chameleon diet

[Torben Larsen]

Dear L-Leps people,

I am trying to pin down chameleon reactions to different kinds of prey,
especially to aposematic butterflies. I am interested primarily in African
chamaeleons and not the Anolis of the Americas.

Generally, wild caught chameleons in Africa will only touch Danaus or Acraea
by accident (bad light). They also avoid many beetles and bugs, as well as
toxic grasshoppers that feed on Asclepiadaeceae. I did a paper on this from
Botswana in 1992 (Tropical Lepidoptera (Gainesville), 3:103-104). I recently
had a feeding series in Sierra Leone. I assumed a bit of googling would
yield long lists chameleon prey and well-executed feeding experiments.
Virtually nothing useful was found.

I would be grateful for any information, unpublished data, literature
references, etc that would help me support or dispove my own experiences.
There seem to be plenty of captive African chameleons in captivity.

My Botswana chameleon had the sweetest of temperaments and was even happy to
take dead butterflies that were handheld. A photo of her is attached eating
a large swallowtail (Papilio demodocus).

Thanks in advance,

Torben Larsen




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