Breeding and enclosure for Verrucosus

Hey there,

I just received a phone call from someone who has an unrelated pair of Furcifer Verrucos from unknown subspecies. They are wild caught (WC), and tomorrow, i should be traveling 500km to see them (not purchase yet).

I post here because i would like some infos, tips and comments about my plan. So any infos or anything i should know about them would be appreciate. Feel free to post your suggestions too!

Also, i plan on building two enclosures that are 3'6'' wide, 2'2'' deep, and 4'6'' to 5' high. How does that sound?

I plan on putting as much green as there is in my Delko's enclosure (see my signature). The plants should basically be the same, ie Ficus Benjamina, Schefflera, Hoya Bella and/or Philodendron Scandens.

Now, if the enclosure looks fine, i would like to know if there is any real problem you see in having both enclosures close to my Delko's enclosure, which is not WC nor parasited. The closest point of the Verru's enclosure should be approximatively 4 feet away from the closest point of my Sambava, in diagonale. The problem is, if i don't do this, i don't know where i could put their enclosure for a month or two! The only option i could think of is the dining room, which is not the best idea at all because there is less natural light, and the dining room is next to the living room which means that me, my girlfriend and the cat move a lot. However, the moving would be at least 2 meters away from them (if not more). The cat shouldn't be a problem anyway because i will teach them how to not get close to the new enclosures with water, and it usually works wonder!


Another thing i was wondering is, how can i reproduce an environment that is close to their natural habitat?

Also, does the female need a laying bin that is different from other Pardalis?


I may have more questions later, since it's just a start!

morpheon said:

Also, i plan on building two enclosures that are 3'6'' wide, 2'2'' deep, and 4'6'' to 5' high. How does that sound?

Now, if the enclosure looks fine, i would like to know if there is any real problem you see in having both enclosures close to my Delko's enclosure, which is not WC nor parasited.

Another thing i was wondering is, how can i reproduce an environment that is close to their natural habitat?

Also, does the female need a laying bin that is different from other Pardalis?

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That should be a nice sized enclosure for each one.
If the cages have a visual barrier between them (if placed side by side) that should be fine. I don't think you have to worry about parasite transmission between cages as long as you remember to clean your cbb, parasite-free cham first, then clean the wc cages.

It might be interesting to put some thicker dry barked branches and succulent plant species in the verrucosus cages...something like jade plant, the Euphorbia "Crown of Thorns" (from Mada), or possibly snake plant Sanseviera (sp?). The problem might be that they won't get enough intense light to do very well.

Verrucosus are so underrated! Shy, but beautiful!

Those enclosures should be fine. My verrus are in the same room as some of my panthers but they are side by side with no visual contact (i.e. a barrier between them). My female is CBB but my male is WC. When I got him, I put him in a totally separate room in quarantine as I do all other WC's or new chams I've ever had.

You can do a search for other related verru topics. I know that both Chad (Tiki Tiki Reptiles) and I have both posted various threads (with pics) on them. Chad and Darci have growing babies and I just have eggs.

The couple i might get is reputated to not be that shy, which is a plus. My contact from that petstore brought them at his petstore a few days ago and they are already eating from his hand, which is amazing for a Verrucosus that just changed from environment.

Of course there will be a visual barrier between the couple, and for the Sambava and them, i think they COULD be able to see each other from far away, and also if Delko (or another chameleon) is free ranging. I think i'll post a picture to show you what i have in mind. However, the female should be isolated enough to never see either male, and only the verrucosus male could see my Sambava male sometimes. The picture will help however.

About the plants you suggested, are they really easy to keep alive, because i have a few qualities, but taking care of plants is not one of them haha.

Chams1, i read all of them, twice! It's not like there was a lot of stuff about them anyway! However, i feel like i could get more infos!

morpheon said:

Chams1, i read all of them, twice! It's not like there was a lot of stuff about them anyway! However, i feel like i could get more infos!

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Agreed - there isn't too much out there on them, but I also agree that they are highly underrated. I love my verrus. My WC male is pretty shy and will lunge at you if you move too fast while doing anything in his cage (even feeding) but my CB female is pretty docile and acts just like a panther. As a matter of fact, the only other info I could tell you is I basically house and treat them just as I would a panther or veiled. That's pretty much it - no bells and whistles. Well, they can tolerate higher temps, but mine have done well just like my panthers.

Here is two pictures of the Delko's room:










The two new enclosures would be where the chair is, and also where the garbage bin is. This position would make the male's enclosure (the closest one to Delko's enclosure) 4 feet away from Delko's, and i suppose they could see each others from time to time. Could it be a problem?

Since it is not complicated enough, here is another variable that i just thought of: my free ranging area, which is, guess where? ABOVE all the enclosures (it's basically following the 4 walls, at almost 7 feet high.






Will there be any problem if Delko travels on his cords above the other enclosures? If so, i can easily remove the problematic cords and relocate them somewhere else. However, he could always be seen by the Verrucosus male.

Furthermore, when the Verrucosus will be deparasited/granted that they don't have any parasites, will it be a problem if i let the Verrucosus go on the same free ranging cords and plants than Delko. Of course, during that time Delko would be in his enclosure.

I have to agree with chams1 about quarantining them in a different room from Delko. Sometimes WC's or even CB's that have been in a store or at a reptile show where there are WC's can carry a virus...so quarantining them in another room makes it less likely that it will pass from one chameleon to the other. The virus can travel on "tools", clothes, etc. that you use too...so you should look after Delko first and then the new ones....and clean anything that you have to use in both rooms (misters, tweezers, etc.).

You will have to watch Delko and the new chameleons' reactions to each other if they can see Delko and vice versa. If there are signs that it upsets any of them you may have to make some changes...and its likely a good idea to have a barrier between the two verrus.

The female's laying bin can be the same as for a panther as long as its big enough to accomodate her size. (I don't know if she will be bigger than a female panther.)

Scan down below Senegals...
http://books.google.ca/books?id=8Wk...page&q="furcifer verrucosus" AND care&f=false

Then i suppose you prefer me to put the enclosures in the dining room Kiny? Even if it means less sunlight exposure and more movement in the rooms? However, one thing that makes me wonder is, if the quarantine procedure is well respected, is there any real risks of contamination by the airs? What i mean is, if i wash my hands, the instruments i use that are in touch with the Verrucosus, that i take care of Delko before the Verrus, can the air or closeness make the bacterias travel up to Delko??

Also, once the quarantine will be over, i suppose i will need to wash all the enclosures very well, no?


Of course, when i will move the enclosures in the same room, i will keep a very close eye on all the chameleons, to make sure that everything goes fine, which includes the possibility of having a few chameleons stressed out by another.

I don't know yet how large is the female, but i will keep you updated about it!

I am still wondering about the shared free range area. What do you think about letting multiple chameleons roam in the same free range area, at different times?

I don't know what to tell you...if there will be a cat in that room it might go after them...so you will have to decide about that.

Viruses can pass through the air, but you are limited in what you can do about it by the size of your home. At least there is no heat moving the air around right now...but air conditioning and open windows/doors will move the air. All yo can do is the best you can with what you have.

If any virus is gone from the chameleon after the quarantine then I don't think you would have to clean the cage out again. You could make sure that there are no feces in it though.

I think sharing the same free-range area is something I would risk once you have passed the quarantine and made sure there are no parasites. I'm not sure how much risk there would be then...if any.

I don't see the cat as a problem, since he will end up getting some water on him everytime he goes to spy on the Verrus, no matter where the Verrus will be! Trust me, he learns fast!

Ok, since the window is behind Delko's enclosure and pushing the Delko's air towards the Verrus, Delko would only be getting the air bouncing back from the back wall (opposed to the window). Then again, it's still a risk if bacterias can move in the air.

If you say that once the quarantine is over, i don't need to wash everything, does that mean that the parasites will be dead after a while? And yes, i'll make sure the feces are all gone! I better make sure everything is fine!

I'll also test the shared free range some day, and i'll adapt things depending on how the chameleons are all reacting!

The parasites should be dead...if you have them tested and treated. I assumed that during the time you are getting them deparisitized you would be keeping the cage clean so they won't re-infect themselves...so as long as the cage is cleaned again after they have been cleared of parasites it shouldn't need to be done again when you move them into Delko's room. (only like you do for Delko now).

Merci Lynda, i think that's all the questions i had!

However, if somebody else has different opinions or agrees with a previous poster, please, tell me! I think that a good opinion is always important to hear, even if it doesn't agree with other people. You can always contact me in private too, if you prefer!

I hope you will enjoy them when you get them and that they will do well for you!

They arent bought yet, even though the chances are pretty high that i buy them soon! Or at least ask them to keep them for me a few weeks! Thank you for your wishes, Kiny!

As long as they are in good shape, aren't you getting them??

Depends of the cost, depends if they can save them for me for a few days or weeks, depends of how well they are, and what my girlfriend thinks of them tomorrow! You know... women...!

Dont hit me!! *covers his head*

Sounds OK except for a cat in the same room. The saying that cats can never be tamed hence are not trust worthy around chameleons I think would hold true. If I understood you correctly the Verrucosus may be freaked out with a cat regularly around their cage. You can never have to big of a cage when working with the bigger species of chameleons.

I wouldn't put multiple species in a free range together unless you have a large free range area. (see my post....https://www.chameleonforums.com/free-range-rooms-all-partial-44867/).

As for quarantine, bear in mind that there are WC's that come in parasite-free. I'm not saying you don't have to quarantine them, but I have had WC's that are free of parasites. Thus, I generally don't treat them right away for parasites, yet give them time to acclimate and then test after a couple of days for parasites. But that's a whole other topic..... I'm just saying that it's possible, depending on how long these chams have been here, whether or not the person already gave them some de-parasitic, etc. This is something you will have to determine. I still quarantine all new chams (or any other reptile) just the same.

Motherlode Chameleon said:

Sounds OK except for a cat in the same room. The saying that cats can never be tamed hence are trust worthy around chameleons I think would hold true. If I understood you correctly the Verrucosus may be freaked out with a cat regularly around their cage. You can never have to big of a cage when working with the bigger species of chameleons.

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I agree. This is a species that is easily spooked and very shy. I believe they would get too stressed out by another animal being around.....especially one that can climb well and jump high. Even if the cat truly doesn't want anything to do with the chams, it would still stress them out.