Family: Chamaeleonidae
Common Name: Dead Leaf Chameleon
Scientific Name: Brookesia stumpffi
Food: crickets
Distribution: Nosy Be Island and northwester Madagascar.
Habitat: Brookesia stumpffi is most commonly found in the leaf litter and rotting tree trunks on the rain forest floor
Color Discription: brown, gray, drab green, or rust but orange specimens have also observed. Indistinct, yellowish spots are possible. During courtship, males may adopt a mottled, "lichen-like" appearance but otherwise the the color changing ability, as with most members of the Brookesia, is not well developed.
Physical Discription: resembles the dead leaves among which they live. The head is flattened and the rear of the casque is adorned with spinose projections. The orbital crests are well developed and their edges are somewhat scalloped. A row of thorn-like projections runs down either side of the dorsal region, from just a few millimeters behind the casque to the 1/4 of the tail.
Size: 3.5 - 4"
Temperatures/Humidity: day time highs of 75-85ºF to night time lows of 40-60ºF. That same microclimate of the leaf litter tends to maintain humidity at high levels of 70-100%.
Breeding/Reproduction: 2-5 eggs occurs approximately 40 days after mating and hatching occurs after 7-10 weeks at temperatures between 65-75ºF. The hatchlings require very small prey items including springtails, Drosophila melanogaster and newly hatched (pinhead) crickets.
Cage Setup:
Water:
Special Needs:
Special Note: Intraspecific aggression, particularly among males, no more than one male should be housed with one or a small group of females.
Interestingly, this species has been known to "buzz", producing infrasonic vibrations. Lifespan may be as long as 3-4 years.