These amazing chameleons are one of the most fascinating of the chameleon species to keep.
Their small size allows people with space issues the ability to enjoy the world of the chameleon.

The species most widely kept is the bearded pygmy chameleon Rieppeleon brevicaudatus. So this species is what I will focus upon.

Characteristics
These tiny chameleons are from Tanzania and are often referred to as stump tail chameleons or leaf chameleons, they are mostly buff or grey in colour but variations do occur.
I have seen colour change to match the environment where they have taken on the colour of the bark or leaves surrounding them especially if the leaves are dead.
They have two main defence mechanisms, one being a buzz(vibrate) this could also be a means of communication, the other and most drastic is akinesia(Feigning Death) where they will fall to the ground as if dead.


This is just a brief guide as to how I keep and raise stump tailed chameleons.

Purchasing
At one time only WC were available to the hobby, now thankfully there are many CB pygmy chameleons available, i would advise asking whether or not the chameleons you are buying are WC or CB, as quite often WC Adults are old and have already laid many clutches, these small chameleons live to reproduce having maybe four clutches a year.
Acclimating WC pygmies can be tricky with many losses, this doesn’t mean it can’t be done, but for the first time chameleon keeper i would recommend CB if possible.

Captive Habitat
Before setting up a vivarium for your chameleons, take a bit of time to research climate and wild habitat I find this helps a lot when making them a home and gives you a good insight into how they live.
I have used lots of things to house pygmies from fish tanks to Exo Terras and plastic tubs, all work well, it’s up to the individual and what works best for them to create the perfect captive habitat.
Items i use when creating a pygmy vivarium:-
Irish moss peat for substrate
Small ivy plants
Small ficus plants
Loads of nice spindly twigs (dead ficus branches work really well)
Bark
Moss

The Basic Setup
As i said earlier this is how I do it, nothing is set in stone.
I start by putting at least four inches of substrate in to the tank, banking it up to maybe five or six inches at the back. Now rather than writing about how i set it all up here is a step by step pictorial.
Some use hydroleca and charcoal to keep the drainage good and stop the peat going sour, i never have and have never had a problem. One of reasons i don’t do this is i find females like to dig right down to the base of plant roots to lay their eggs. I always plant directly into the substrate and never leave the plants in their pots.
See pictures below

__________________

Step 1


Step 2


Step 3


Step 4


Step 5

__________________

Lighting
Whilst UV can only be of benefit especially to the plants, remember where these chameleons live, low to the ground amongst leaf litter, but not on the ground, they are still primarily arboreal and frequent low bushes and grasses mostly out of direct sunlight, saying that i have watched them actively bask under a low watt halogen light. I would imagine in their natural habitat they can seek out shafts of sunlight if they so wish.
I have and do keep them with and without lighting i find if it is too bright they do hideaway more.

Heat
This is a much talked about subject, with some saying they have lost chameleons due to high temperatures, i have a friend who has monitored temps in Tanzania where these chameleons originate from, he did this throughout the day on various days and at times the temperature was 28-30c.
In my opinion i think they can tolerate high temperatures for short periods provided their humidity is good and they have cool damp places to hide in the vivarium.
Room temperature in a normal lounge is fine for these chameleons, mine do very well in a warmer than average room (due to other vivarium’s.)
Temps to aim for are roughly 74f or lower during daylight hours and they can take temps lower than 50f at night. Good airflow and ventilation is paramount as is humidity they like it nice and damp but not soggy.

Feeding and Drinking
Surprisingly adult stump tailed chameleons will eat much larger prey than you would expect i use banded crickets size two or small, and also feed woodlice who in turn are good custodians of the environment.
I dust maybe twice a week with calcium and then vits once a month i much prefer to gut load my feeders.
Spray twice a day heavily with a fine mist, but take care as water droplets can collect over a small chameleon’s nose and mouth and suffocate it.

Breeding and sexing
Pygmy chameleons can be kept in small groups of one male with two or three females, don’t keep males together they will fight, i have seen a male pick another male up and fling it off a branch! And this was in a heavily planted three foot setup. Females on the other hand seem to tolerate each other well and will roost together as a group.


Sexing is quite straight forward males have a much thicker tail base and the tail is slightly longer, they also have more horizontal striping than the female.
See pictures below
Male


Female

__________________

Breeding if you are lucky you may see your chameleons mating, Females will dig deep and lay their eggs close to the roots of a plant or the side of the tank. Clutches can be anything from two to four tiny eggs that closely resemble tic tacs.
Some leave the eggs in the substrate to incubate, I always dig them up and incubate at room temps in vermiculite with a sphagnum moss layer, this means you can monitor eggs easily and avoid deaths from stray crickets eating babies that hatch during the night.
At room temperature eggs will hatch around 80-90 days, i have found if the eggs are too warm and hatch early, neonates can fail to thrive. So aim for temps around 72-74f when eggs start to hatch it can take a full day for the hatchling to emerge, they stop for frequent rests and often look lifeless, so don’t panic.






Care of babies is much the same as adults, extra care must be taken when spraying and fruit flies and micro crickets used as feeders whilst they are tiny, i use medium pen pals for babies with tights stretched over the top to contain the fruit flies, once they are eating micros they have an open top.
Lastly enjoy these wonderful tiny chameleons

__________________

thats given me a really good insight to these amazing little guys Karen, they look like they have so much character.....I want or 2 or ....4 lol

Thanks Muji, they are great to keep

__________________

Nice to see a care sheet that hasnt been bogged down with faux science.

Thanks Nelson, i am a simple person, why make things complicated when they are not

__________________

great care guide Karen.. can't wait to get mine!

Brilliant job Karen very precise & informative! Well done! Heatherxxx