By Paul Donovan
The one reptile here in Botswana, (where I live) that has more senseless myths hanging from its name than any other herp is, believe it or not, the Flap-necked chameleon, Chamaeleo dilepis. I have lived here now for 14 years, and run an educational company lecturing to government departments, the Wildlife Training Institute, schools and colleges on the biology/natural history of reptiles and invertebrates.
For the opening to my talks, I use a couple of chameleons. I naturally thought (which subsequently turned out to be a blinding error of judgement on my part) using a chameleon to introduce people to reptiles would be a logical choice. Let’s face it, what could be more harmless? How far off the mark was I! I’ve seen adults burst into tears, and flee the room at the thought I would make them touch one. They confessed later that they would rather hold a puff adder than touch one of these heinous little lizards. When you quiz them about their fears, that’s when you begin to think quietly to yourself “are you serious?”
There is the belief that if one looks at you, or if you touch one, it will appear in their dreams and steal your soul to possess you forever. Your skin will also change colour. Because the eyes are continually moving about, apparently their only function is to hypnotize you! As a consequence they are killed on sight. By way of interest, stories regularly making front page news over here include; “woman turns into a snake after being bitten” or “woman gives birth to a snake”. These daft stories make headline news! The worst thing is people actually believe them because they must be true since they are in the newspaper. They crowd outside the individuals’ houses like flies around a carcass, trying to see these strange manifestations. Trying to educate people from their false beliefs, is a thorny subject. No matter how much you try and rationalize with them, it quickly becomes a clash of parables against science. Anyway back to the real world.
The Not So Widely Found
Many guide books will show the Flap-Necked Chameleon having a wide distribution in Africa. In Botswana, it is found throughout much of the country, perhaps with the exception of the central region. That being said, I have noticed a steady decline in populations over the years which I fear can largely be placed at the door of bush clearance for agriculture, illegally chopping trees down for firewood, and general urban development.
All of this limits the natural pathways of trees which the chameleon uses to travel around. Just about all of the individuals I have encountered have been crossing paved roads. This is an alien environment for them, but they have to cross them to move from tree to tree. Unfortunately, they become easy targets for motorists who take great delight in running them over for pleasure.
Chameleons in general are prehistoric looking lizards whose ancestors can be traced back some 65 million years, to a time when a species called Mimeosaurus prowled the prehistoric trees in search of equally prehistoric insects. As a modern day representative of this bygone era, the Flap-Neck, or Lebodu to give it its Setswana name, may not be the largest of the family at 25 – 30 cm, but it is the only species endemic to Botswana.
The common name comes about due to the two occipital flaps of skin at the rear of the head. A number of sub-species have been described based on the size of these flaps, although the validity of these occipital flaps as a precursor to being assigned as a subspecies is still a grey area.
For such a harmless lizard, it can put up a very convincing display of aggression, which is enough to make most people back off; perhaps this is another reason as to why they are so feared. When confronted by a predator such as a Boomslang, an individual will inflate its body and neck to expose a bright flash of yellow colouration, open its mouth wide and hiss alarmingly. It will then sway from side to side so as to appear more menacing than it really is. It then raises these skin flaps and turns dark in colour. At this point, if you have not backed off, you are subjected to a series of fearful and repeated bites.
Chamaeleo dilepis naturally occurs in coastal thickets, woodland, and moist and dry savannah. They reside in low-lying bushes, shrubs and trees, but do not occupy the canopy of tall trees. They seem to prefer trees with rough bark; presumably because it offers better grip. At night, they spend their time asleep on branches in thick foliage.
As masters of colour change and patterning, it is difficult to describe a ‘normal’ colouration for this species, as they can be anything from lime green, greenish-yellow, through to brown and black; with or without spots and banding in an equally diverse assortment of colours. A crest of small white scales is present running from the throat, along the belly, to the vent.
As these chameleons move through the foliage their eyes are continually surveying their surroundings for food and potential threats. When you stumble across one, they begin to sway as though they were a leaf in the hope you haven’t spotted them. It’s quite an amusing sight to be confronted by and to watch them bridge a gap between two branches becomes even more entertaining. The prehensile tail serves not for balance as in other lizards, but functions more as a fifth ‘leg’. Balance, in their case, is provided by the chameleon’s low centre of gravity and feather-weight body. It is by making subtle movements to the left or right that balance defects are corrected.
I watched one individual for twenty minutes attempting to bridge the span between two twigs. It would stick its mitten foot forward and sway repeatedly backwards and forwards trying to grasp the opposing twig. Every time it missed it would have this almost embarrassed look on its face, before it eventually caught it and moved on its merry way.
Good Vision
Chameleons have 360-degree vision, and once an individual has fixed on its target, it stalks it with the stealth and grace of a master hunter. As it edges ever closer, it does so with almost imperceptible movements. When within range, it propels its tongue forwards at a speed of 5 metres a second. The tongue is unique amongst reptiles, in that it is actually a fleshy extensor muscle folded in the mouth like an accordion. It is furnished with thousands of microscopic hooks, which aid in holding the prey which is then pulled into the mouth, crunched up a few times and swallowed.
Chameleon Care
Providing you do not try keeping males together, which are extremely intolerant of one another at the best of times, Chamaeleo dilepis is not a demanding species in captivity. I would suggest one male to two females a good ratio to look after.
To accommodate their arboreal nature, a tall vivarium is preferred. This should be furnished with branches for climbing, and foliage for protective cover. Without sufficient concealment they can become stressed. Any branches should not be wider than the chameleons grip otherwise they will have difficulty climbing. Pencil thickness is ideal. And the rougher the better.
Warmth loving
If there is one thing I have come to realise about this chameleon, it is that they are warmth lovers. Most of those I’ve found crossing the roads, have been during the hottest part of the day, where summer temperatures may exceed 40 oC (104 F). In captivity they should be maintained at between 25oC and 31 oC degrees, with a basking area of 35 oC. At night, the temperature should drop to 18 oC to 22 oC. Because I keep my chameleons outdoors in a wired enclosure, during the winter months they can endure temperatures a few degrees off of freezing. I would not advocate you subject them to such temperatures in captivity, but it does show just how hardy they are. They do not undergo any period of hibernation or aestivation, and can be seen active on sunny winter days.
Provide a relative humidity of 50 to 60 percent; this can be achieved by spraying the cage each day. Not only does this serve to maintain humidity, but also provides the chameleon with drinking water – they will not drink from a bowl. That being said, they can endure long periods without water. I suspect these chameleons get much of their moisture requirements from their prey. In the northern parts of their distribution it is more wet and humid than in the south. Certainly where I live in the south ( where for much of the year the bush is dry and desolate) they have to endure extremely harsh conditions – low winter temperatures, high summer temperatures, and very little in the way of rainfall. Providing you do not live in a state which receives very harsh winters, I would suggest you keep them outdoors in a suitable setup.
One of the most important aspects of their husbandry, is to provide good ventilation and airflow through the vivarium. In my experience, they are susceptible to respiratory infections if kept in damp, ‘stale’ conditions.
In Botswana, during the winter they have a photoperiod of 11 hours of light, and 13 hours of darkness. During the summer 15 hours of light and 9 hours of darkness. Illumination should come from full-spectrum lighting.
Diet
Just about any insect will be taken. Mine relish cockroaches which I collect from the garden when other feeder insects are not available. I don’t use any vitamin/mineral supplement because they are fed ‘wild’ insects. But in captivity, prey should be either gut-loaded or sprinkled with a quality vitamin/mineral to avoid soft jaw and other ailments from developing.
Breeding
Males can be identified by the swelling at the base of the tail, and become extremely intolerant of one another. When a female has been found, little preliminary courtship takes place. Following the couple of minutes it takes for them to mate, the sexes separate and go their own way. In captivity it is worth separating the sexes for a week, or two prior to reintroducing, as this may stimulate a non-breeding couple to get on and do what they should be doing. A drop in temperature of a few degrees may also be beneficial to bring them into breeding condition, but hibernation is not a prerequisite to mating.
Females typically lay between 20 and 40 eggs in the damp soil at the base of a tree. In captivity, a good substitute is a container of damp sand/peat mix or vermiculite. This should be approximately 7cm. It is quite unmistakable if the female is pregnant, as the eggs can be seen bulging from the abdomen.
Incubate the eggs at 27 oC, and be prepared for a very long wait. Average incubation times extend up to 9 months. During this period it is imperative that you discard any which turn grey or develop mold/fungus.
Hatchlings are pretty hardy compared to other chameleon species, though one should always be aware that the biggest killer is dehydration. I mist each individual separately until it stops drinking. Feed a varied diet sprinkled with a quality vitamin/mineral supplement. Individuals appearing stressed should be removed and reared on their own.
The Flap-Neck Chameleon is a wonderful hardy species to look after, and if you are in the market for a chameleon, you won’t go wrong with one of these. I hate to use this phrase, but it really is a good beginners species to nudge your way into keeping some of the more delicate species.
