Introducing Midori and Tokolosh

Extensionofgreen

Chameleon Enthusiast
After struggling with my male OE parsonii for almost a year, having blood work and changes in husbandry failing to identify what was wrong, I decided to send my pair to @jpowell86, knowing that greenhouse life, with natural sunlight can cure many ails and also knowing that as well as his own capable hands, the zoo vets he works with would have more experience and resources to suss out any health issues. So far, that had worked out great, with the OE male still having ups and downs, but at least eating and showing betters color. We both feel he was psychologically stressed by captivity, possibly artificial lighting in particular and he seems to really require a great deal of fogging to be happy, which is above an beyond the usual high water demands of parsonii.

At any rate, my heart was temporarily broken and I missed those parsons, but I was reluctant to get back on the horse with them, since I couldn't help feeling I failed in some way.
Through reassurance and time, I came to realize that for an animal, a chameleon and parsonii in particular to survive for several months, while struggling to adjust to captivity and failing to thrive is a success and telling of nearly perfect care. I was willing to try this again.

Fate and @jpowell86 smiled upon me, when I was offered this amazing pair of yellow lip parsonii. They right out of my wildest dreams and everything parsonii should be. The male ate 6 adult roaches ( orange heads, dubia, and panamensis ) and the female hand fed, just hours out of the shipping box! They are bold, eager feeders, willing drinkers, and aren't bothered by me watching in the least. They are everything my first pair of wild caught parsons weren't. I'm absolutely delighted with this pair and they look fantastic in their custom enclosure. I can't thank @jpowell86 enough for having faith in my abilities and giving me this opportunity. Without further delay, the pair is shown below.
Midori is the name chosen for the female and it is a liquor commonly consumed in Japan.
Tokolosh is the name of the male and its full explanation is in the photos below. I thought it highly appropriate for the reasons that he looks rather gargoyle-like and parsons are often seen inhabiting areas near rivers and streams.
Enjoy!
 

Attachments

  • IMG_2686.PNG
    IMG_2686.PNG
    737.5 KB · Views: 208
  • IMG_2775.JPG
    IMG_2775.JPG
    354.7 KB · Views: 186
  • IMG_2787.JPG
    IMG_2787.JPG
    245.9 KB · Views: 223
  • IMG_2790.JPG
    IMG_2790.JPG
    307.8 KB · Views: 219
  • IMG_2786.JPG
    IMG_2786.JPG
    283.1 KB · Views: 200
  • IMG_2794.JPG
    IMG_2794.JPG
    305.7 KB · Views: 229
  • IMG_2748.JPG
    IMG_2748.JPG
    367.9 KB · Views: 235
  • IMG_2798.JPG
    IMG_2798.JPG
    400.9 KB · Views: 232
  • IMG_2796.JPG
    IMG_2796.JPG
    402.7 KB · Views: 188
No weights just yet. They just got here yesterday. I want to see them feeding and defecating normally, so I have an idea of daily intake and output, so when I weigh them, I know I have a baseline and not a weight skewed by abnormal intake due to shipping stress or increased hunger from food denial during import. I'll weigh them after about a week, so I can check progress from there, after they've had time to catch up from being shipped twice, in the last week.
 
Great big congratulations!!! May I ask what size the enclosures are? I'm assuming they are kept separate? It appears to be two enclosures side by side if I'm seeing it right, or one enclosure divided in two?
 
No weights just yet. They just got here yesterday. I want to see them feeding and defecating normally, so I have an idea of daily intake and output, so when I weigh them, I know I have a baseline and not a weight skewed by abnormal intake due to shipping stress or increased hunger from food denial during import. I'll weigh them after about a week, so I can check progress from there, after they've had time to catch up from being shipped twice, in the last week.
They are beautiful animals.
 
Great big congratulations!!! May I ask what size the enclosures are? I'm assuming they are kept separate? It appears to be two enclosures side by side if I'm seeing it right, or one enclosure divided in two?

It is one 16' long enclosure, that is 6'10" high and 4' from front to back. There is a divider in the middle, creating 2 8' enclosures, where each animal has its own area. Both sides are fitted with identified basking, misting, and lighting. The reason for a large enclosure, with a divider, is to make breeding easier and less stressful, as I can simply leave each animal in place, remove the divider, and allow normal courtship to occur, without having to remove one animal from its territory and invading another animal's territory by introducing a strange animal to it. Currently, they can cross over the partition, if the choose, at top. I will be fixing that, asap, but is actually has turned out be a good thing, because with both the OE and the YL pair, the female decided which side she wanted to live on and once she has made her choice, both animals seem to stay out and not cross the barrier. Still, it is idea that they will be in complete isolation from one another, when not attempting to breed them.
 
The reason for a large enclosure, with a divider, is to make breeding easier and less stressful, as I can simply leave each animal in place, remove the divider, and allow normal courtship to occur, without having to remove one animal from its territory and invading another animal's territory by introducing a strange animal to it.
I was just thinking to myself "I wonder if he made that divider removable to make breeding easier." That is a great idea.
 
congratulations Drew(y), fantastic animals in equally fantastic enclosures, sounds like they are tamer than my cb! That male is certainly a real looker.
Great names too!:)
You must be really enjoying them, great news.
 
Dude those yellow lips are out of this world!!:eek:... So what your thoughts on their ages my guess is 3 or 4 maybe? Also can't wait tell you weight them...:D
 
Last edited:
I'm guessing they are about 3 years old, possibly 4 on the male, though he's pretty pristine and hasn't seen any major battles, so he may be newly sexually mature. They have some size to gain for sure, but with a strong suspicion that the female is gravid, they are certainly mature.
They are settling in amazingly well and are very much typical parsonii.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_2820.JPG
    IMG_2820.JPG
    239.5 KB · Views: 121
Thanks again, everyone. They really are awesome and awe inspiring animals.
They just may be my spirit animal.....relax all day, food and water come to you, get up and go to bed with the sun, at your will and pace, and nobody to answer to.....is there a sign up sheet for being reincarnated as a parsonii?
 
Still no weights, as I misplaced my scale in a recent flooding incident, caused by a faulty water heater valve. After that nervous breakdown, I managed to check some stool under the scope for parasites and both were clean, at present.
Both are eating daily, developing real confidence and being generally ambivalent to my presence.

There are two photos of the female clearly basking and I've read several times where people have stated that parsonii don't bask. Both of these guys do.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_2950.JPG
    IMG_2950.JPG
    447.9 KB · Views: 87
  • IMG_2951.JPG
    IMG_2951.JPG
    403.2 KB · Views: 101
  • IMG_2947.JPG
    IMG_2947.JPG
    239.3 KB · Views: 109
  • IMG_2931.JPG
    IMG_2931.JPG
    295 KB · Views: 114
  • IMG_2930.JPG
    IMG_2930.JPG
    254.4 KB · Views: 108
Back
Top Bottom