Verrucosus Chameleon Observations

Hello all!!
Well, after having my Verrucosus pair for a little over a week, I decided I should post some observations I have noticed between them. It is quite interesting, and hope to see more results as I keep them longer.

Timidity: This was one thing I was a little worried about when I was deciding on if I should get these. While they both are more timid than say, a Veiled, I have noticed the female to be less timid than the male. When I approach the cages for feeding/watering time, the male will go hide under any leave or behinde the whole plant if he gets the chance too, and will change into a greyish brown color. The female on the other hand just sits there, and watches me carefully. But, doesn't like when water directly hits her. She will dive right into her plant, and make sure it doesn't hit her too much. Feeding is the opposite story(for the female), she will stay where she is at, and let me dump her crickets in. She won't eat all of them in front of me, maybe only 3-5 she will actually eat right away. The male, does the same thing as spraying, goes and hides. I have seen him eat twice, and one of the times I had to hide so he couldn't see me.

Feeding: Wow. I could just end it in those three letters. They eat a ton!! I swear, every time I feed them, they think it is the last time they will get fed, and they just got fed the day before!!!! They eat probably as much as a 2 month old Veiled, I feed them every day, but they aren't as consistant eaters as a Veiled. Meaning, a young Veiled would eat all of his food within 10 minutes, these guys eat them through out the day (so I think, I don't every see them eat ). I don't know if I am feeding them too much though, they seem to not be adult size, so I am making sure they get proper supplements, and hopefully I get to see them grow.

Watering: Just the same as feeding, wow. They do love their water. I mist them 3-5 times a day(except for the male, he is in a Exo-Terra, and it holds moisture well, so I mist him 2 times a day). Since I mist the female a lot more than the male, I mist my Veiled along with the misting times of my female, and he seems to be enjoying having a "minishower", that is inside. He always has fired up colors on, and I really enjoy walking into the room and seeing this vibrant yellow and green against a white wall.

Overall Conclusions & Thoughts: I really love these. They have more personality than any other reptile I have owned, and from the week I have spent with them, I can tell they are a very underrated species. Before I got them, and was doing research, I noticed people in the forums that had posted on them before, that knew nothing about them, because they had never cared for one, were giving comments that were incorrect. I don't mean care information, just overall comments on how they are, and how they are a nasty(mean) chameleon, and I am here to tell you that that statement is absolutely incorrect! They aren't mean, like a Veiled(Yes I know there are exceptions to the rule, but overall, a kind of aggresive species). The thing with the Verrucosus is that since they are timid, they act out of fear, or defense. It reminds me of a snake, or bear, or even rhinos(yes random), they only attack because they feel threatened. But, I also haven't been lunged at like my Veiled does, everytime I go to feed him, or spot clean his cage. But, like I said, I love them, and love working with them.

Thanks for reading my observations.

*To anyone who have cared for Oustalets or Verrucosus, I would like to hear your imput on your observations on them. I say Oustalets because they come from very close areas, and if I am not mistaken, both are often found in the same spot when collection(someone correct me if I am wrong, I'd love to know more).

Enjoy!
LPR08

My male Verrucosus's that I have kept in the past were shy and mean. I believe it was because they were wild caught. I kept them in 4 foot tall by 3 foot by 3 foot cages and even when they they were in the back of the cage and hidden they would mouth gap and hiss even when I would open up the cages for feeding. The females were shy and not nearly as mean.

The captive bred animals I have had were shy and no where as mean as the wild caughts.

Some of my personnal notes.

Motherload Chameleon said:

My male Verrucosus's that I have kept in the past were shy and mean. I believe it was because they were wild caught. I kept them in 4 foot tall by 3 foot by 3 foot cages and even when they they were in the back of the cage and hidden they would mouth gap and hiss even when I would open up the cages for feeding. The females were shy and not nearly as mean.

The captive bred animals I have had were shy and no where as mean as the wild caughts.

Some of my personnal notes.

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Mine are Wild Caught. That's interesting to hear. Thanks for the reply

LinkinParkRulez08 said:

Mine are Wild Caught. That's interesting to hear. Thanks for the reply

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I think it was a wild defense reflex that they were showing. They would only do that when I opened up their cages and invaded their space. When I would observe with the cage door close they would not hiss except they would hide behind the branches in the classic way that chameleons hide behind branches.

Motherload Chameleon said:

I think it was a wild defense reflex that they were showing. They would only do that when I opened up their cages and invaded their space. When I would observe with the cage door close they would not hiss except they would hide behind the branches in the classic way that chameleons hide behind branches.

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Interesting. Like I said the male is more timid than the female. Maybe it will change as they get older.

I find that is normally the norm when it is wild caughts vs. captive breeds just with Verrucosus it was much more extreme behavior for normal wild caughts.

Have you got pictures of your Verrucosus? I hear there are three phases blue heads, brown heads and the subspecies red heads. As shown on Neils website.

Thank you for posting this, I am getting my Verrucosus pair this week and I am trying to find as much information as possible, and there is very little on these forums and online in general. We can compare notes every once in a while

Another note of this underrated species the brown heads may not seem attractive except when they are gripping a larger branch they look almost like moss on a tree branch very similar to some species of Brookesia.

Can you guys put pictures up of your Verrucosus?

Those are very good observations, so much so that I don’t have anything other to add to that then Rep points for you.

I have to agree with the Chill factor about them they are by far the most relaxed (as a whole) full size chameleon that we have ever worked with, however last year we got one that was just mad at the world and everything in it. The males with time will display more green instead of grey as they adjust and the females get awesome colors on them. Other than a Carpet they have the best female colors in any chameleon that I have kept.

Best of luck.

I don't know how long they live, but I've had this male forever. He's been showing alot of orange on his arms and legs lately. He hangs with the Parson's.

FFSTRescue said:

Thank you for posting this, I am getting my Verrucosus pair this week and I am trying to find as much information as possible, and there is very little on these forums and online in general. We can compare notes every once in a while

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That would be great. I am interested to hear your views on Oustalet's, and anyone who has kept or is keeping now. Maybe down the road once you have your Verrucocus, you can compare between them. That would be interesting.

@Chad, that's good to know. I know he isn't always that grey color, because when I walk in the room, he is that pretty green and once he sees me, turns that color. How big are your adults, mine seem smaller than others I have seen in pictures, how big are yours?

I just adore Oustalets. They are by far my favorite chameleon.
My male is so calm but his attitude changes often though, sometimes he doesn't mind me and walks onto my arm, and sometimes he literally runs away from me, and sometimes he gapes at me. I'm not sure what the triggers are, but his temperament really varies. He was extremely shy when I first got him, and now it has been about 6 months and he has gotten used to me. He used to hide behind branches when I would walk into the room, now he couldn't care less and just stares at me. He is very slow, so waiting for him to walk onto my arm is a pain, so I have to hurry him along at times which really ticks him off. He really is a gentle giant as they say.
He is a very picky feeder. I have had him tested for everything, but he is just picky and goes on hunger strikes every once in a while, mainly for hormonal reasons, but I make him eat hornworms when he goes through those phases and he hates me for it. I tap the corners of his mouth to make him gape and then throw the worms in. He has NEVER eaten in front of me (unless I was spying on him) so he holds the worm in his mouth until I walk away, then he eats it. For the most part, he is just a mellow, sweet giant.

My female, on the other hand, is quite different. She is not a picky eater at all, and she hates to be seen and avoids me at all costs, unless food is involved. She loves her hornworms, so she will take them from me and then walk away to eat them. She always gapes at me and tries to drop to the ground every chance she can get. I think most of that is hormones though. She recently went through "puberty", so she is quite feisty. She's even worse now that I think she is gravid.

What I love about these guys is that their moods change just like people. They have their good and bad days. The biggest thing I have noticed about them is that they need quite a bit of space. They utilize every square inch of their cages and panic if the cages are too small. My male has a 2ft by 2ft by 6 ft outdoor cage and a 5ft by 6ft by 2ft indoor cage. They are definitely worth the space. I can't wait to have fertile clutches and I hope chameleon enthusiasts catch on to this species and start breeding because I think they are absolutely amazing.

Very much agreed with everything, but no rep points to Chad. I have loved keeping my verru pair and they recently bred. My WC male has become solid and beautiful and the CB female is finally taking to eating out of my hand. I have loved working with them and look forward to future baby verrus.

chams1 said:

Very much agreed with everything, but no rep points to Chad. I have loved keeping my verru pair and they recently bred. My WC male has become solid and beautiful and the CB female is finally taking to eating out of my hand. I have loved working with them and look forward to future baby verrus.

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How long ago did they breed? What temps are you going to incubate at?

I have one more observation I have noticed.

I offered my pair some superworms, and neither would touch them. I had to take them out because they would have just sat there, and didn't want them to bother them while they slept. I am curious to see if they are offered again, if they would eat them, or just let them sit. Just an interesting thought.

Ours love Super worms...

Vegas Chad said:

Ours love Super worms...

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Interesting. How long STV are yours? Don't know if they are adult size, wanted to make sure before I plan on breeding them. I will try and offer some later to see if they will try them.

I just received my Verrucosus pair today from LLLReptile, and I am absolutely smitten with them! I love their personalities! The male seems to be shyer than the female, but besides that, they really remind me of my Oustalets. When they settle in, I will post pictures.
One thing I did notice about them is that they like to hang out more towards the bottom of the cage. Given there is thicker foliage down there, I have found with other chameleons in a 6 ft tall cage, they usually remain at or near the top no matter how densely planted the bottom is. Has anyone else noticed this?

FFSTRescue said:

I just received my Verrucosus pair today from LLLReptile, and I am absolutely smitten with them! I love their personalities! The male seems to be shyer than the female, but besides that, they really remind me of my Oustalets. When they settle in, I will post pictures.
One thing I did notice about them is that they like to hang out more towards the bottom of the cage. Given there is thicker foliage down there, I have found with other chameleons in a 6 ft tall cage, they usually remain at or near the top no matter how densely planted the bottom is. Has anyone else noticed this?

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Mine do the opposite. Mine love to bask, maybe your temperatures are too high, what are the temps in the cage? Or maybe they are just roaming around their new house?