chris and Andrew have passed along information my way numerous times and they are life-savers. Also Craig Goldie is a good person to talk too about B. decaryi, I think he still has some.