Intro:
Not many folks on the forum own Senegals, and as a first time owner, I have found this breed to be a very entertaining and peculiar breed of chameleon. My chameleon, Peppers, is a one year old Senegal that I have had the pleasure of caring for for the past five months (As of 10/2010). I bought him from an interesting crew of reptile breeder/sellers at a pet expo last summer.
With the time that I spend with Peppers, I hope to not only learn a lot about the breed, but be able to give a little insight into the breed and show that these amazing little guys are not the frail wimpy chameleon that many people believe them to be.
Basics:
Senegal Chameleon - Chamaeleo Senegalensis
Size - Small - ~6-8" Adult (Front of head to tip of tail)
Longitude - N14°-N13° (South Senegal, Africa)
Temperature -70°-100°* (*max temp might be higher)
Humidity - 35-100 (best - 50-100)
Diet:
I have found that Senegals will eat just about anything. This can be dangerous since some bugs are poisonous. On the bright side they avoid brightly colored bugs and larger bees (Peppers has gone after a sweat bees).
He will also not eat lightning bugs, which is good on account of their toxicity. The will not eat bugs that have defensive odors/tastes.
Feed them: roughly 2-3 smaller insects a day, excluding one or two days out of the week. A fatty insect like a mealworm isn't bad to give once or twice a week as well.
As with all chameleons, dust food items with just calcium every day except for twice a month when Calcium with D3 and Vitamin dust is used in place.
Care:
Senegals seem to be pretty easy to care for. The basic guide lines of chameleon husbandry is about all that needs to be taken into consideration when dealing with a Senegal.
A few things I have found Peppers to like:
Personality:
Temperament: Very low, friendly even; I have never been hissed at or bit, and peppers rarely refuses to climb onto my hand.
I have read where some people think that chameleons have no personality, I beg to differ. Peppers is very inquisitive, and will lock onto odd objects and refuse to change course until checking that item out. He loves exploring and shows it when he has been in his cage for a few days on end without doing so.
He loves to greet me at the front of the cage during feeding time and usually crawls out onto my hand afterwards.
Most people who have had the privilege to husband a Senegal say that they bond very quickly. They seem to be very trusting once they bond as well. My fiancee doesn't feed Peppers, but she comes over to see him from time to time and Peppers bonded with her very quickly. Needles to say, they are very visual and can pick out one person to another. When a stranger or less known person comes by, he usually either hides, stays very still, or climbs only onto my hand very cautiously.
Coloration v. Mood:
I have found these colorations to be fairly accurate. Some have multiple meanings.
Schedule:
This is the basic, daily schedule that I follow for peppers, it has seemed to work very well so far, and since starting it, peppers has shown much less dark colors when in his cage.
-8:00 (AM) Automated light turns on
-8:30 Check tepm and humidity (make adjustments if necessary)
-12:00 (PM) Hand mist and fill dripper, turn on humidifier
-2:00 Feeding time*, mist, fill dripper
-4:00 Mist, Dripper, and Turn off humidifier if humidity is good (if not allow for 1-2 more hours)
-8:30 Lights off
*Food items are dusted with rep cal no D3 or Phosphorous except for two days out of the month where I dust kind of heavily with Calcium+ D3 and Vitamin mixed.
Note: I use a space heater that constantly keeps the room at about 81°. I turn it down at night in warmer months as the cooler months tend to drop the room temp to about 75° naturally. The only time I turn it off is when I have on the humidifier due to the electricity draw it has and that that draw interferes with the humidifier. I would recommend a oil-filled radiator for artificial heat if you need it since it does not interfere with the humidity in the room and supposedly uses less electricity. A container of water can be placed on top of either to allow for added humidity from evaporation.
Conclusion:
Senegal Chameleons, although a more drab breed, are quite the characters. They have wonderful personalities with basically no temper, they do not require extensive amounts of care, and with the combined fact that they are a fairly cheap breed, make them a wonderful first time chameleon or addition to a collection.
I am assuming, probably due to size and lack of extreme colors (minus breeding and gravid) that they do not sell well with professional husbanders or breeders.
I feel Peppers has made a very good beginner chameleon so far and hope to be so for many years.
When purchasing a Senegal I believe most people don't read into the care that is required and just hope for the best. That is why I imagine especially Senegals ,being fairly cheap, (as well as most chameleon breeds) are thought of as fragile. A cheap lizard translates to a family pet to a lot of people, and unfortunately, that's not what chameleons are about. I recommend doing your research before buying any chameleon and being prepared for them before they even get to your possession.
I hope this information has been very informative. I plan to update and improve on what I have written from time to time.
Please feel free to leave comments if you feel I have left something out, would like me to do some detailed research on a specific area, disagree with my findings, or any other comments for that matter. Thanks!
Some information (mostly coloration) has been confirmed or influenced by: Kristina Francis, "The Senegal Chameleon", but all information is through my experience. Its also a very good article on the Chamaeleo Senegalensis. I would recommend checking it out if you are interested in investing in a Senegal.
I would ask that anyone reading this information to take it with a grain of salt. I have not had extensive experience with Chameleons, and only about 3 years of reptile experience before this with WC Anoles and a Five-Lined Skink held at the same time. I also ask that none of this information be reproduced without at least informing me of its use.
Thank you
Not many folks on the forum own Senegals, and as a first time owner, I have found this breed to be a very entertaining and peculiar breed of chameleon. My chameleon, Peppers, is a one year old Senegal that I have had the pleasure of caring for for the past five months (As of 10/2010). I bought him from an interesting crew of reptile breeder/sellers at a pet expo last summer.
With the time that I spend with Peppers, I hope to not only learn a lot about the breed, but be able to give a little insight into the breed and show that these amazing little guys are not the frail wimpy chameleon that many people believe them to be.
Basics:
Senegal Chameleon - Chamaeleo Senegalensis
Size - Small - ~6-8" Adult (Front of head to tip of tail)
Longitude - N14°-N13° (South Senegal, Africa)
Temperature -70°-100°* (*max temp might be higher)
Humidity - 35-100 (best - 50-100)
Diet:
I have found that Senegals will eat just about anything. This can be dangerous since some bugs are poisonous. On the bright side they avoid brightly colored bugs and larger bees (Peppers has gone after a sweat bees).
He will also not eat lightning bugs, which is good on account of their toxicity. The will not eat bugs that have defensive odors/tastes.
Feed them: roughly 2-3 smaller insects a day, excluding one or two days out of the week. A fatty insect like a mealworm isn't bad to give once or twice a week as well.
As with all chameleons, dust food items with just calcium every day except for twice a month when Calcium with D3 and Vitamin dust is used in place.
Care:
Senegals seem to be pretty easy to care for. The basic guide lines of chameleon husbandry is about all that needs to be taken into consideration when dealing with a Senegal.
- Keep a moderate care daily regiment to lower stress. Plus or minus an hour or so from a designated time doesn't seem to affect anything (feeding time at 1:00 instead of the normal 2:00).
- Feed regularly without over feeding.
- Water regularly, especially when humidity is low (might be the most important rule to follow)
- Make sure to allow for a high spot with good coverage in chameleon enclosure. Adding a basking spot at this point is also a nice touch.
A few things I have found Peppers to like:
- I have found that peppers will show very dull and dark colors (depressed coloration) if not allowed to explore from time to time. Allow for at least one day out of the week where your Senegal can free roam or explore an uncommon location. Also moving items around in his cage will result in these negative colors.
- When misting and filling my dripper, Peppers is a much bigger fan of very warm water instead of lukewarm to cold.
- When on an outside adventure place them in an area with heavy coverage or deep grass (2"+)ALWAYS SUPERVISE YOUR CHAMELEON WHEN OUTSIDE! (If you want to take pictures of your Senegal, here would be a good time. They usually show some very nice colors and patterns when roaming in coverage.)
Personality:
Temperament: Very low, friendly even; I have never been hissed at or bit, and peppers rarely refuses to climb onto my hand.
I have read where some people think that chameleons have no personality, I beg to differ. Peppers is very inquisitive, and will lock onto odd objects and refuse to change course until checking that item out. He loves exploring and shows it when he has been in his cage for a few days on end without doing so.
He loves to greet me at the front of the cage during feeding time and usually crawls out onto my hand afterwards.
Most people who have had the privilege to husband a Senegal say that they bond very quickly. They seem to be very trusting once they bond as well. My fiancee doesn't feed Peppers, but she comes over to see him from time to time and Peppers bonded with her very quickly. Needles to say, they are very visual and can pick out one person to another. When a stranger or less known person comes by, he usually either hides, stays very still, or climbs only onto my hand very cautiously.
Coloration v. Mood:
I have found these colorations to be fairly accurate. Some have multiple meanings.
- Lime green white or purple lateral line - roosting
- Kelly green with yellow or white lateral line, forest green chevrons and spots - Hunting/ Traveling/ Basking once warm (Cool down)
- Dark brown white or pale purple lateral line usually accompanied with some spotting or slightly visible darker brown chevrons and white dorsal and underbelly crest - Basking (usually turned to side and flattened out for surface area)
- Dark green purple'ish, black lateral line - Distress/ Depressed (seen in cage from time to time)
- Lime Green with hunter green spots and white lateral line, sometimes two medium yellow spots - Content / Low Stress
- Pale Green - Cold / Moderate stress
- Very Dark Brown with purple to almost black lateral line - High Stress
- Lime green with blue chevrons - Content / Basking (In pepper's case the blue is very faint)
Schedule:
This is the basic, daily schedule that I follow for peppers, it has seemed to work very well so far, and since starting it, peppers has shown much less dark colors when in his cage.
-8:00 (AM) Automated light turns on
-8:30 Check tepm and humidity (make adjustments if necessary)
-12:00 (PM) Hand mist and fill dripper, turn on humidifier
-2:00 Feeding time*, mist, fill dripper
-4:00 Mist, Dripper, and Turn off humidifier if humidity is good (if not allow for 1-2 more hours)
-8:30 Lights off
*Food items are dusted with rep cal no D3 or Phosphorous except for two days out of the month where I dust kind of heavily with Calcium+ D3 and Vitamin mixed.
Note: I use a space heater that constantly keeps the room at about 81°. I turn it down at night in warmer months as the cooler months tend to drop the room temp to about 75° naturally. The only time I turn it off is when I have on the humidifier due to the electricity draw it has and that that draw interferes with the humidifier. I would recommend a oil-filled radiator for artificial heat if you need it since it does not interfere with the humidity in the room and supposedly uses less electricity. A container of water can be placed on top of either to allow for added humidity from evaporation.
Conclusion:
Senegal Chameleons, although a more drab breed, are quite the characters. They have wonderful personalities with basically no temper, they do not require extensive amounts of care, and with the combined fact that they are a fairly cheap breed, make them a wonderful first time chameleon or addition to a collection.
I am assuming, probably due to size and lack of extreme colors (minus breeding and gravid) that they do not sell well with professional husbanders or breeders.
I feel Peppers has made a very good beginner chameleon so far and hope to be so for many years.
When purchasing a Senegal I believe most people don't read into the care that is required and just hope for the best. That is why I imagine especially Senegals ,being fairly cheap, (as well as most chameleon breeds) are thought of as fragile. A cheap lizard translates to a family pet to a lot of people, and unfortunately, that's not what chameleons are about. I recommend doing your research before buying any chameleon and being prepared for them before they even get to your possession.
-------
I hope this information has been very informative. I plan to update and improve on what I have written from time to time.
Please feel free to leave comments if you feel I have left something out, would like me to do some detailed research on a specific area, disagree with my findings, or any other comments for that matter. Thanks!
Some information (mostly coloration) has been confirmed or influenced by: Kristina Francis, "The Senegal Chameleon", but all information is through my experience. Its also a very good article on the Chamaeleo Senegalensis. I would recommend checking it out if you are interested in investing in a Senegal.
I would ask that anyone reading this information to take it with a grain of salt. I have not had extensive experience with Chameleons, and only about 3 years of reptile experience before this with WC Anoles and a Five-Lined Skink held at the same time. I also ask that none of this information be reproduced without at least informing me of its use.
Thank you
