Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ive had an oustalets for six months now i noticed alot of people are interested in this species but almost nothing is known and inquiries were often recieved with trepedation. My experience with spiny tail iguanas, a group that sets the bar as far as difficulty in keeping, left me less than intimidated by the lack of info on oustalets. Ive been keeping herps all my life and sometimes trial and error is all you got and is a viable option. Ive found oustalets prefer higher temps than other chams. Mine enjoys basking under a spot light at temps in the mid to high 90s with an ambient temp roughly 80. Night time temps are allowed to drop to low 70s. The theory is that oustalets are addapted to desert conditions, this in turn makes them VERY hardy and allows them to range into all but the wettest habitats of madagascar. Oustalets despise misting and rarely drink. Still i mist with warm water every 3 days in a portion of the tank. He tolerates this and will drink maybe once a week. Also my oustalet is prone to over eating and in turn regurgitation. I feed no more than he can eat at one time. He loves super worms. usually one or two a day is all he needs. Oustalets are the only species of cham none to eat fruit. This is likely because they inhabit drier climates and eat fruit for its moisture. Also it is reported that adult male oustalets are not territorial and can be housed together. I have not attempted this. Hope this helps.
Jason
GPZO

You said..."Ive had an oustalets for six months now"...so you have determined all of this from owning one oustalets chameleon?

I have an oustalets female right now and although she doesn't like the mist being sprayed on her she drinks almost every day....which is my experience with other oustalets that I've had in the past too.

ADCHAM says..."Initial reports (e.g., Davison, 1997) that oustaleti are "oblivious to dry atmosphere" (p.90) seem to have given many novices the impression that F. oustaleti is a "desert chameleon" with low hydration requirements. Nothing could be further from the truth. Even during the dry season, humidity is high (over 70%) in the coastal lowlands preferred by this species."

I have never had one regurgitate.

You said..."Oustalets are the only species of cham none to eat fruit"...not true...veiled chameleons eat fruit...and greens and veggies.

You said..."Also it is reported that adult male oustalets are not territorial and can be housed together"...I've never housed two males together so I can't say, but I would like to know where you get this from since most male chameleons won't tolerate another in their territory.

despite your modest criticisms my oustalets is thriving. He is the picture of health. To answer your question i dont remember were i read adult male oustalets can be housed together as i had diligently searched and found and read everything i could possibly find on this species, but the article went so far as to say oustalets are overtly social. Also you state that the coastal forest is 70% humidty but interior forests can be MUCH drier not to mention daily misting would equate to 100% humidity
thanks for posting
Jason

Actually, misting every day doesn't result in 100% humidity. So much depends on the relative humidity in the house or room and depending on where you live. I've kept many chams over many years and the montane species such as fischeri or deremensis really do need daily misting. I don't think I've ever reached 100% humidity in any cage under any misting regime. If your cham isn't drinking every day that's not necessarily unusual. A healthy hydrated established cham with good body fat reserves may not drink daily. My melleri often didn't.

I've traveled around Madagascar and there are many areas where Oustaleti does not exist in the wild. I wouldn't consider any cham a "desert" species except for the namaqua. Under the forest canopy in most cham habitats there is some daily humidity cycle from dew, fog, plant transpiration even in dry regions. A region may be dry, but the micro habitats where you'll actually find the cham will tend to be thickly brushed areas near riverbeds, lakes, or wetlands. A hygrometer reading will vary a lot depending on the exact spot you measure it.