Calumma hilleniusi?
- Thread starter adamkwas
- Start date
Chris Anderson
Dr. House of Chameleons
This video is from an Asian petstore. There is a very active trade in chameleon species that are illegal to export from Madagascar in Japan in particular. Most of these animals are illegal in origin.
You are correct, those are K. uthmoelleri.
Spoken from someone who has probably never tried it and obviously has no idea how well they actually work to keep smaller species in.
Chris
chameleonman57
New Member
Those were some amazing chams.
Chris Anderson
Dr. House of Chameleons
There is another video that the youtube user has posted with K. uthmoelleri. The two animals in the video linked in the first post of this thread are both C. hilleniusi.
Chris
Chris Anderson
Dr. House of Chameleons
Assumptions, assumptions, assumptions...Having actually worked with K. uthmoelleri and having actually kept numerous chameleons in exo-terra glass terrariums, I can tell you that you'd be wrong. It is well documented that K. uthmoelleri are a very passive species that can be kept in groups of up to 2.5 (Necas & Nagy, 2009) by experienced keepers who know how to determine if these animals are cohabitating well. Further, while you have to adjust your husbandry somewhat when switching from screened enclosures to glass terrariums, the Europeans have been using this type of cage successfully for decades and I've had very good success keeping smaller chameleon species in them as well. These are not aquariums with stagnant air. The venting design below the doors in the front creates a chimney effect with air being replaced throughout the enclosure. You have to mist less often and less each time but the humidity is maintained better and the chameleons do very well in them.
Chris
AJA
Established Member
Chris, here is where I get confused.
It is illegal to import these guys from Madagascar to the US correct? However, is it illegal to import them from Japan?
Reading the book The Lizard King, I got the impression this was a loop hole in the importation process of reptiles.
Or are you saying they are illegal period to be within US boarders?
Thanks.
Chris Anderson
Dr. House of Chameleons
I've not read the book you are talking about so I can't comment on what the loophole they are talking about is. What I can tell you is that in late 1994 CITES made a recommendation that all export of chameleons (except Brookesia and 4 Furcifer species) from Madagascar be halted. CITES party countries are subject to this recommendation and since 1995, it has been illegal to export those species. That does not mean that illegal exportation does not occur nor does it mean that once those illegally exported animals are in another country they are legal. In order to obtain CITES documents from other countries where those species do not occur, you typically have to provide copies of the original CITES documents the WC animals left Madagascar under or document that they are captive bred and often, from legal parents. Not all countries are as strict about these regulations as they should be, however, and in the absence of CITES documents linked to individual animals via microchip, it is easy to use legal documents from legal animals, even if the actual animals in question are not technically legal themselves.
Chris
As Chris mentioned, it is indeed possible to house Uthmoelleri in Exo Terra or other glass enclosures provided there is similar ventilation and you can recognize problematic signs. I've done so in the past with no problems (only a pair, though the shop's enclosure looks larger). The only reason I moved them into screens was because I received a pair of R. Acuminatus and the screen cages were far too large for them.
