Brookesia vadoni

[markpulawski]

Chris I was wondering if you would weigh in on the current status of Brookesia vadoni, this has been my favorite species of Chameleon since I saw my first picture. Being a dart frog guy with a couple of large dart terrariums I always assume these would do really well in that type of enclosure. There is not a lot of info out there on them and one can only assume like most of these species habitat destruction is their greatest threat.
I directed this to Chris to get the current scientific perspective however if any of you in Europe have seen a few of these trickle in I would love to hear how they have done, thanks.
These would be a perfect species for a farm raising program, much like the large Oophaga of Colombia I can only imagine the perpetual wait list for them.

 

[Chris Anderson]

Brookesia vadoni is listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN Red List. It has a very fragmented distribution, although it does occur in a number of reserves. Currently this species is not given an export quota by the Malagasy CITES Management Authority, so they can not be exported for the trade. Madagascar has given limited quotas to other chameleon species classified as Vulnerable, but its not clear if they will for this species in the future or not. Given its range and the current pressures on this habitat for rosewood, etc., they may not want to add another pressure on this species and its habitat by encouraging trade.

Chris