Flapneck, Graceful, Senegal

[Hakai]

So I'm lightly considering getting one of the 3 and I just wanted to hear from some more experienced members who have kept some of these. Which ones tend to be more cool/pretty/colorful? Have you had any success housing more than one in the same enclosure? Are any of them easier to care for in any way? Are any of them more friendly (tolerate being handled)? Finally, based off of your experiences, which do you prefer in general? Just so you guys know I've already checked out the care sheet on the forum and am comfortable with the husbandry requirements. Thanks!

 

[kplatvoet]

I'm not experienced but I do have a flapneck. They and the other little green guys are my favorite chameleons but after reading about the trials of people who have gotten wild caught I didn't think I was ready for the challenge - I found a flapneck from FLChams that was captive born- I bought a male but I may have gotten a female - and I've only had her a month but I'm in love - she's mostly just green unless she's hunting or when I take her out - she's been calming down so she hasn't gotten her spots on lately - I also haven't had any blue bottles hatch in a week - she loves them -
I play hide and seek every day when I come home from work and want to check on her - she wins- sometimes she hides right in front of my face -
but she's been very active she always seems like she's up to something important day time. I've only had the one unless you count the little green chameleon I had 40 years ago so I think part of it is me re living my childhood - but I'm very happy - I haven't had any health problems with her yet - and as I said she's captive born which most likely makes a difference and I waited till I could find a captive born - I had just gotten my panther when I saw captive bred graceful chameleons in the classified here last summer - but captive bred are few and far between-

 

[jannb]

I have a Graceful named Tate. He will be a year old next month. He is the sweetest baby but I believe that is due to the breeder and her three daughters being hands on with the babies. I believe she has a few of Tate's siblings left. I do not recommend buying a wild caught. You can see Tate here:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/members/jannb-albums-tate-my-sweet-little-boy.html
The breeder: https://www.chameleonforums.com/members/terrylund/

 

[Hakai]

thanks for the replies jann and kplatvoet! More feedback still appreciated from anyone else, whether you've had one or more of these guys. Thanks!

~Ben

 

[fluxlizard]

I've bred dilepis.

Main bit of advice I can think of is that buying any of those 3 species wild caught is like rolling the dice- you never know what you are going to get. Some groups come in healthy, some come in on death's door.

 

[little leaf]

I have had both the Graceful, and Senegal , both were wild cauget, both came in as rescues - even as sick as they were- there was something about the sweet, trusting nature of them, even being wild caught - they livd less than 3 mos- I already know, it is a cham ( when I can find a breeder ) I will love to have again -

 

[Trace]

I’ll echo what others have said here; there is a marked difference between a wild caught and a captive hatched or bred chameleon. The price may be appealing for the wild caughts, but you can spend a lot of money and time nursing one back to health and getting it established in captivity. If this is your first chameleon or close to, definitely look for a captive animal and if you are not sure about a particular specimen, don’t hesitate to ask our opinion first.

I’ve kept both the Senegals and Flapnecks and both are fairly similar in temperament and size. In my experience, the Senegals are a little calmer and sedate while the Flaps are bit a more outgoing although not greatly so. Any of the three species are not going to be gregarious like a Panther by any means but aren’t timid and shy either. At some point I would like to work with all three at the same time just to see the subtle differences in behaviour between them all.