Furcifer Verrucosus project

[morpheon]

Hey people!

Here i will try to document as much as possible all the steps of my Verrucosus breeding projects, from step 1 to the last step.


We'll start with step one (that you can see from another page of the forum). It consisted of getting a phone call from a very good petstore in Quebec city called "Animalerie Dyno" (French slang for Dynosaur petstore).

Furcifer Verrucosus male WC (2 pictures):

Furcifer Verrucosus presumed female, also WC (2 pictures):

 

[morpheon]

Step 2: Getting good informations on Furcifer Verrucosus:

The information and links under are in no particular order. Also, some of the best links are in the lowest. I will try to keep this thread updated as time goes. So if you have anything worth listing, being it a book, a forum thread or a website, please tell me and i'll add it if i consider it worth it!

General information:
Nature's Hidden Jewel book, 2nd edition from Petr Necas.

http://www.kamaeleoner.dk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=87&Itemid=106

http://www.habitatdesigns.tv/repcare/species/spiny.html

http://online-field-guide.com/Furciferverrucosus.htm

There was also Adcham, but the website is currently down and i do not possess the caresheet sadly, so if anyone has one, please tell me!
http://adcham.com/html/taxonomy/species/fverrucosus.html
Some copy-pasting from Adcham can be found here:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/furcifer-verrucosus-any-one-keeping-them-19173/

https://www.chameleonforums.com/verrucosus-chameleon-observations-42785/

Breeding:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/breeding-verruscosus-43796/

https://www.chameleonforums.com/captive-verrucosus-34623/#post319638


Pictures:
From Kinyonga:
http://www.chameleons.wz.cz/f_verrucosus.htm

 

[morpheon]

Step 3: Building enclosures:

Since my girlfriend's father as moved away from here, i ran out of construction tools, so i did my best with what i had and with how much time i had. For the curious people, i barely had only one single afternoon to build the two enclosures with my girlfriend. Of course, i expect to improve it a little bit, but i consider it a fair start.

The enclosures are 2'2'' deep (66cm), 3'6'' large (107cm) X 4'6'' high (137.2cm).

Some plants and vines will be added in the next three days, just before i take the chameleons from the petstore. Once i do it, i will post more pictures!

Meanwhile, here is step 3.1:

 

[morpheon]

Step 4: Contacting a specialized veterinary for reptiles, and getting a deal for some fecal samples. So far, i plan on bringing one sample of each chameleon per week for 3 weeks, starting one week after they arrive, unless one of them look sick. The main idea (thank you Kiny and your great post for quarantine) is to let the parasites slow down and also let the chameleons settle down in their new environment.

The deal: 18$ CAD per two fecals done! I can't complain!


For the quarantine thread from Kinyonga, see here:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/quarantine-36078/


EDIT: If the fecal samples end up positive, i will then bring the chameleons to the veterinary, as obvious!

 

[laurie]

Why did I think those were a large species? That female doesn't look large on your hand.

You are doing a great job on your project - stay with it and let us know how it goes.

 

[kinyonga]

Looks like there is quite a bit of information in the links you posted!

The cages are coming along well...look like good sizes. Do you plan to raise them up off the floor?

I hope you have success with them...they are an interesting species of chameleons!

 

[Warrix642]

Why did I think those were a large species? That female doesn't look large on your hand.

You are doing a great job on your project - stay with it and let us know how it goes.

Please correct me if I'm wrong but I believe those are the longest chameleon species and C. Parsonii is the densest chameleon.

 

[Motherlode Chameleon]

Please correct me if I'm wrong but I believe those are the longest chameleon species and C. Parsonii is the densest chameleon.

No Oustaleti is the longest chameleon in the world. Normally the top three are listed as the biggest, while I think the fourth Verrucosus should be recognized as one of the biggest as well. I still think the female is a sub adult male. The casque, plus the body has to much green for the female.

I could be wrong though.

 

[morpheon]

Laurie, this wasn't me but the petstore guy i spoke to! But yes, the female isn't big because she's a sub-adult!

Lynda: i don't know if i will lift them off the floor or not yet. I'll have to think about it and find a way to do it the right way.

About the size of Verrucosus, so far i haven't found a good list of chameleons in size, from the biggest to the smaller. However, one thing i know is Verrucosus are amongst the biggest, and it also includes Furcifer Oustalleti, Calumna Parsonii, and Chameleo Trioceros Melleri. My opinion is Verrucosus might be the 4th largest species, but this is just my opinion and i still have a lot of things to learn!

Stay tuned for more steps as my project gets further!

 

[Motherlode Chameleon]

Laurie, this wasn't me but the petstore guy i spoke to! But yes, the female isn't big because she's a sub-adult!

Lynda: i don't know if i will lift them off the floor or not yet. I'll have to think about it and find a way to do it the right way.

About the size of Verrucosus, so far i haven't found a good list of chameleons in size, from the biggest to the smaller. However, one thing i know is Verrucosus are amongst the biggest, and it also includes Furcifer Oustalleti, Calumna Parsonii, and Chameleo Trioceros Melleri. My opinion is Verrucosus might be the 4th largest species, but this is just my opinion and i still have a lot of things to learn!

Stay tuned for more steps as my project gets further!

I concur about being the 4 biggest I have considered Verrucosus that for a long time. Just is not written about much and is another example of this species being underrated. They with their moss coloration seem similar to a gigantic Brookesia.

 

[Kent67]

That is definitely a 1.1 pair. Female F. verrucosus are MUCH smaller than males. If it was a male there would be a very noticeable hemipene bulge and much larger dorsal crest at that size.

 

[Chris Anderson]

Tried to reply to your PM but your box is full, Morpheon.

That is a pair and the reduced dorsal crest, smaller size and no hemipenal bulge is indicative of a female. Regarding the subspecies, these are Furcifer verrucosus verrucosus (note that the species and subspecies are lower case).

Chris

 

[chams1]

This little girl looks identical to my adult female (who recently laid her first clutch). Both of them look (seemingly...from appearance) healthy.

 

[morpheon]

Thanks everyone for the output. I'll keep updating my project as time goes!

 

[Kent67]

Regarding the subspecies, these are Furcifer verrucosus verrucosus (note that the species and subspecies are lower case).

And that the name should be italicized.

 

[morpheon]

Thank you for the typing lesson, but if you guys have any good readings for me, i'd also like that!

 

[Chris Anderson]

And that the name should be italicized.

LOL, as soon as I posted that I had a feeling that would come up. I thought about editing my post to italicize them but laziness got the best of me.

Chris

 

[Kent67]

Haha! Finally caught ya!

 

[Kent67]

Morpheon, send me your email address. I have an old article from Captive Breeding magazine that I can send you. From what I can see, those look to be two of the nicest colored, healthy imports around. Hope you already put down a deposit, at least.

 

[morpheon]

I didn't even have to put a deposit on them! The guy from the petstore bought them for me knowing i was really wanting them! And he sells them to me for only $200 CAD for the pair! I'm supposed to pick them up tomorrow!

PM incoming for my email! Merci Kent!