SpeciesCarpet chameleon
Carpet chameleon
Furcifer lateralis
Small, colourful and short-lived: Carpet chameleons rarely live beyond three years. Like all chameleons, they require a permit in Switzerland.
- Group
- Chameleon
- Level
- Advanced
- Origin
- Madagascar
Where the species comes from
- World region
- Madagascar
- Countries
- Central and eastern Madagascar, up to about 2000 m altitude. Animals from the south and west are now considered separate species (Furcifer major, F. viridis)
- Habitat
- Forest edges, scrubland, grassland and well-vegetated gardens
The app does not yet hold an origin entry for this species. The distribution given here comes from the specialist literature.
The natural habitat is the yardstick for how you furnish an enclosure. Knowing where an animal comes from is knowing why it needs heat zones, hides and a particular humidity.
Husbandry at a glance
The same details appear in the animal’s profile inside the app.
- Enclosure
- Tall, well ventilated and densely planted: Live, bushy plants filling about half the space.
- Temperature
- Basking spot 32–35 °C, ambient 24–28 °C, 5–8 °C cooler at night.
- Humidity
- About 60–80 %. Mist briefly two to three times a day and let it dry in between.
- Lighting
- UVB and a heat lamp above the basking spot. Lighting up to 14 hours in summer, about 10 in winter.
- Substrate
- Soil with a layer of leaves. For egg-laying, a moist digging spot of sand and soil at least 10 cm deep.
- Furnishings
- Branches in all directions and thicknesses, plenty of plants, no visual contact with other chameleons.
- Water
- Chameleons drink only droplets from leaves: Misting or a drip system is essential; a bowl is useless.
- Feeding
- Insects dusted with calcium and vitamins. Young animals daily, adults about six every other day, no bigger than the distance between the eyes.
- Behaviour
- Diurnal and solitary. Females show by their colouring whether they are ready to mate or gravid.
- Handling
- Do not handle.
- Cohabitation
- Adults singly; put them together for mating only under supervision. Young animals in small groups until sexual maturity.
- Health
- Short-lived: Even well-kept captive-bred animals usually live only two to three years, and wild-caught animals are often already old and weakened. Females lay eggs up to three times a year: Always provide a laying site.
- Seasonal cycle
- No winter rest. In winter, lower all temperatures by 3–6 °C and shorten the lighting.
- Safety
- All chameleons require a permit under Art. 89 of the Ordinance.
Legal position in Switzerland
Permit required
Requires a permit. Art. 89 let. f of the Ordinance expressly names “all chameleons (Chamaeleonidae)”: Without exception and regardless of size. The cantonal veterinary office issues the permit before acquisition. For all chameleons except the veiled chameleon, it requires an expert report by an independent, recognised specialist confirming that the planned enclosures and facilities allow animal-appropriate keeping (Art. 92 para. 1 let. h of the Ordinance); the applicant and the authority choose the specialist together
Training required
Proof of competence under Art. 85 para. 3 let. c of the Ordinance is required. It is a precondition for the permit and must be obtained before acquisition
Species protection applies
CITES Appendix II: Import and transfer only with papers. When buying, ask for proof of origin and captive breeding
Minimum enclosure dimensions
Annex 2, table 5 of the Animal Welfare Ordinance does not prescribe centimetres but multiples of body length. For this species, item 13 (Arboreal true chameleons): floor area 5 × 3 body lengths, height 5 body lengths. The floor area applies to one animal; each further animal requires an additional 2 × 2 body lengths.
For this group, body length means the snout-vent length, without the tail. The largest animal in the enclosure is what counts. The enclosure may not be smaller even if fewer animals live in it than the table names.
| Snout-vent length | At least |
|---|---|
| 8 cm | 40 × 24 × 40 cm |
| 10 cm | 50 × 30 × 50 cm |
| 12 cm | 60 × 36 × 60 cm |
Animals may temporarily be kept in smaller enclosures: for quarantine, for the treatment of illness and injury, for acclimatisation, for breeding and rearing, and for winter or cold dormancy or aestivation (preliminary remark D on reptiles).
This is the legal lower limit, not a recommendation. An enclosure that meets exactly these dimensions is permitted, but not good for that reason. The details under “Husbandry at a glance” describe how the enclosure should be furnished, not how small it may be.
What the enclosure must provide
A permit must be applied for at the cantonal veterinary office before keeping the animal. In private keeping, a recognised certificate of competence is generally sufficient for reptiles subject to a permit, provided no further training is prescribed. The enclosure must be escape-proof and provide species-appropriate temperature zones, UV and light provision, ventilation, humidity, climbing structures, visual barriers and places to retreat. The natural social structure must be respected; many chameleons are kept singly.
Paperwork
Keep the keeping permit, certificate of competence, purchase contract and an unbroken proof of origin. For CITES-protected species, the required CITES documents and species protection checks apply to every border crossing.
These details are a guide, not legal advice. Binding information comes from the cantonal veterinary office; the text of the ordinance is what counts. More on the legal position
_female_(7636716522).jpg){kind=link}