Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I want to get one but I want to know first how to care for it and how complicated tthese animals are. I just can't seem to find any good source of caresheet for them.

-Thanks in advance you genius Chameleon people

People, I really need help here. Please don't ignore me.

Hi - you needed to give folks a chance to read your post and then answer

As to your question. You are right, there is minimal information on this species in part b/c they are relatively new to the trade. However, I can relay my personal opinion and experience as can a few others on this forum who have kept these lovely little creatures. My first thought, and I am sure most would agree, any of the leaf chameleon's are not recommended as a first cham. You would do better with a veiled or panther.

I got my trio of CB Rampholeon brevicaudatus from one of the most reputable breeders last May. They died, within a two week period, mid-July. As most on this forum who "know" me I am a good, sometimes obsessive, keeper. We have no idea what happened to my little ones. There is some speculation but that's all it is. Another forum member had similar results with both WC and CB brevi's.

Please heed this information carefully. Chameleons are wonderful, fun, quirky pets - they are also expensive (regardless of your initial layout) over the long term, you MUST have a herp vet near you to rely on, they are very high maintenance - you can't just thoro in some crickets, a bowl of water and go away for the weekend.

here are some general chameleon sites for you to check out. Look around on them and feel free to ask questions. A good cham keeper is an informed one. BTW, I did my research for my first cham for 4 months before getting my first - and this forum was indispensable to me!

ALL of these have info on breeding, husbandry, baby/nursery info, nutrition, species, feeders, health, vets and MUCH more:

Chameleon News
This is a top source of current information compiled and written by “tops in their field.”
www.chameleonnews.com/

AdCham
www.adcham.com/

Chameleon Paradise – a site by one of our forum posters. He has FAQ, do’ and don’ts, cage building
groups.msn.com/ChameleonParadise

Chameleon Journals – go to the FAQ page and read about health, eyes closed, how much to feed, etc.
www.chameleonjournals.com/

Reptayls – another site by a fellow KS poster
groups.msn.com/REPTAYLSChameleons

lele
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 green anoles Jaida & Jetta
0.1 brown anole - Jamaica
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta

Thank you for the infos. I have experience with veileds and I'm intrigued with these animals. I'm not just some impulsive buyer.

I didn't mean to imply that your were. When a "new" face (well, typed words - LOL!) show up on the forum with no background info we have to assume that person is inexperienced - for cham safety sake. Since you own chams you can understand that, I'm sure.

back to the brevi's...if you are interested I will make these suggestions:

* only buy cb
* only purchase form a reputable breeder with on going success of this species (the Kammers www.calumma.com/ and Reptayls - not sure if Morgana is selling these or not right now) there are others, I am sure but I bought from the Kammers and know Morgana from here.
* there is controversy about the need for UVB b/c of their natural environment (forest floor), but as we have all been reminded as of late on this forum UVB is controversial - regardless!
* over supplemenataion may be more of a problem in these guys (possibly what happened to mine)
* they are thought to be best kept in a glass tank, but a fellow forum member, Kristen (aka trinacliff), has been reading about some folks keeping them in screen - she will have to comment on that.
* I had 1.2 in a 29h tank. If you want pix of my set up, etc. email me and I will send some along
* they are adorable, sweet little creatures and I still miss mine I will at some point try them again.

Here is a link to a ChamNEws article on Brookesia, which have similar requirements to the Rhampholeon, and if you got to AdCham (I included in last post and look up the species profile it has some info.

There is a Yahoo forum for leaf chams but I don't readily have the link.

Hope this helps!

lele
Brookesia

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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 green anoles Jaida & Jetta
0.1 brown anole - Jamaica
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta

Actually, I've been here a couple of times but I guess you wouldn't recognize me because I'm often banned
Anyway, I think the reason why your's died is because of over supplementation, which is VERY bad for chameleons and common mistakes by owners AND since these species are new to the market, most of them have enormous amount of parasites. So:

Too much Parasites Wild caught suddenly becomming domesticated new environment = Big Load of Stress

* Remember, these animals came from the wild and are suppose to be very adaptable and hardy animals. They can live without eating for several days or even weeks in the wild so too much suppliments such as vitamins and mumbo-jumbo lights and too much readily available food is bad so:

Big load of stress too much pampering by owners too much readily available supplements and foods = The big "D"

where "D" = Death

Sorry, but I have to take issue with your "diagnosis" of what happened to my brevi's since you have no idea about any of the particulars. After speaking with 3 "experts" (truly experts)in the field and they could not be sure what happened and they did know all the particulars...also, had you read my post I said they were cb not wc.

Question: if you know all this why did you inquire in the first place? (not a shot but an observation)

Question 2: why were you banned?

lele

>>Actually, I've been here a couple of times but I guess you wouldn't recognize me because I'm often banned
>>Anyway, I think the reason why your's died is because of over supplementation, which is VERY bad for chameleons and common mistakes by owners AND since these species are new to the market, most of them have enormous amount of parasites. So:
>>
>>Too much Parasites Wild caught suddenly becomming domesticated new environment = Big Load of Stress
>>
>>* Remember, these animals came from the wild and are suppose to be very adaptable and hardy animals. They can live without eating for several days or even weeks in the wild so too much suppliments such as vitamins and mumbo-jumbo lights and too much readily available food is bad so:
>>
>>Big load of stress too much pampering by owners too much readily available supplements and foods = The big "D"
>>
>>where "D" = Death
-----
0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 green anoles Jaida & Jetta
0.1 brown anole - Jamaica
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta

I created this topic to get more infos. Besides, I feel more comfortable taking advices from an actual dedicated person who has experience with these animals.

For my being banned, a lot of reasons really but the last one was in the frog forum. They totaly misunderstood me and suddenly jumped into conclusions and attacked me so I had to do something. LOL!!! Some of them didn't dare showing up in the forum again after they read what I posted about them

Well, that's it. Thanks again LELE. So, Do you still have a pygmy? I'd love to hear more of your experiences with these animals. I just bought online a male pygmy that's been LTC and treated for parasites from a breeder. So if not the next, the following week, it should be arriving in my house so I'm gathering up as many info I can. I heard that it's better to keep them in a small enclosure than in a large one because it may post as a problem.

Yes, I have seen that others are keeping them successfully in screen cages, as well. I can't speak from experience about this issue as mine are still in a glass tank; however, I've had an enclosure built that has two screen sides and two glass sides, plus a screen top. I haven't had the time to get them set up in there yet, so I don't know how it's going to work. So far, my 1:1 pair are doing well.

Lele seems to have covered most of the other issues...thanks Lele! hehehe

Kristen
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1.1 pygmy leaf
1.1 carpet
1.0 jackson
0.0.3 red eared sliders