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Bearded Pygmy Chameleon — Fact Sheet

Rieppeleon brevicaudatus · Bearded Pygmy Chameleon

📋 At a glance

Adult size6-9 cm
Lifespan2-4 years
SubspeciesNo captive-care subspecies split
OriginR. brevicaudatus occurs in eastern Tanzania and a small part of southern Kenya, including the Shimba Hills and forest and coastal-thicket systems extending south through Tanzania.
ActivityDiurnal
DifficultyAdvanced
LegalCITES: Appendix II; EU: Annex B; local rules still apply

🏠 Enclosure

  • Tall, well-ventilated enclosure; screen or hybrid setups often work best
  • Adult enclosure should provide vertical movement, dense cover, and easy access to basking and UVB
  • Use live plants and branches; keep drainage under control
  • Avoid glass boxes with stagnant air, loose substrate ingestion risk, and constant handling

🪨 Enclosure furniture

  • Dense plant cover, horizontal basking branch, shaded retreat, and drinking surfaces
  • Branches of varied diameter secured firmly
  • Drainage layer or removable floor protection under misting

💡 Lighting

  • UVB essential with a linear T5 HO tube
  • Bright plant-safe visible lighting helps activity and plant growth
  • Separate basking lamp controlled by distance and measurement
  • Photoperiod: 10-12 h; no light at night

🌡️ Temperature

  • Basking spot: 24-25 °C

  • Warm zone: 20-24 °C

  • Cool zone: 17-20 °C

  • Night: 15-19 °C

  • Clear gradient required; the animal must be able to move between warm, cool, and hidden zones

  • Measure basking surfaces with an infrared thermometer and ambient zones with digital probes

  • Avoid heat rocks and unguarded heat sources

💧 Humidity & water

  • Misting/dripper cycles for drinking, with drying periods between them
  • Good airflow is as important as humidity
  • Night humidity can rise if temperatures drop safely
  • Avoid constantly wet branches and dirty drainage

🪳 Diet

Feed regularly:

  • Appropriately sized crickets, roaches, locusts, and other feeder insects

In moderation:

  • Waxworms, mealworms, superworms, and fatty larvae

Avoid:

  • Wild-caught insects, oversized prey, spoiled feeders

Supplements:

  • Calcium as needed; vitamins in a controlled schedule; UVB does not get replaced by powders

🩺 Health — warning signs

  • Sunken eyes → dehydration or systemic illness
  • Weak grip or bent limbs → UVB/calcium problem
  • Open-mouth breathing at rest → overheating or respiratory disease
  • Persistent dark stress color → husbandry or health problem
  • Swollen joints or casque/limbs → veterinary issue

Consult a reptile- or exotic-animal veterinarian for severe weakness, injury, breathing signs, swelling, or prolonged refusal to eat.