Stroll into the zoo gift shop and look at the postcards. If you are lucky enough to find a card depicting a reptile, chances are it will show a chameleon. With their brilliant hues of greens and blues, independently rotating eyes, and a tongue that extends to over twice the body length, these animals fascinate zoogoers and zookeepers alike. Now, with trade restrictions on exportation of chameleons from the wild enforced by countries of origin and all species listed under Appendix II of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna) [50CFR, 1996], captive breeding is becoming more pervasive in supplying animals within zoos and in the pet parade.
Although many people consider these species delicate to care for and difficult to breed, their popularity in the pet trade seems to be increasing. The Chameleon Information Network frequently gets calls from people with sick or moribund animals (Abate, pers. com.). Like many reptiles, chameleons are slow to exhibit physical signs of illness, and by the time the illness is recognized, treatment may be futile. Certainly published guidance on the best ways to care for and breed these species would help improve the quality of life for exhibited animals and would be useful in managing captive populations.
Linda Davison has provided such a book with Chameleons: Their Care and Breeding. She has been a chameleon herpetoculturist since the early 1990s and explains that she wrote the book because of the outdated and inaccurate information in the literature when she began housing and breeding chameleon species. Davison and her husband own Sticky Tongue Farms, which she describes as the largest captive breeding facility for chameleons in the world.
The book begins with a chapter on chameleon taxonomy, anatomy, conservation, and choosing the right chameleon. There are also chapters on handling, care and housing, feeding, health, breeding, and popular species and their environments. The book is well organized and written in a very conversational tone. The author discusses mortalities, particularly with hatchlings, in relation to type of diet or caging, and how she was able to reduce the mortalities by modifying techniques. What immediately caught my eye when going through this book are the photos. Not only are they stunning color photos, but they are used to illustrate species, husbandry systems, behaviors, and disease.