pygmy chameleon????

Hello chameleon experts. I recently purchased a chameleon that was simply labeled "Pygmy Chameleon". No one in the store could or would elaborate as to which species it was or specific care to take. It is unlike any pygmy chameleon I have owned or seen in pics. I have attached a picture. This chameleone is about 3-4 inches long and has a long prehensile tail (my last pygmy leaf chameleon had a very short tail.) I would really like to find out what species this is so I can determine proper care for it. I am also slightly skeptic to whether it is truly a pygmy species. If you have seen this gorgeous species before, please let me know.

Thank you very much,
Steve

here is another pic

here is another picture a little closer up.

thats a nice looking cham. i do not know what it is, sorry. if you dont mind me asking how much did you buy this for and where?

Hi Steve!

You are right, that isn't a true pygmy chameleon. If I had to hazard a guess it would be a Chameleo trioceros bitaeniatus or side striped chameleon. It looks to be a female, but if you can get me a better pic of the tail base I could tell you for sure.

The bitaeniatus are an awesome little species! Chock full of personality.

Nice score!
Trace

I just happened to stop at a pet store on my way home from my son's wrestling tournament. It was about an hour north of Ann Arbor Michigan off of I-23. I don't remember the name, sorry. It was actually more of a supply store, but they had a 4 foot alligator on display as well. He/she was $40.00 and was the only one. However, the lady said they were ordering more from their supplier. If you are really interested in more specifics, let me know and I will access my credit card statement to get you the name of the store. thanks for the reply

I have also been looking at a lot of pics online and haven't seen any that resemble mine. The side striped don't really look like mine in pattern. The only one I found that had a similar pattern was a jeweled chameleon, but the pics I saw of this species seemed to have more green coloration. I haven't seen mine turn green yet so that makes me think that's probably not it either. The desert side striped seems roughly similar, but still not right on. If anyone else thinks they know what this is, please respond. Thank you everyone for your help and posts.

That thar be no pygmy.. And no carpet..

I personally think it looks like Chamaeleo trioceros rudis

-Brad

Here's a picture.

-Brad

That sure looks like the one. And, they are a smaller species, which may be why the store referred to it as a Pygmy (though certainly not nearly as small as a pygmy cham)?

Brad R: I'm not sure where you got that pic but that is not a Chameleo trioceros rudis. What you have pictured is a Chameleo trioceros bitaeniatus.

Here are a few of my WC and CBB bitaeniatus for comparison: Please note the colours and patterns... they are similar to the ones Steve originally posted as well. His specimen is sporting very stressed colours/patterns.







Cheers!
Trace

Trace,

I've been meaning to get your opinion on this female bitaen. She lived with a male for a week and now gets these darker patterns that she didn't have before. I took this pic right before lights out so she's a little more relaxed and had less of the pattern, but it's still much more defined than before. I'm guessing she is now gravid, much like Steve's wild caught probably is. What do you think?

Trace said:

Brad R: I'm not sure where you got that pic but that is not a Chameleo trioceros rudis. What you have pictured is a Chameleo trioceros bitaeniatus.

Here are a few of my WC and CBB bitaeniatus for comparison: Please note the colours and patterns... they are similar to the ones Steve originally posted as well. His specimen is sporting very stressed colours/patterns.

Cheers!
Trace

Click to expand...

That looks like the one he posted.

Trace,

See what Happens when I try to ID a species outside of the realm of my "expertise" (veiled chameleon ... [I can ID those] ).
I have to tell you, I did not think that looked like a rudis either (I've seen them ... in pictures ... for sale...) but I found this picture with that ID at this site:

http://markmlucas.com/Galleries/Chameleons Gallery.html

What do I know?

-Brad

hairfarm67 said:

Trace,I've been meaning to get your opinion on this female bitaen. She lived with a male for a week and now gets these darker patterns that she didn't have before. I took this pic right before lights out so she's a little more relaxed and had less of the pattern, but it's still much more defined than before. I'm guessing she is now gravid, much like Steve's wild caught probably is. What do you think?

Click to expand...

Have you witnessed any matings? Does she seem overly aggressive towards your male? At this point I would say isn't gravid. Those look like slightly annoyed/stressed patterns to me. Because their intraspecific aggression is so low, combined with their natural shyness, I never witnessed mating with the specimens I worked with. I only knew it happened because the ladies were covered in "love scratches". (The same can be said the ellioti and goetzei too) After that point, the girls were very aggressive to the males and needed to be separated. Another interesting point that I've noted by working with all of the montanes that I have is that the females get "gravid heavy" almost immediately after mating even though they aren't going to give birth for, at least, another 6 months. (depending on species obviously)

Contrary to some published articles on the bitaeniatus stating they breed multiple times a year; I have not noted that in my collection. They seemed to cycle in the spring along with the rest of my posse and only have one litter annually.

Steve’s female looks gravid to me though… I’d like to see a better photo(s) of that specimen!

Brad R: Thanks for the link! I’ve never been to his website before and there's some neat pictures there. FWIW: he’s got the rudis and the bitaeniatus photos transposed. Oh! I’ve made misidentifications too! It happens to the best of us.

Cheers!
Trace

Linkin: Thanks for the valuable insight! Wow. FYI: You will learn I don't suffer fools gladly.

Trace said:

Have you witnessed any matings? Does she seem overly aggressive towards your male?

Click to expand...

Nope and nope. I'll put them back together and see what happens. She was getting darker patterns that covered the whole body when around the male.

Agreed, thanks for the link Brad. He did have some cool pics there. A few things had me scratching my head until I realized I was looking at a gallery, rather than the availability list that there was a link for right above all the pics.

thanks everyone

thanks everyone. I think that's the one. I was able to look up care instructions and get some info on this species. Is this a common species in the chameleon trade? Online it states in wikipedia that this is an endangered species in Africa. I'm curious as if it is common here in the pet industry due to breeding or if this is a species that shouldn't be in the pet trade at all. Let me know if you have any insight.

Thanks again guys,

never mind

Apparently I posted the previous reply before reading the new posts and pics. I also went to the website that he got the rudis picture from and it looked exactly like mine. I guess that website must have incorrect info. Thanks again for the help guys, you've been a great help.

this is definitely a desert side striped...i purchased 2 of these for my b.f. online last year