Captive Care, Raising, and Breeding of the Veiled Chameleon (Chamaeleo calyptratus)

Raul E. Diaz; Christopher V. Anderson; Diana P. Baumann; Richard Kupronis; David Jewell; Christina Piraquive; Jill Kupronis; Kristy Winter; Thomas J. Greek; Paul A. Trainor

doi:10.1101/pdb.prot087718

Captive Care, Raising, and Breeding of the Veiled Chameleon (Chamaeleo calyptratus)

¹Department of Biology, La Sierra University, Riverside, California 92515;
²Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, California 90007;
³Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912;
⁴Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, Missouri 64110;
⁵Greek & Associates Veterinary Hospital, Yorba Linda, California 92887;
⁶Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas 66160

Abstract

Squamate reptiles comprise approximately one-third of all living amniotes. In most of these species, it is difficult to study gastrulation and neurulation because the embryos are at a late stage of development at the time of oviposition. This is not the case, however, in veiled chameleons (Chamaeleo calyptratus), which are increasingly being used as a model organism to study these and other developmental and evolutionary phenomena. Originating from the Arabian Peninsula, veiled chameleons are arboreal specialists that possess extensive morphological specializations for climbing. They naturally inhabit semitropical habitats, but they also have an almost 30-yr history of being bred in captivity. Veiled chameleons breed readily and do not require a period of cooling to induce the reproductive cycle, and females can produce ∼45–90 eggs multiple times per year. Thus, compared with other reptiles, relatively few animals are needed to maintain a productive breeding colony. Herein, we present the conditions, equipment, and techniques required for proper husbandry and breeding of veiled chameleons within a laboratory environment.