This thread is for the general discussion of the blog entry What I Learned in Madagascar. Please add to the discussion here.
What I Learned in Madagascar
- Thread starter DeremensisBlue
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elizaann2
Chameleon Enthusiast
Hello! I listened to the "What I Learned in Madagascar" podcast on Friday. Thank you for sharing!
I was very surprised to hear about the panther female laying eggs in the middle of the dirt path, I'll be interested to see how our laying bins change in the future based on your findings.
I was very surprised to hear about the panther female laying eggs in the middle of the dirt path, I'll be interested to see how our laying bins change in the future based on your findings.
Yes, I was surprised as well! Here is a picture of where it was. You can see her in the middle of the "moat" I drew on the path so I could find the spot again. She is there filling up her hole.
elizaann2
Chameleon Enthusiast
Oh I see her! How fascinating! I am so curious why she chose that spot with what looks like so much coverage and privacy options just behind her.
That is a VERY good question! I was wondering the same thing!
No answers, just more questions and pieces of information:
Something interesting to ponder is how much the laying spot decision is based on what she sees at the surface and what that means to the chameleon brain. I was surprised that she chose the path because that would be a completely foreign appearance and condition to what chameleons in her area evolved to recognize. So, what was it about what she could see that told her it is worth the effort and risk?
Additional information for the pondering: The forest floor around her the path was light and easy to dig through. High sand content and high root density. Though the roots were very small and formed a web network through the soil. I was pulling up a lot of very thin roots doing my test dig, though it would have been easy for the chameleon to navigate with their slow digging style. What surprised me in my digging test of the forest floor was how far I could dig and not hit firm packed soil. So I would wonder what tells them how deep to dig in that situation.
Yes, I dug a hole on the path and it was PACKED. I had a difficult time digging with my fingers. By this time next year the soil on top of the egg mass will be solid like this again. Amazing what these babies dig out of.
I just listened to thepodcast on the trip!
You found answers to some questions I’ve had for a while!
The female choosing the hard area to dig in made perfect sense to me. I’ve always thought that they dig to the bottom of an egg laying bin looking for a solid area to lay their eggs so they would be safer from predators.
Where you able to take a temperature reading in the hole?
Sounds like the trip was absolutely amazing!!!
You saw so many species there!
Looking forward to seeing what new ideas this all brings to chameleon keeping.
You found answers to some questions I’ve had for a while!
The female choosing the hard area to dig in made perfect sense to me. I’ve always thought that they dig to the bottom of an egg laying bin looking for a solid area to lay their eggs so they would be safer from predators.
Where you able to take a temperature reading in the hole?
Sounds like the trip was absolutely amazing!!!
You saw so many species there!
Looking forward to seeing what new ideas this all brings to chameleon keeping.
MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
I’ve tried to get this stupid question out of my head, but it just won’t go. So, I’m curious about lemurs and chameleons living in the same areas - do some lemurs ever predate upon chameleons? Do they just ignore or avoid each other?
elizaann2
Chameleon Enthusiast
I am curious about that as well!
@MissSkittles @elizaann2 …
”
Diet
Ring-tailed lemurs love fruit, but also eat leaves, buds and tree bark. Alongside spiders and insects they also eat small birds and chameleons”…
https://www.affenwald.info/en/our-animals/ring-tailed-lemurs/
One more..
https://animalia.bio/ring-tailed-lemur
”
Diet
Ring-tailed lemurs love fruit, but also eat leaves, buds and tree bark. Alongside spiders and insects they also eat small birds and chameleons”…
https://www.affenwald.info/en/our-animals/ring-tailed-lemurs/
One more..
https://animalia.bio/ring-tailed-lemur
elizaann2
Chameleon Enthusiast
Interesting. I’ll do some reading on them.
SteveH
Chameleon Enthusiast
The admins in The Chameleon Enthusiast gave him a hard time every chance we had about bringing us back souvenirs
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