Furcifer bifidus

[NorthernCham]

Does anyone know of any research done on this species? Know of any people that have kept them? Successful breeding anywhere in the world? I will be receiving a young pair next week and it may be a fools errand but I am willing to give it a shot. I just need all the information I can get. I know the basics, just looking for information such as life expectancy, incubation time frame, diapause information, etc. Pretty much any info that anyone has would be appreciated, even if in another language, translation is not an issue. Thank you to anyone who can provide even a tiny detail.

 

[ChameleonUES]

I had a friend a while back whom had these.
They are really similar to carpet chameleons, in terms of incubation, life expectancy, and so forth.

 

[Motherlode Chameleon]

Furcifer bifidus is a rare Eastern Forest Madagascar montane species that was seldom seen in the USA even before the 1995 ban. It is going to be neat to watch keepers work and keep this species as both males and females are beauties!! To give you some guidance these are some parameters to start you off.

1) I would keep the temperature range between 50F and 85F or 10C and 29.44C.

2) I would keep the humidity between 60% or above always.

3) I would be prepared to provide a yearly winter season or 2 to 4 month period that has temperature ranging between 50F and 75F or 10C and 23.88C. As this species is from Madagascars Eastern Forest and that area receives a seasonal winter.

4) I would provide an over sized enclosure for this species. If you are capable of building or have a custom enclosure built for you, build one that has both height and horizontal space.

5) I would have a large selection of food items available year round (Grasshoppers, Katydids, Moths, an assortment of Flies, Silkworms, smaller roach species Lobster Roaches (Nauphoeta cinerea), field plankton and crickets). I would arrange a mineral supplement schedule (Calcium, D3 and multivitamins) as well as gut load feeder insects with food that are rich in organic forms of minerals and nutrients.

6) I would provide a low wattage basking light for this species. Along with a lot of high UVA and UVB tube lights. I normally buy Zoomed 5.0 or 10.0 tubes.

7) Buy some nontoxic foliage preferably not ficus or schefflera. However if you buy plants from Lowes or other local mainstream sources they will suffice. I would create areas that has got dense foliage along with open areas.

8) Buy a misting system and have it go off 10-15 minutes 2-3 times a day.

9) I would keep the light on a tropical seasonal cycle that allows for 10 to 14 hours of sunlight depending on the season of year.

10) Make certain there are blinds or visual barriers to allow you chameleon to have his or her own private space and territory.

11) If your chameleon pair is thriving under these parameters then you can start to consider breeding.

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich

 

[NorthernCham]

This is a rare Eastern Forest Madagascar montane species that was seldom seen in the USA even before the 1995 ban. It is going to be neat to watch keepers work and keep this species as both males and females are beauties!! To give you some guidance these are some parameters to start you off.

1) I would keep the temperature range between 50F and 85F or 10C and 29.44C.

2) I would keep the humidity between 60% or above always.

3) I would be prepared to provide a yearly winter season or 2 to 4 month period that has temperature ranging between 50F and 75F or 10C and 23.88C. As this species is from Madagascars Eastern Forest and that area receives a seasonal winter.

4) I would provide an over sized enclosure for this species. If you are capable of building or have a custom enclosure built for you, build one that has both height and horizontal space.

5) I would have a large selection of food items available year round. (Grasshoppers, Katydids, Moths, an assortment of Flies, Silkworms, smaller roach species Lobster Roaches (Nauphoeta cinerea), field plankton and crickets).

6) I would provide a low wattage basking light for this species. Along with a lot of high UVA and UVB tube lights. I normally buy Zoomed 5.0 or 10.0 tubes.

7) Buy some nontoxic foliage preferably not ficus or schefflera. However if you buy plants from Lowes or other sources they will suffice. I would create areas that has got dense foliage along with open areas.

8) Buy a misting system and have it go off 10-15 minutes 2-3 times a day.

9) I would keep the light on a tropical seasonal cycle that allows for 10 to 14 hours of sunlight depending on the season of year.

10) Make certain there are blinds or visual barriers to allow you chameleon to have his or her own private space and territory.

11) If your chameleon pair is thriving under these parameters then you can start to consider breeding.

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich

Thank you Jeremy. I appreciate the info. I have already have the wintering period figured out, I have done some research on the eastern lowland rain forests that these guys are from and it looks like the drier winter months are from about May to September, with the wetter, warmer season being form November to March. My plan for the summer is outdoor housing. I was going to go with screen enclosures outside but I am not confident in the structural integrity of the cages. So I am going to build some decent outdoor wooden cages with PVC coated cloth wire, that way I get some additional variety in the feeder market. Temps should not be an issue as those are about the summer temps here, it does get into the 90's but I have a temp controlled room in the house should they need to come in. Misting will also not be an issue, I have a mist king and plan to attach at least a couple nozzles to each enclosure outdoors. Do you happen to have any info on their lifespan? Is it really as low as a carpet chameleons?

 

[Motherlode Chameleon]

Thank you Jeremy. I appreciate the info. I have already have the wintering period figured out, I have done some research on the eastern lowland rain forests that these guys are from and it looks like the drier winter months are from about May to September, with the wetter, warmer season being form November to March. My plan for the summer is outdoor housing. I was going to go with screen enclosures outside but I am not confident in the structural integrity of the cages. So I am going to build some decent outdoor wooden cages with PVC coated cloth wire, that way I get some additional variety in the feeder market. Temps should not be an issue as those are about the summer temps here, it does get into the 90's but I have a temp controlled room in the house should they need to come in. Misting will also not be an issue, I have a mist king and plan to attach at least a couple nozzles to each enclosure outdoors. Do you happen to have any info on their lifespan? Is it really as low as a carpet chameleons?

Great to hear/read! I am happy that you are on the path to thriving Furcifer bifidus in captivity. My best estimate for life span of Furcifer bifidus is between 5-12 years. However nobody to my knowledge has worked, kept or bred this species long term in captivity.

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich

 

[NorthernCham]

Great to hear/read! I am happy that you are on the path to thriving Furcifer bifidus in captivity. My best estimate for life span of Furcifer bifidus is between 5-12 years. However nobody to my knowledge has worked, kept or bred this species long term in captivity.

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich

Thank you for the information again Jeremy. How are the Willsi? What parameters are you keeping them at and what type of enclosure?

 

[Motherlode Chameleon]

Not a problem. I am keeping my Furcifer willsii in my montane chameleon greenhouse. She is doing great!

Who are you picking up the Furcifer bifidus from and have you got an enclosure yet?

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich

 

[NorthernCham]

They arrive tomorrow morning. I am getting them from Tommy Munoz. He has had them a while and they look insanely great. As far as the enclosure, I have decided to skip putting them outdoors. Too many unknown variables. I have some smaller reptibreeze enclosures I can use to put them outside for short periods of time if I want but I want to be in control of the temps, humidity and such. I just don't want to risk it. When it comes to the indoor enclosure, that will be a bit tougher to do a super large enclosure inside. I am thinking about going with 2 - 24x24x48 Reptibreezes. I already have them and they a very densely planted with a mist king hooked up, I just need to add a second or possibly third nozzle to each of them as they currently on have one. I will get that taken care of today. Do you only have the single female willsii? How are the eggs?

Here are some pics of the pair I will be receiving.

 

[Motherlode Chameleon]

Do you only have the single female willsii? How are the eggs?

Ninja

My Furcifer willsii program is progressing good.

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich

 

[NorthernCham]

Ninja

My Furcifer willsii program is progressing good.

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich

That sir is awesome. Good luck!

 

[Motherlode Chameleon]

That sir is awesome. Good luck!

Thanks much!

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich

 

[NorthernCham]

Well we have eggs. Pics to come shortly. She laid during shipping. Hopefully they are viable. Jeremy: any tips on incubation methods?

 

[NorthernCham]

Well the female that came in was pretty much dead. She laid her eggs in the box and I think her little heart gave out. Not a good day. The male on the other hand is absolutely beautiful and very healthy looking. Side note, the female did lay 12 eggs. Hopefully some of the people with willsii/petteri can chime in with some information on how they are incubating their eggs. Anything would be appreciated guys. Thanks.

 

[NHenn]

I'm sorry to hear about your female. This is very common with wild caughts of species like this that come in gravid and are not sold soon enough for someone to give them proper husbandry and a place to lay. I'm glad she was able to finally lay and hopefully she will be able to have her offspring survive as the eggs look to be in good shape.

As for incubation, I would model it off the Willsii as Petteri would be from a much warmer climate. Petteri are native to Joffreville which is northern Madagascar and living in close proximity of panther chameleons so their incubation temps for both summer and winter I would believe to be much warmer. I'm sure Jeremy can help with this as I know he has a clutch of willsii currently incubating.

As for age Jeremy, I have to disagree. I haven't see a small furcifer species live much past 3 years so I would be willing to bet the bifidus are no different and their life span is only 2-4 years under ideal conditions.

 

[NorthernCham]

I'm sorry to hear about your female. This is very common with wild caughts of species like this that come in gravid and are not sold soon enough for someone to give them proper husbandry and a place to lay. I'm glad she was able to finally lay and hopefully she will be able to have her offspring survive as the eggs look to be in good shape.

As for incubation, I would model it off the Willsii as Petteri would be from a much warmer climate. Petteri are native to Joffreville which is northern Madagascar and living in close proximity of panther chameleons so their incubation temps for both summer and winter I would believe to be much warmer. I'm sure Jeremy can help with this as I know he has a clutch of willsii currently incubating.

As for age Jeremy, I have to disagree. I haven't see a small furcifer species live much past 3 years so I would be willing to bet the bifidus are no different and their life span is only 2-4 years under ideal conditions.

Thanks Nick. I really appreciate the response. Hopefully people can chime in. I have the temp in the incubator currently sitting at 70 to be safe as it looks like this time of year in the eastern lowlands the average temp is about 66 degrees. As for age, he is not that small, he is about the size of a large K. Multi. But still have no idea on the age. Thanks again.

 

[NorthernCham]

Just curious. Do many Cham species start off the incubation cycle during a colder time? I mean it kind of makes sense, they would the hatch during the warmer months. But maybe this is a retained clutch.

 

[Motherlode Chameleon]

I'm sorry to hear about your female. This is very common with wild caughts of species like this that come in gravid and are not sold soon enough for someone to give them proper husbandry and a place to lay. I'm glad she was able to finally lay and hopefully she will be able to have her offspring survive as the eggs look to be in good shape.

As for incubation, I would model it off the Willsii as Petteri would be from a much warmer climate. Petteri are native to Joffreville which is northern Madagascar and living in close proximity of panther chameleons so their incubation temps for both summer and winter I would believe to be much warmer. I'm sure Jeremy can help with this as I know he has a clutch of willsii currently incubating.

As for age Jeremy, I have to disagree. I haven't see a small furcifer species live much past 3 years so I would be willing to bet the bifidus are no different and their life span is only 2-4 years under ideal conditions.

Furcifer bifidus is considerably larger than Furcifer petteri or Furcifer willsii. The age of these East Coast Chameleons is not well known either. There is a well known documented case (not for me to say) of a CIN member who had an adult wild caught male Furcifer willsii that lived 8 years outdoors in captivity. Meaning that chameleon was 8 years plus. Kent you can chime in if you want to confirm the Furcifer willsii or Nick pm me for more details. Meaning we may think the Eastern Forest Furcifer species a short live when actually they have got much longer life expectancies. I think Furcifer bifidus could easily live (especially being a larger species) 5-12 years based on that report from the CIN days.

Just curious. Do many Cham species start off the incubation cycle during a colder time? I mean it kind of makes sense, they would the hatch during the warmer months. But maybe this is a retained clutch.

To my knowledge they lay eggs just before the winter period. That way the females can recover a bit from gestation and laying eggs before going into the Madagascar winter/dry season. Then to my knowledge the babies hatch in the beginning of when the time of plenty comes around next summer/rainy season. However chameleons keepers in North America and Europe have to account that these chameleons become accustom to the Northern Hemisphere not the Southern Hemisphere and can change their behavior in captivity. Good luck with the eggs!

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich

 

[NorthernCham]

Thanks for the input everyone. I think I have settled on an incubation method and will report accordingly. Thank you.

 

[kameleons jvo]

I'm sorry to hear about your female. This is very common with wild caughts of species like this that come in gravid and are not sold soon enough for someone to give them proper husbandry and a place to lay. I'm glad she was able to finally lay and hopefully she will be able to have her offspring survive as the eggs look to be in good shape.

As for incubation, I would model it off the Willsii as Petteri would be from a much warmer climate. Petteri are native to Joffreville which is northern Madagascar and living in close proximity of panther chameleons so their incubation temps for both summer and winter I would believe to be much warmer. I'm sure Jeremy can help with this as I know he has a clutch of willsii currently incubating.

As for age Jeremy, I have to disagree. I haven't see a small furcifer species live much past 3 years so I would be willing to bet the bifidus are no different and their life span is only 2-4 years under ideal conditions.

I completly agree with Nick about the life span.
Furcifer Bifidus is close releated to othes small sized furcifer species like Minor,petteri and willsii.
I worked with all 3 species and females rarely get up to 4 years specialy after laying several clutches.
Males can get maybe 1 or 2 extra years but thats it.
Jeremy,12 years of age is only reached by the big slow growing Calumma species like Parsons and globifer.

 

[Motherlode Chameleon]

I completly agree with Nick about the life span.
Furcifer Bifidus is close releated to othes small sized furcifer species like Minor,petteri and willsii.
I worked with all 3 species and females rarely get up to 4 years specialy after laying several clutches.
Males can get maybe 1 or 2 extra years but thats it.
Jeremy,12 years of age is only reached by the big slow growing Calumma species like Parsons and globifer.

Jurgen

I would probably somewhat normally concur with you and Nick about this estimate of age for Furcifer willsii and Furcifer petteri. However there is a known case from a credible sources from the CIN in Southern California that Furcifer willsii males can live much longer, allegedly 8 years plus. With the new imports we are going to see if that is accurate.

However I think even without the standard small Furcifer species life expectancy 3-5 years such as known Furcifer lateralis or Furcifer campani. I think the larger Furcifer bifidus has the prospects to live a much longer life than all the smaller as stated earlier Furcifer species such as Furcifer petteri or Furcifer willsii.

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich