Dwarf Panther Chameleons (Furciler Cephalolepis)

Madagascar
Hatched February 14 2002
Incubation temps 68 - 74 F
February 14 2002

 

Included is my incubation chamber picture :o)
May 24 2001




 
 
 
 

Update March 30 2002 
Group born February 14 2002 
 Started out with 5 hatchlings all are doing fine 
Screen cage is 12 inches high 12 inches wide 16 inches deep 

A few pictures to show these little guys at 2:45 PM outside temp is 86 F bright sunlight. 
This group is very lively and will run to the back of the cage as soon as I walk outside to view them . 
A little later in the day they get quite a bit more color to them, these colors are light gray to almost white with black to dark gray .  The photo below is actualy quite close to actual color

 


One small difference I have noticed about these guys is they really do not like water. Even to the point of dropping from the leaves to escape the mist created by the green house misters attached to the misting system. So my mister was turned to a different cage.  I am hand misting the opposite side of the cage with better results. Nothing new about baby chameleons not liking the wet spray. Just that this group seems to have a “Do not spray “ Attitude problem. I Am hand misting 3 times per day! 
 Another quirky thing! They were hiding under the leaves upside down. This stopped after the 3rd week. 
  Drosophila’s melengaster and  hydei were used in the beginning as a food supply for the first 3 to 4 weeks I used pin heads in the second week but noticed stress colors during feeding because of the fight to eat the larger pinheads so I decided to wait for them to get a little larger before placing more pin heads in with them. Remember these are dwarf Panthers not Pardalis . Furciler Cephalolepis are much smaller.

Another odd thing is the love of heat. In full sunlight these little guys will bask for one full hour and again during the day I see them in full sunlight. I actually moved the cage back into a more shaded area so as not to dehydrate them. Remember babies will loose water faster than adults. Long basking times will quickly dehydrate them. I did not see them gape but I figured as a precaution its best to play it safe. I also should tell you I am located in South Florida temps here have been in the mid  80”s day time high and 70 during the evening . I think its been perfect weather for the babies . 

 Fruit flies until 4 weeks old  Then pinheads .Temperatures  Mid eighty's misting 3 times daily some days 4 times . 3 feedings per day . Pinheads are eating Susan James gut load formula . No supplements used to date yet . I don't think these guys need vitamins to give them energy they almost seem to be super charged most of the time . But I will use a little calcium beginning this week one time per week . Because Mineral-All  is a good fine particulate (small in size) I will use it and the benefit of the trace minerals will help  the babies . 
 The fruit flies are eating real fruit before feeding them to the babies . 

  The 5 week rule that is applied to selling baby chameleons . I am tossing it out the window because I feel  these guys are not at all ready for retail sale to a unsuspecting consumer ! Selling them to someone without experience raising babies in MHO would be wrong . At 5 weeks they are looking like 2 day old veiled babies . By the growth rate  I have seen it seems more likely a 90 day waiting period would be fair . I also am not convinced that these are what I would classify as good for the first time chameleon owner . But I will have to wait to see …. Very hearty,  strong,  good eaters, interesting ...My caution about releasing them as babies to a customer would include the need for  Fruit Fly and really small pinheads. If a person has the ability to feed these items I dont see any problems with keeping them ....