Under the charm of Chameleons

I haven't seen a Chameleon in my garden for about 10 years now. In fact, I can't remember when last I even saw one in the wild.Two decades ago I used to encounter them on virtually a daily basis and I can still remember the thrill every time I watched them change colour or catch a fly. Progress, loss of habitat, veld fires and the illegal trade in Chameleons all play a big factor in their plummeting numbers. I don't even have any photographs of one, except a very old one from about 15 years ago, taken in my garden, as he was scuttling for cover. So I've resorted to sketching and painting them.

Showing his displeasure at being disturbed by changing to a bright yellow.

There are about 200 species of chameleon with 19 recognised species in South Africa. They are found all over Africa and Madagascar, with a very few occurring in Europe or the Arabian Peninsula. There are no true chameleons in America except, interestingly, a species of chameleon that was imported into Hawaii and has now established a flourishing population there.

Having chameleons in the garden is very beneficial. They eat all the goggas and pests that gardeners don’t like and not only that, they are wonderful little animals, perfectly adapted to their lifestyle of camouflage and ambush. And there are some things we can do to help preserve this species, like refusing to buy them from street hawkers and creating a chameleon-friendly garden. I came upon this interesting article by Kay Montgomery published on IOL Lifestyle in 2014, and thought I would publish some of it here to help spread the word and save these wonderful little creatures.

The most important fact about chameleons is they need a fairly large area in which to roam. In Johannesburg, gardeners are being encouraged to link up chameleon-friendly gardens in a single neighbourhood. It is hoped that these gardens will merge to create corridors of chameleon habitat which will make it possible for populations of chameleon to flourish.

Here are some tips for developing a chameleon-friendly garden:

• Reduce your lawn. To a chameleon, a large lawn is a giant desert. It contains no food, has no perches and no protective cover.
• Thin out your trees. A garden filled with trees with low-hanging branches is a nightmare for chameleons. The branches of trees (pines and oaks in particular) are too thick for the chameleons to move along. They attract little insect life and offer no nectar.
• Plant large thin-stemmed shrubs. Heaven for chameleons is a garden filled with a dense under-storey of shrubs with a range of perch sizes for juveniles and adults.
• Provide food. Chameleons eat small insects such as moths, butterflies, flies, fruit flies, aphids, woodlice, beetles, spiders and small grasshoppers. 

The best way to attract chameleons to your garden is to make sure that the soil is covered in a thick mulch of compost, decaying autumn leaves and woodchips. This rich forest floor environment will attract an entire microcosm of insect life, and chameleons will arrive.

• Develop a compost heap in a quiet corner of the garden with the precise purpose of breeding insects. Baby chameleons will relish the tiny flies, grubs, beetles and gnats that thrive around a compost heap.
• Build an insect hotel. Very fashionable in Europe, insect hotels are artistic columns or cubes of plant material that are glued or wired together. The common theme is that each material must be considered a suitable home by respectable insects and spiders. A hotel could include a mishmash of pinecones, hollow bamboo stems, lotus pods or even old pieces of wood with holes of different sizes drilled into the stem.
• Plant flowering shrubs. Chameleons thrive in a garden that has a complete ecosystem of small, medium and large flowering shrubs which are constantly attracting insect activity. Smaller flowering shrubs covered in flowers are particularly loved by insects and are regarded as food table bridges between large twiggy shrubs. Many of the honeybee-friendly plants, such as euryops daisies, ribbon bushes, sage, fireball lilies, gazania and vygies will attract a variety of insects.
• Plant large shrub trees: Adult chameleons thrive in the higher perches found in large shrubs or small trees such as the dune crowberry, pompon trees, sweet thorn acacias and wild olive.
• Remove predators: Cats are one of the biggest threats to chameleons, birds and microfauna in the garden.
• Avoid using pesticides that kill flies, crickets, ants and micro-insect life that chameleons rely on for their food.
• Avoid illegal traders. If you see indigenous chameleons for sale, they are not legal. You are urged not to buy them.

What to plant

A chameleon-friendly garden is as much about the structure of the vegetation as it is about the plants. This notwithstanding, here is a list of chameleon-friendly plants:

• Low-growing groundcovers: Try the lilac carpet geranium (Geranium multisectum), gazanias, bulbine, dwarf agapanthus or kingfisher daisy.
• Shade-loving shrubs under trees: Try the spurflower (Plectranthus spp.), asparagus fern (Asparagus densiflorus), ribbon bush, arum and fireball lily.
• Low-growing shrubs with thin branches: Confetti bush, euryops daisy, tea bush or azaleas.
• Larger shrubs with thin branches: sage bush (Buddleja salviifolia), hop bush, mahonia, lion’s ear, polygala or dune crowberry (Searsia crenata).

Chamaeleo dilepis (Flap-neck chameleon) - The Flap-neck is the most common chameleon found in Gauteng (South Africa). The colouring here indicates that it is not feeling threatened but the change of spots is getting ready, just in case!

Image from Biodiversity

 Image credit - Here it is quite clear that he is very upset and not impressed at all!

It is very difficult to tell the different species apart. At first glance, they all look quite the same - all small, greenish-brown, with rolling eyes. But on closer inspection, it appears that there is a large amount of colour and scale variation, even within the same species. Luckily, with the help of genetic tests, it is now possible to make a better distinction between species, because each one has its own specific DNA code.
This makes further work on the morphological differences between species possible.

Any animal that can change colours and look in two directions at once is worth learning more about. Armed with a tongue you have to see to believe, the chameleon may be one of the coolest reptiles on the planet. I can only pray that in generations to come, chameleons can still be found roaming the trees of South Africa freely.

Together we can make a difference.

(Source for most of the information from the internet.)

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BULLFROG at my pond - 1am 10 Nov 2015

Image from Milan Zygmunt 500px

The most wonderful sound to wake up to - the call of a Bullfrog (Pyxicephalus adspersus) at my pond! I haven’t heard one for years, so I immediately jumped out of bed (at 1am!), grabbed the torch and rushed to the pond. It took me quite a while to find him - first of all he heard me, so kept quiet for a while, but then continued - and secondly the torch light was rather dim. But eventually I found him. There he was! Cleverly hidden under a large rock in the shallows. I did have my camera with me, but the pics showed nothing in the darkness. So I looked for him the next morning and did find him (I in fact found two), but he was not nearby the size of the pics below - a youngster, about 10cm (4”) long and the minute he saw me, he left the safety of the rock he was hiding under and swam to deeper waters. So once again, no pic. It’s hard to believe that such a small chap can have such a booming voice!

The large rock (top right) under which he was hiding

Their loud booming calls (to attract a female) can be heard for miles and the first time you hear it (for me it was in the early 80’s at my previous wildlife pond), you’re not sure whether to investigate or to flee!

This species occurs widely in South Africa, Swaziland, Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe, extending north to southern Angola, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Kenya. One of the most adaptable amphibians on earth, Pyxicephalus can tolerate some of the harshest environments in Africa. Certain areas of their range can be completely dry for years at a time, and can reach surface temperatures over 100 degrees F, and drop to below freezing during the winter. Protected in an underground estivation chamber, the frogs wait it out until more suitable conditions occur. When the rainy season begins (usually November), they come out of their chamber, occupy temporary floodplains and rapidly drying puddles scattered around the African countryside, just for a few short days or a couple of weeks.

I am totally thrilled that they have taken up residence in my garden!
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Behavior
These frogs have a short active period depending on the rainy season. The majority of their lives are spent estivating underground. Adults will burrow underground using the metatarsal tubercle on their powerful hind legs. Juveniles lack this tubercle and must resort to utilising an existing burrow made by some other animal. They slough off several layers of their skin's epidermal cells which form a tough cocoon. Most of their bodily functions slow or shut down all together. This period of dormancy may last a year or more. During the rainy season frogs will sit partially buried with the nose exposed, taking advantage of any smaller animal unfortunate enough to pass by

Food Habits
Pyxicephalus adspersus is carnivorous and will consume nearly any animal that can be overpowered and can fit in their huge mouths. Cannibalism is a common occurrence beginning the moment they metamorphose. Many of their first meals will be a member of the same egg mass. Other prey items may include invertebrates, other species of frogs, reptiles, small mammals, and even small birds. The tongue is folded over inside the mouth. To capture a potential meal, it will drop its lower jaw with considerable force, causing the tongue to flip over and out of the animal's mouth, seizing the prey

Did you know?
Certain areas of their range can be completely dry for years at a time, and can reach surface temperatures over 38 degrees C, and drop to below freezing during the winter. Protected in an underground estivation chamber, the frogs wait it out until more suitable conditions occur. In fact, the majority of their lives are spent estivating underground. They slough off several layers of their skin's epidermal cells which form a tough cocoon, which prevents the evaporation of body fluids. Most of their bodily functions slow or shut down all together. 

The major threat through most of its range is harvesting of frogs for local consumption, which is believed to be responsible for some population declines. In South Africa, breeding habitat has been lost due to urbanisation. This species is sometimes found in the international pet trade but at levels that do not currently constitute a major threat.

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The end of an era

Torti, the Leopard Tortoise (also known as the Mountain Tortoise)

I took Torti to be released in the Krugersdorp Game Reserve today. She arrived in 2008, no bigger than my hand and probably 2 or 3 years old, Now she's almost 10 and will be reaching sexual maturity soon and I feel it is time for her to meet some of her own kind. I wish you well and hope you're happy in your new home Torti!

Some stats : length 48cm, width across her shell 48cm, height 28cm, weght approx. 15kg. 

Destined for the pot or possibly muti (a term for traditional medicine in Southern Africa), I confiscated her from the aggressor and brought her home. My intention was to release here into a safe environment, but these are becoming less and less due to the area becoming heavily built-up over the last decade.

Torti enjoying her breakfast, a mix of lettuce, celery, carrots, apple, baby marrows, brocolli and some Echeveria leaves

The Leopard tortoise (Stigmochelys pardalis) or Mountain Tortoise face many dangers like illegal trade in wildlife, body parts being used in traditional medicines, veld fires, road kills and many more. So, right or wrong, she has stayed with me over the past seven years in the hope that some day I will find a perfect area in which to release her. In the meantime, she comes when I call her every morning for breakfast, taking her time and making me wait while she unhurriedly approaches and then digging in with gusto!

Torti relaxing in her enclosure

  

 Torti's enclosure

They are large tortoises (largest species in South Africa) that can weigh over 30kg and measure up to 60cm in length. Males have longer tails and a deep plastron (Bottom of shell) concavity as opposed to the females which have short tails and a flat plastron. Colouration is varied and the African Leopard Tortoise typically lives 80 to 100 years.

 Lydia feeding Torti

Torti basking in the sun

Read more here on how to CARE FOR YOUR LEOPARD TORTOISE

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