Your favorite species and why.

[JacksJill]

Clearly it's jack jacks for me for life. I saw them. I had to have them and now they have me surrounded.
Having now raised T .q. gracilior and hoehnelii up from eggs and/ or babies they have taken hold of my heart as well. The hoehnelii remind me of "Jurassic Parks" velociraptors when they eat. They are incredibly feisty for their size. Must have something to do with having a helmet. The baby gracilior have these really long tails that are so graceful and elegant and they appear very self assured when they are young.

 

[Mendez]

Clearly it's jack jacks for me for life. I saw them. I had to have them and now they have me surrounded.
Having now raised T .q. gracilior and hoehnelii up from eggs and/ or babies they have taken hold of my heart as well. The hoehnelii remind me of "Jurassic Parks" velociraptors when they eat. They are incredibly feisty for their size. Must have something to do with having a helmet. The baby gracilior have these really long tails that are so graceful and elegant and they appear very self assured when they are young.

Plot twist...what?!?! Your favorite species isn't a panther chameleon?!?! I mean...I guess that makes sense or else your username would have been PanthsPhil or something like that. The question now is: do you have a husband, brother, cousin, uncle, or know of anyone named Phil(lip) or something? I'm a professional palm reader, and now I'm wondering where I got my wires crossed. I'm usually super good at this stuff. Most people have "clues" on them that can be observed by the eye (e.g. Jacksjill and Jackson's chameleons); I completely ignore this stuff. It's made to mislead you. I once had a client who just got back from a visit from the doctor's office. They were upset because of "cancer." I told them, "Yeah...I already know. You are a Cancer, clearly not a Capricorn." I then went on to tell the client that doctors are now looking at astrology signs to diagnose allergies and that it's not a big deal. The client, knowing how reliable I am, thanked me for my wisdom. As she left, I told her that Cancers are allergic to high-carb diets, specifically pizza and pasta. She was saddened by this news but kept her head held high. She passed away three months ago due to a "malignant tumor" in her brain. Who would have known? Her life was short, but missing out on pizza and pasta due to her being a Cancer was no way to live. Hopefully, there aren't any allergies in the afterworld.

 

[Lindasjackson]

I’m a cancer and I am not allergic to pizza or carbs! Lol! I have many other allergies but not those!

 

[redhorse]

Mendez---- With a plethora of information concerning Jacksons..... What is your future favorite or current favorite chameleon?
Aries here but you already knew that.. J/K
Thanks for the story and shows we just never know. I was with a 96 year old WWll vet yesterday. WOW! Makes me appreciate life and others. It was an honor.

 

[jamest0o0]

Trioceros montium, had a pair 14 years ago and was so cool (babies were easy like veileds), males with the two horns (female none). The colors and ability to move quick was amaizing. Not the Cristatus, but have heard they are quite similar. THEIR FINS are AMAZING!!!!!
Thanks for sharing!

I nearly bought a group of montium a couple years ago to start a breeding project with, but timing just wasn't right(2 babies lol). Def one of my favorites.

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

They say, dogs have the largest variation in weight and size but not sure they have checked out the Chameleon family in the same way. Just a thought..

Dogs are all the same species—Canis familiaris.

 

[KhameleonMomz]

My favorite is the veiled! Even though I’m not his favorite, Nolan will forever be the most precious baby. I love them because they have all the audacity, and aren’t afraid to tell you how they feel. The colors they show off are incredible and even though they get a bad rep for being some of the most aggressive, I think they are really big softies! The bond you can create with an animal that is so “mean” is truly what I love about them. They are amazing and with the upmost respect and care they can be life long friends. I wish chameleon’s lived forever. I tell my Cham I love him more than his sister (she’s a german shepherd). My veiled also does the cutest thing (in my opinion) every morning, he likes to show everyone who’s boss by puffing himself out as big as he can get and doing the biggest yawn, as soon as he wakes up and reaches the highest point in his enclosure! Then he gets all soft, and turquoise/ green when momma wants to come in and say good morning.

 

[redhorse]

lol Never get tired of the morning yawns. Thanks for sharing! Yawn and sometimes a funky twist.

 

[Mendez]

Mendez---- With a plethora of information concerning Jacksons..... What is your future favorite or current favorite chameleon?

Jeez, I don't think I have a favorite species. They are all so amazing! Though, I do have an affinity for jackson's chameleons. There are so many different locales/subspecies that are unknown to science. Some of them get smaller than Mt. Merus! And some have rainbow-colored eye turrets. This is where my intrigue in jackson's chameleons lies. With that said, I also really like the regular xantholophus subspecies.

I only have (kept) one chameleon--the one I have currently. Which makes my favorite species that I've kept a jackson's chameleon. I do hope to acquire a few of the more rarer species in the near future which might change that though.

Aries here but you already knew that.. J/K
Thanks for the story and shows we just never know. I was with a 96 year old WWll vet yesterday. WOW! Makes me appreciate life and others. It was an honor.

Wow, 96 years old is incredible! The stories they must have!

 

[PlanetRemulak]

There isn’t any way possible I can limit my favorite species to just one! But I suppose that’s been said a few times here already, lol. In general, i love CHAMELEONS. Everything about them is wonderful. There isn’t a species (that I’m aware of) that I’m not captivated by.

Jackson’s and veiled chameleons will always hold a special place in my heart. Should we ever move to a colder climate, getting a Jackson’s (male or female, I have 0 preference. My first and only Jackson’s was a lovely lady) is definitely on the to-do list. As far as panthers go, I’ve wanted a panther chameleon since I was 16. I’m only just now getting my first one at 33 and I already know I’ll be sold on them for life.

Jackson’s - Mellow, miniature little horned dinosaurs. What’s not to love?

Veileds - I love everything about these guys. I love their big, pointy casks (they always reminded me of the Coneheads. I nearly named my veiled Beldar after Dan Aykroyd’s character in the Coneheads SNL skit/movie. Wound up naming him Maynard instead). Their colors are stunning. Their temperament will always keep you guessing. You really have to work hard to gain a veiled chameleon’s trust, but when you finally do, it is so very rewarding.

Panthers - Size and color, first and foremost. Even females are gorgeous. They have ALWAYS been a dream chameleon of mine, but it’s only just now that I’ve been in a position to finally get one.

Parson’s (not just yellow lipped. ANY Parson’s) - I don’t think any of us here aren’t thoroughly enraptured by these chameleons, regardless of species

Oustalet’s - I’ve always been interested in this species. They may not be as “pretty” as some of the pther species mentioned above, but their large size certainly commands some respect. All of the information that I’ve been able to find (granted, it’s limited) states that these guys are usually gentle giants, which I find appealing for sure. I also find it interesting how females tend to be more colorful. Usually not the case with chameleons!

 

[jannb]

Veileds are my favorite species mainly because of their awesome personality. They want to do more than just sit in a cage like a knot on a log and really enjoy doing things with the family.

 

[redhorse]

WOW! Great input, stories, and photos..

 

[PlanetRemulak]

Veileds are my favorite species mainly because of their awesome personality. They want to do more than just sit in a cage like a knot on a log and really enjoy doing things with the family.

View attachment 306143

This picture in particular

 

[Sonny13]

Well there isn´t one species I could choice, all of them got something I appreciate. Lately I really feel attracted to a Trioceros Jacksonii, because always when I get bugs for my chams, the breeder has sitting one there, who always lurks at me . On the other hand, a Trioceros Hoehnelii is also extremely high on my wish list.

And off-course I really love my own 2 chams.

The Veiled for the hard work you need to invest in them, to get interaction, and all that effort is sooo worth it. Love it just how nothing comes by itself, you need to invest constantly.

Then we got the Kinyongia Boehmei, well that is something special, they´re small with a elephant size personality. They just explore their complete enclosure all day long, active as hell. And the best part is, they´re really friendly and not afraid of us humans. When I´m at work at home (and sitting next to him), I always pays a visit a few times a day, just observing you. And there´s their colour changing, this is amazingly rapid and tons of variations, they can fire up in a second.

If...if I needed choice directly with a gun pointed at my head , I think this would be my dream chameleon,

Calumma o’shaughnessyi

 

[Kaizen]

Just my 2 cents worth:

1) There are over 350 described species, and I’m familiar with about 20 of them, so my favourites will be plucked from a pretty limited pool.
2) There might be an important distinction between one’s favourite species, and the species one devotes his/her time and effort to for reasons relating to the establishment of stable captive populations.

That being said, I love parsonii and tjx! However, if I had the chance, I’d love to work with deremensis, mellerii, montium, and o e or two of the more obscure kinyonga species…those rostral processes!!!

 

[redhorse]

Kaizen---great response. 350? WOW! and we know there are more to be discovered. ROAD TRIP ANYONE (via airplane/boat)? ha ha

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

Veileds are my favorite species mainly because of their awesome personality. They want to do more than just sit in a cage like a knot on a log and really enjoy doing things with the family.

I think they're just biding their time, and then when you least expect it... WHAMMO!
YOU'RE in the cage, and they're feeding YOU crickets, while they're chowing down on pizza!

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

Panther owners-- Do different localities have different behaviors and different behaviors within the groups?

Good question. I've not seen anything written up that way, but it wasn't something I was actively looking for. IME, all animals are individuals, and generalizations fall on bell curves. Bell curves have outliers or they wouldn't be bell curves, so once again...

Panthers are supposed to be the most docile(?) but mine is downright irascible.

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

2) There might be an important distinction between one’s favourite species, and the species one devotes his/her time and effort to for reasons relating to the establishment of stable captive populations.

+1. I favored Jackson's, but when I looked into them, there was that nighttime temp drop I couldn't guarantee. I can & do with the panther.

 

[Motherlode Chameleon]

Mine right now is all the morphs and phases of Calumma parsonii parsonii. This species just has got a lot going on for them. Their roastral blades, size, colors, habits, personalities and behaviors make them my #1 species right now.

Honorable mention really is a good selection of most species from the chameleon genera Trioceros, KInyongia, Calumma and Furcifer. There is a lot of great species from these genus's that are just great species to keep in captivity.

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich