Making Oustalets happy

[Trillian]

I've been researching various chameleons, and I'm fairly sure that Oustalets tick all the boxes for me, but I've been struggling to find reliable care sheets for them, so was hoping to get some help when considering the set-up before I start putting money down.

Firstly: is a 48"H x 24"W x 24"D cage from DIY going to be suitable for a fully-grown adult Oustalet? Or too big? And if I manage to get a baby, is it better to start off with a smaller cage which isn't so overwhelming (for me either!) and gradually upgrade as she grows?

Secondly: Is it true that Oustalets tend to eat vegetation so shouldn't have access to fake foliage? I would really like a free-range area and thought that it would be a good idea if the main big tree was artificial so there were no issues as far as the health/sturdiness of the tree, but I would also have real plants around.

Thirdly: I'd prefer a female, ideally, will she be happy with the standard guidelines for a lay bin or do they have specific requirements?

If anyone has any resources specifically for Oustalets that they could recommend, or any personal experience I could benefit from, I'd really appreciate it.

 

[Kibu]

I heard that u can only get Outstalets wild caught, correct me if I am wrong, but that is what I heard.

 

[Trillian]

That may well be true at the moment. I have seen that people have sold CB ones on the forums previously, and they have some on FL Chams that are CB, so I'm going to stay optimistic! Even if it means waiting for longer to get one.

 

[VeiledChams]

I heard that u can only get Outstalets wild caught, correct me if I am wrong, but that is what I heard.

Depends on where you look

 

[Carlton]

Ah, I wondered if an Oustaleti might work for you! They are beautiful chams! I've seen more cbb offered in the past year or so, so you may luck out now that you can focus on them. You may see a wc as well, but if it seems healthy and comes from a cham specialist source it may be fine if you pay attention to parasite loads. Any vet can do fecal checks for you.

You can start off by subdividing a large cage for a juvenile if you wish. That way you only have to build once. You could divide it in half vertically and remove the divider later. If you end up with a very young baby you could also just house it in a Reptarium until it gets bigger. Reptariums are great for temporary housing but I wouldn't bother with one long term. They have some issues with zippers wearing out, Zoophobas chewing through the mesh (confine your feeders to a plastic feeding box), and some people feel the heavy mesh blocks too much UV from lights. Not really sure if that's true. Mounting your UV bulb inside the cage with a protective grill around it would solve that one. Any cage you choose will need drainage regardless.

Not sure about how much vegetation Ousties eat. Many species do a little chewing, but it seems to be very individual. Yours may never chew on anything.

If you find a cbb Oustie you can ask the breeder about any special egg laying preferences. If she never has access to a male she may not develop infertile clutches unless she's overfed or forced to grow too fast (some people want their babies to get big too fast but I'm not sure that's all that good).

 

[Carlton]

I heard that u can only get Outstalets wild caught, correct me if I am wrong, but that is what I heard.

Not necessarily true especially as imported females are often gravid. Gravid chams may be slightly more likely to get caught because they spend more time basking...and possibly more easily found by trappers. If they get good care they can lay their clutches in captivity and you end up with captive BORN Oustaleti.

 

[Trillian]

That's really helpful, thank you. I've been a grownup and discussed it with Hubbles (for once, instead of him just arriving home to new pets) and he also likes the Oustalets, but refuses to buy WC full stop, and refuses to get one from the only place I can find CB for sale at the moment, because they also deal in WC and he doesn't want to support a company that is involved in taking chameleons from the wild. We've had three WC chameleons and they all died horribly, and it hit him very hard each time, so I understand and respect his position.

 

[tracysimpson]

did you have any luck getting one?

 

[Tay And A]

I received three oustalets on here from a member named Mcbain. His real name is Matthew. Hope he's sees this post. Maybe he still has some available?