Chameleon Species Photographs & Highlights

Trioceros Pfefferi - Pfeffer's Chameleon - Canvas Chameleons - Female (1) w.jpg
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The next species on our journey is the Werner's Chameleon, Trioceros werneri. This incredible species is endemic to the forests of the Udzungwa, Uluguru, Ukaguru, Nguru and Rubeho Mountains in Tanzania’s Eastern Arc Mountain Range. Males exhibit three horns where the females possess a single horn extending from their snout. Both male and females have fused occipital lobe that are typically displayed when in an aggressive or defensive state.

This pair was born in captivity (females are ovoviviparous) by our good friend Carl Cattau in September of 2014 and we had the honor of picking out these two just a few weeks after being born. It has been our goal ever since to breed this pair and produce F2 offspring but to date no breeding activity has occurred. Hopefully after another winter season the female will be receptive and ready for matting in the spring.

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The Werner looks just like mossy tree bark.
 
Most of the chameleons species we see in the hobby are from the island of Madagascar so we are taking a short break from some of the mainland chameleons to highlight some species of Madagascar.

Today we have the small but intense Furcifer willsii, also known commonly as the Canopy Chameleon. The F. willsii is small Furcifer species very similar to the F. petteri. For those who are familiar with the Carpet Chameleon these guys are only about half the size of a Carpet but don’t let their miniature stature fool you as both the males and females can really display some intense coloration and attitude.

As previously stated, the F. willsii is endemic to Madagascar. It resides in the north, central and central northeast regions of the island. They are an arboreal species often found high in the canopy mostly in humid forests. It is believed that the population of the F. willsii is declining. However, it is still considered of least concern by IUCN as there just isn’t enough evidence at this time to reclassify them as threatened or even endangered.

F. willsii is a CITES appendix II species along with most of the other chameleons species. Large numbers where exported from Madagascar before 1993 prior to the Madagascar ban. Until recently, this ban which has since been lifted prevented any more from being exported so to date only a very limited number of animals have come into the US.

Both males and females at rest contain mostly a lime green coloration. When in an elevated state, the females become extremely impressive and there greens darken to black coloration with bright yellow highlights.

First up are the males, we hope you enjoy!

Furcifer Willsii - Canopy Chameleon - Canvas Chameleons - Male (1) w.jpg
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We have a new species highlight today joining us all the way from Mozambique, Africa. The extremely beautiful yet extremely underrated Flap-necked chameleon, Chamaeleo dilepis. This particular pair displaying the blue neck flaps comes from Mozambique but C. dilepis is widely distributed throughout southern and eastern Africa. They have been found as far west as Cameroon, east to Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Uganda, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo, and all the way south to Botswana, Namibia, Malawi, Mozambique and South Africa!

Chamaeleo dilepis is an Appendix II of CITES and is given on average a quota of 12,000 per year. From 1977 to 2011 a total of 111,734 animals were exported from across the native ranges for this species. Despite the enormous amount of animals exported, the captive born populations of them in the hobby is virtually nonexistent. This could be due to many different contributing factors but one of the main downfalls to their success is the general lack of market demand for this species.

Until witnessing the pure beauty of the C. dilepis first hand, we too placed them with the typical stereotype of being a common and not very fascinating species to keep. Boy were we wrong and I hope that after seeing the photographs of these chameleons others too will have an a-ha moment and gain a new appreciation and respect for the Flap-necked chameleons as we did.

As one can see from the photographs, the females generally possess a solid vibrant green coloration across their entire body. However, once they are agitated the underlying black spots and dark green baring starts to appear. Although not photographed, they also have the ability to raise their occipital lobes (neck flaps) in order to appear larger and display more aggression.

The male’s physical characteristics are similar to that of the females but as seen with this particular male, he has the ability to display an amazing yellow throughout his body, highlighted with black spots and of course accented by his blue occipital lobes. After seeing the hidden beauty in this species, the Flap-necked chameleon will always be one of the top most inspiring animals that we had the honor to photograph.

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OH NICK! You made my day! I grinned through the entire reading of your post. What gorgeous animals you had!

My very first Cham was a dilepsis named "Mugsy " (y)

Unfortunately, it was WC.:( I was inexperienced and he died within a month from stress and who knows what else.

I searched for months for a CB, but finally gave up.

I thought it the most beautiful creature!

Thank you for sharing all your animals with those of us that dream of having all those different species!
 
OH NICK! You made my day! I grinned through the entire reading of your post. What gorgeous animals you had!

My very first Cham was a dilepsis named "Mugsy " (y)

Unfortunately, it was WC.:( I was inexperienced and he died within a month from stress and who knows what else.

I searched for months for a CB, but finally gave up.

I thought it the most beautiful creature!

Thank you for sharing all your animals with those of us that dream of having all those different species!

You are very welcome!!!!

I'm sorry to hear about your first experience with them. Maybe in the future you will be able to find some CB and you can enjoy keeping one again! They are an incredible species.
 
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