New to this and in need of help please.

[Jayde]

My name is Jayde, i live in east london,south africa. i found this little guy in my garden who was about to be a meal for a snake. Can anyone tell me what kind it is, gender and age more or less> that way i know what kind of information to find out. thank you.

 

[Jamelon]

No idea what kind of chameleon, do you live close to cape town? I went to South Africa a couple of years back, loved it!

 

[Jayde]

Cape Town is about a 12 hour drive away from east london. It is lovely here. thanks anyway. i think it is a dwarf something...haha.

 

[laurie]

Hello and welcome. I have no real knowledge of this but I just looked at picture and my guess & only a guess, is you have a Bradypodion occidentale or a Bradypodion pumilum. You can search for pictures of those two and see if I may be correct. Let me know if you are able to determine what it is.

 

[bmacd93]

I would take a guess at it being a Bradypodion gutturale if it is in fact a dwarf..

 

[laurie]

Hey Jadye can you give so the size of your cham? maybe we can get it id'ed for you.

 

[Jayde]

Hey guys. Thanks for all the help. Its body is 6cm and the tail is a bit difficult but it is around 6cm or 7 cm. it doesnt change colour that much,just goes different shades of brown. fed him a cricket today and two or three of those worms you buy. it is very chilled out and happily climbs around on me.

 

[laurie]

I am at work, but will see what I can find later when I get home.

 

[Jayde]

thank you. two more pics to give u an idea of its lenght and markings. it is sleeping now as it is 20.30 here so ill get better pics tmrw. do you think it is young? so worried that it is a baby and needs special things that im not giving it> dont want to stress the pool little guy out.

 

[Chris Anderson]

Jayde,

The chameleon you have found is Bradypodion ventrale, the Eastern Cape Dwarf Chameleon. It is native to your area and protected under South African law. Hopefully the snake is gone now but you should definitely release it back to where you found it as it is a protected species.

Best,

Chris

 

[laurie]

Jayde,

The chameleon you have found is Bradypodion ventrale, the Eastern Cape Dwarf Chameleon. It is native to your area and protected under South African law. Hopefully the snake is gone now but you should definitely release it back to where you found it as it is a protected species.

Best,

Chris

Thanks Chris I knew a quick pm to you would tell us what it is.

 

[Jayde]

Thanks for your input. will do so. what do you mean by native to my area... as i have seen this type of chameleon in east london other than the one i saved? Just interested to know more as they are so rare.

thanks
Jade

 

[Chris Anderson]

Jade,

By native to your area, I mean they naturally occur in your area. Also, while they are a protected species, this is not necessarily indicative of their rarity. The IUCN Red List lists B. ventrale as Least Concern. To the best of my knowledge, most native wildlife in South Africa is protected, regardless or rarity.

Glad to hear you are going to release it when you found it.

Chris

 

[Jono]

I would also say Eastern Cape Dwarf and if you found one there is a good chance will be more nearby. Nothing better than having wild chameleons in your own garden so enjoy (and avoid putting up an electric fence at all costs!)