helmeted chameleons

[choriona]

okay, i was looking at these cute guys in my cham book. "Chameleons Vol I" by W. Schmidt, K.Tamm & E. Wallikewitz.
Helmeted Chameleons (Chamaeleo hoehnelii) have got to be the cutest chams ever. They are from East Africa. They remind me of Veileds, but they are live bearers. I wish I had a pic to attach.
Anyways, I wanted to know if anyone has heard of these guys being available in Canada...or I guess North America. They are now number one on my wish list!!
If anyone can find a pic, I encourage them to post it here.
:)

[tHeGiNo]

Choriona, do you have MSN? I might be getting some in from the states so maybe we can work something out.

[Collide]

http://www.rkreptiles.net/images/Male%20Highland%20Hoe%20b%201.jpg

thats from RK reptiles

Im hopping to be getting soem in the spring i love these guys

[meow_mix450]

is that an adult??? hw big do they grow

Meow

[choriona]

Well, I am not sure I am able to add to my collection at this time. I was just wondering if they are easy to get a hold of or not. And maybe the suggested retail price....
I may be embarking on a 4 year adventure in Saskatchewan next year...That is if I get accepted to vet school. I'm already worried if I'll be able to bring my collection as is. :(

[Collide]

fairly easy to get im the states im hoing to start up a breeding colony but that might take more the a year soo...

they a kinda dwarf meow soo they dont grow much bigger then the pic

[choriona]

I was reading 10 inches tops.

[sleddergirl]

I swear I saw them at my local reptile store a few months ago. Not 100% sure but I suspect that they were the ones I remember seeing............:confused:

[Chris_Anderson]

They are available in the US, don't know about Canada. I have a pair with some interesting coloration. The female is orange and the male is mostly white. They are nice animals reaching about 7-10 inches total lenght. I'd post a picture but they are too large and it won't let me...
Chris

[Chris_Anderson]

Alright, I figured it out. Here ya go.

Female:
http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/3628Chamaeleo_Trioceros_hoehnelii_46_-_Mari_01-19-04_.jpg

Male:
http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/3628Chamaeleo_Trioceros_hoehnelii_49_-_Enzo_2-4-04_.jpg

Enjoy,

Chris

[choriona]

Oh they are so cute. Thanks Chris.
How do you tell the male from the female? (besides coloration...is there any dimorphism?)
Are they hard to care for? (Are they hardy or touchy?)
Still looking for the average price range....to see if they are even within my means. :)

[Chris_Anderson]

The most difficult thing about this species is the hydration requirements and the need for such a temp drop at night. Heres some good info on them: ADCHAM - Ch. hoehnelii sheet (http://www.adcham.com/html/taxonomy/species/chhoehnelii.html) It has good information on care and sexing, etc. I puchased my male for $50US and I got my female from a friend. I would say that around $100-150/pr is about right for WC.

Chris

[choriona]

Well thanks again Chris for that info. Now I am sure I am going to get one. Or two...
Have you kept veileds and panthers, and if so, how would you rate a helmeted against those species in terms of coloration (do they have variable patterns?), stress easy or more relaxed....those kinda things.
Do you know if breeding is successful in captivity, or are most WC?

[tHeGiNo]

In regards to sexing, males have hemipenal bulges. Another method of sexings relates to the fact that males have a knob on the rostral ridge. Often times, this knob and the casque are more pronounced, however there are cases where females possess fairly developed versions as well. I am also under the impression that they seek HIGH humidities. I think these would be fairly easy to raise in Canada, being that their required day time temperatures are not too high, and they need a large temperature drop during the night.

By the way, I have absolutely no hands on experience with hoehnelii, and am speaking from my research only.

[Chris_Anderson]

The vast majority of specimens are WC. There are some breeding them but not many. My female is currently gravid. A lot of people think these animals require cool temps and really high humidity cause they are "montane" but this isn't really the case. They do have high hydration requirements but they enjoy to bask and need to have a warm area. Night temperature drops are a must!!!! WC specimens can be difficult and they stress much easier than panthers or veileds. In general i would say they are significantly more difficult than either species.

Chris

[tHeGiNo]

Interesting, in my readings my understandings husbandry wise was high humidity, low temperatures. What temperatures are you keeping yours at?

Edit:

Wow! I just read AdChams caresheet, interesting! It seems they are quite the extremists, 95F during the day, 45F at night. Amazing.

[Chris_Anderson]

The caresheet for this species on ADCHAM is a very good one. That is pretty much how i keep my animals although I can't say that I am even able to supply the night temp drop into the 40s, more like the upper 50s. In the wild, this species is known to littererally fall off the branches and appear dead at night temps below freezing only to be able to shoot their tongue when temps get back up above 7 degrees Celcius. While this might make them seem very hardy and resilient, I would not advise this species to lesser experienced keepers, especially WC specimens.

Chris

[huhet]

sorry to dig up an old thread, but i've been looking at these chameleons lately, and i'm just wondering how you provide that temp drop, especially in the summer time.

[Chris_Anderson]

Originally posted by huhet
sorry to dig up an old thread, but i've been looking at these chameleons lately, and i'm just wondering how you provide that temp drop, especially in the summer time.


In the winter, I have the thermostat set for the high 50s low 60s and the bulbs during the day heat them up sufficiently. During the summer, I have air conditioning in the room next door so I leave the door to that room open, have ceiling fans running in every room to circulate the cool air and the humidity from all the plants, the misting system, etc., makes it so it doesn't get too dry. I also open windows in the room they are in at night when the temp drops below what it is in the house. Its a constant battle in the summer.

Chris

[huhet]

how do you house yours? i've seen information that says that a pair may be housed together (save pregnant females). how low can you get the temp in the night in the summer there? i live in north dakota, so temperature wouldn't be a problem all but 3 months during the year, but during those three months, it might be bad news.