Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
Take it from a Senegal owner it's not a Senegal so you can rule that out. Gracefuls have distinct white chevrons on their sides and a more scooped veil. This I would almost bet money on it, is a flap neck. Looks ok to me
Not a Senegal, It is a Flapneck for sure. I own a Senegal and the heads are shaped differently. It is definitely a Flapneck.
For some decent Senegal pics, click on my profile and look in my album marked Senegal. The head is a tell-tale sign of what you have.
I agree plus I believe it is a female.
I am not positive it isn't a juvenile Graceful but I'm pretty sure this is an adult female flap neck.
It isn't a senegal because it has occipital lobes (flaps)
Male Flap necks and gracefuls have tarsal spurs (bumps on the back of their leg just above the foot) so I believe it is a female.
Graceful chameleons tend to have beefier arms even when young plus I don't think a juvenile would color up like that... so I am pretty sure it is a flap neck...
I really wish an expert (Chris, Trace, Kent...) would chime in here!
Also if you have no clue what the chameleon is and Yyou're making a wild guess at least make that clear in your post to avoid confusing people!
I personally would appreciate people relating the morphological reasons when identifying a chameleon so A: They prove they aren't full of it, and B: others can learn and know what they are doing later!
If this last part was to me Dan then shame on you. I'm on an iPhone. I am currently unable to point out certain morphological aspects in grave detail. Hurts my fingers.
What morphological traits lead you to believe it is a flap neck?
My assumption being that if you're certain you would be able to point to something...
Big words confuse me, but I assume you mean "what differences can I point out?" If so, here we go.
1.The head shape on yours is more round than the graceful, which have a higher casque, and less triangular or diamond shaped than a Senegal.
2. The body shape of yours seems to be a bit more stout than the body of a Graceful, and definitely bigger than the body (and overall size) of the usually slender Senegal (which from what I have read, doesn't get much bigger than 8" long)
3. The coloring of yours seems to be similar to that of a Flapneck with the spots and markings, a Graceful (from what I have seen) will have more of a marbled look to them when showing any markings other than green. Senegals tend to be green with fairly small dots when showing colors.
4. The casque itself: Yours has the "thumb shaped" (as I call it) flaps behind the neck, hence the name Flapneck. These are little flaps of skin, I am not sure what their purpose is in nature, but Flapnecks have them. A Graceful has more of a swoop to their casque, and a Senegal has a very small, almost flat head and casque with ridges running from their nose, above the eyes and meeting at the back of the head.
These are the main reasons I think you have a Flapneck. I did a buttload of Googling and looking at pictures of chameleons for weeks before I made my purchase of my Senegal. The "less desired 3" all seem to have llittle differences while being fairly similar in appearance. Gracefuls were my first choice, but they seem to require a far higher humidity than I could provide, and I had a (probably unfounded) fear that the neck flaps would harbor bacteria and cause problems if I got a Flapneck, so I decided on a Senegal.
I hope this helps and doesn't come off dickish. I have a hard time relaying my opinions without coming off like a douche. I apologize if I did.
Fan-flipping-tastic!
It's not mine though, mine is definitely a Senegal I just kind of took over the thread... I almost bought a flap neck over the weekend I spent about 30 minutes just watching him in the store they are great. I walked right by the Veileds and Ambilobe babies and was fixated on the flap neck... These little Chamaeleos have the best personalities!
Either way I am genuinely wondering the physical markers that differentiate Gradefuls and Flapnecks. I can pick a Senegal out of line up these days but without a good size indication it is hard to tell them a apart and your descriptions are helpful.
I just see so much confusion over these species it is nice to be able to point to their differences. I suspect none of them get appropriate care because everyone just kinda lumps them together even though they come from different habitats. I personally would like to know how to care for each and how to tell them apart in detail.
No worries about coming off rude or dickish, I do that all by myself, I can be very abrupt and have a hard time bringing myself to care and be civil at times. But there are no ill intentions I swear!
I think you did an excellent job being articulate and describing what you see I appreciate that and I think others who want to understand will as well.