The Panther Chameleon
Furcifer pardalis


My Ambilobe panther chameleon, Thaxter (named after mycologist Roland Thaxter, 1858-1932) is nearing a year old now, in mid-May. He is probably 6 inches snout-to-vent length (SVL; i.e., body length minus the tail) - a considerable increase from the two inches he was when I got him August 30, 2005. He is now considered a sub-adult, and will grow a bit larger over the next several months, but his major growth spurt is over.
He has had the run of the living room since New Year's Day, when I set him free from his Reptarium. To the right you can see him with his prehensile tail wrapped securely around a curtain rod in the front window. As he matures, he seems to show a marked preference for displaying shades of red - something of a departure from his sire, Rivodoza from Kammerflage Kreations (below). Thaxter is capable of displaying shades of blue as well, but only does so rarely.



It has just become warm enough in Michigan to start letting Thaxter out onto the porch during the daytime (it's still too cold for him to stay out overnight - we had a nighttime low of 35° Fahrenheit May 5-6; panther chameleons ideally should not be below 60°). Here we see him sitting on the floor, basking in the sun. He assumes the dark colors while basking, likely to maximize light absorption. Notice that his throat is inflated in this picture (like Rivodoza's in the piture above). Chameleons inflate their throats when they're displaying - threatening a rival male, displaying for a female, feeling threatened and trying to look big and powerful. In this picture, I got in Thaxter's personal space with the camera and he didn't like it.



Here are a few of the other interesting beasties we have about the house:
Sally Mander is a Texas barred salamander (a subspecies of tiger salamander). He is quite engaging and interactive, as salamanders go. He assumes that anybody standing near his cage means "food", and comes out to greet you, standing on his hind legs with his front legs pressed against the glass. His enthusiasm is better than his eyesight; as soon as there's the potential of food being in the area, he starts snapping randomly in the air, with the result that actually getting the food into his mouth can be something of a challange. (His favorite, and what he would likely be eating in nature, is earthworms.)                                          













Xeno (African clawed frog; Xenopus laevis) has been with us since 2003. He is strictly aquatic (though once he went for a stroll and was discovered, rather dusty, behind a bookcase). He is possibly more enthusiatstic than Sally about his earthworms, of which he receives one every other day.

Rex is a leopard gecko. We've had him since August 2004; he previously belonged to my nephew, Brandon, who found him less-than-exciting (which, in fairness, is perfectly true) and was ready to give him up. Leopard geckos are described as good "starter lizards", and they are certainly undemanding, attractive and long-lived. The downside is that they are nocturnal (they want to hide during the day when you're active, and it isn't very fair to the lizard to be dragging it out or making it conform to your schedule). So, if you want a pretty, easy-to-care-for lizard, a leopard gecko may be for you. If, however, you want an entertaining pet, you might want to go with a bearded dragon or some other species. (Chameleons are quite fascinating to watch, but are not recommended as "starter lizards", as they are more demanding than the average reptile.) A bit of trivia - Rex has external ear openings, and you can see light shining through from the other side of his head. He gets teased a bit because of this - hopefully he knows it's all in fun.

Some of you may remember my Jackson's chameleon, Saccardo. Saccardo died in July, at just over 3 years old, and he is missed. For more on Saccardo, click here.

Links
CHAMELEONS! on-line e-zine
Jackson's chameleons in Hawaii - Artists Matthew and Mary Lovein share their resident, wild Jackson's chameleons. Lots of good pictures.
Kammerflage Kreations - breeders of several species, particularly panther chameleons.

Updated May 8, 2006