Cape Dwarf Chameleon Caresheet (Bradypodion pumilum)
Author: Devon Massyn
Introduction
Dwarf chameleons are a group of small chameleons from the genus Bradypodion. They are endemic to Southern Africa. These chameleons are quite rare due to the fact that their populations are very localized (in most cases a species' distribution is just a single town). Dwarf chams are viviparous which means they give birth to live young. Cape dwarfs are one of the largest of the genus averaging with a snout to vent length (svl) of around 2.5 to 3 inches.Dwarfs in captivity
In my experience, the cape dwarf makes the most perfect chameleon for captivity for a few reasons: Unlike other chameleons, they are not so territorial. In the wild they are sometimes found in a group of 5 or 6 on a single bush! As I have said, they give birth to live young. They are super easy to breed and have about 2 or three clutches of 5-15 babies a year! They are small chameleons so you can keep a group of them together in an enclosure that doesn't have to be huge! Also due to their size they don't eat as much as other large chameleons.Temperament
As with 90% of chams, they prefer not to be handled and left to themselves. But they can tolerate a bit of handling, color change is a good indication whether they are stressed out or not. If feeling threatened they will go darker and hiss at you flaring their brightly colored interstitial skin in the gular region. If you notice your chameleon is going darker at all, rather but it back. Chameleons can really suffer from stress. These guys all have different characters so you'll have to see for yourself. I have one that always comes towards me and climbs onto my hand. I thinks he just wants food though!Housing
As with all chameleons, full spectrum lighting is essential. If you cannot provide this, then keeping a chameleon is not an option for you. Where I live outside temps are good all year round so I keep mine outside in a custom built enclosure. You could keep yours outside just for the summer if needed and then bring them in for the winter.I made a mesh enclosure about 5ft high with a square base of 2ft x 2ft. You could make it smaller according to the amount of chams you keep in there. I keep a trio in that enclosure. It is always a good idea to rather not keep more than one male together because they could compete for the females during mating time. I planted a ficus inside which provides enough shade and hiding space, and also keeps water droplets nicely on the leaves. Make sure they have sunlight on their tree; they like to bask first thing in the morning and late afternoon.
If you keep yours indoors, have a basking light set up at the top of the enclosure and a UVB light, this is important! Also provide quite a lot of vegetation so they feel secure and can be alone if they want. Give them a 12 hour lighting cycle.
Feeding and Water
Chameleons need lots of water; you can provide this by misting their enclosure for about a minute. They will drink off the leaves and branches. Do this 2 or 3 times a day.These chameleons are purely insectivorous. Give them crickets, mealworms, wax worms, flies, silk worms and their moths. Dust the food items with calcium powder. Food items should be no bigger than the size of the top of their heads. They do prefer smaller items though.
You can hook a plastic food bowl to the side of the enclosure. They will come and eat straight out of this. I prefer to feed them crickets by hand so I know they are all getting food. (It is also quite cool to see them using their long tongues to catch stuff from your fingers.) If they are nervous to do this in the beginning just be patient.
"Feeding newborns" is a whole other story because they are microscopic!!! I will write a care sheet for newborns soon as their care is very involved and difficult.
Breeding
Cape dwarf chams are super easy to breed. If your conditions are all correct and they are healthy you'll have babies in no time. You really don't have to do anything to encourage breeding. Just make sure you have a male and a female. Sexing is quite difficult; males are generally more brightly colored and have a more pronounced casque (crest) on their head. Females are bigger than males.If your female is gravid you'll notice her getting extremely bloated. Isolate that female nearer to giving birth because other adults will eat the babies because they are so small! As I have said, they give birth to live young. Litter size varies anywhere from 5-15 babies. They usually have 2 litters a year but 3 max. Summer litters are generally larger. The babies are brown and gradually get their green color at about 5 to 6 months. Growth is very fast and they can be sexually mature in a year.
