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Thinking about seeing chameleons in the wild can be an intimidating task. What does it take to mount an expedition to the darkest jungle? Well, luckily, it really isn’t that hard. But, it also is not terribly simple. The biggest challenge is finding a reputable local guide. I’ll list my top five chameleon spotting locations and then we’ll talk about finding a guide.

Note: This topic is discussed in the weekly Chameleon Academy Newsletter and is reviewed in a Saturday Chameleon Workshop on YouTube. Click here to join in with the weekly newsletter discussions: Chameleon Academy Newsletter sign up

When we talk about seeing chameleons in the wild it is useful to know why we are doing it. “Just for fun” is an obvious reason and may be the only reason most people do it. But, there are deeper callings that can help move our community forward. In our last podcast episode we talked about how to get the right environmental data. But the Saturday Chameleon Workshop went in a different direction. Please allow me a couple of minutes to review what happened. I promise it is related to the subject of today! Just as a recap, I select a topic each week that goes out in the newsletter on Monday, is released as a podcast Thursday night, comes out as a YouTube video Friday morning, and then is a live mini YouTube workshop on Saturday. The intention is that this format allows us to think about the topic deeply through the week and by our live discussion on Saturday we can have a meaningful discussion. This format also has the effect that I think more on it and I meditate on the topic over the week. Usually content creators need to jump from one topic to the next topic quickly and don’t really go deep. Well, this format allows me to give the topic more than just a surface level treatment. And, by time we got to the workshop last week I was in a completely different mindset. I started with the idea that I would talk about how we need to be careful in how we collect and interpret wild data. By time the workshop rolled around, I was realizing that wild data is our guide and points to how we need to move our husbandry forward. Without that guide our minds are stuck in the six sides of our cages. I have called you the enrichment generation. Nate Rowley coined the term Gen E, which I think is perfect. No matter how old you are or how long you have been keeping chameleons, if you re keeping chameleons at this moment in our community’s story, you are part of Gen E. As a community we go through the stages of just keeping our chameleons alive, successfully raising them up through a complete lifecycle – including figuring out breeding, and then being able to reliably breed them and provide the community with captive hatched individuals. We have conquered those stages with at least panther chameleons and are now on to the next step which is individual mental enrichment. Where we have proven we can keep them alive and reproducing and now we are focusing on giving them the best life possible. And this is where the wild experience becomes key to moving us forward. That is because we don’t know the roadmap. Where should we go next? What needs to get better? The answers to those questions will be found in Madagascar. Or Tanzania. Or Kenya. They will be found where the chameleons originally developed within nature.

And that brings us to today’s topic. What is the best place to go to learn about chameleons? I am going to give you a high level list with the pros and cons from the chameleon aspect.

1. Madagascar. The first and best country to visit is Madagascar. It is a very safe country to visit as far as violence, though it has the standard developing country cautions such as don’t drink the water. Madagascar has almost half the world’s chameleon species and seeing them can be as easy as stopping along side the road and looking in bushes or hiking three days into the forest and camping for a chance to see a rare species. You choose your difficulty level and you will see chameleons. Madagascar has no venomous reptiles and so you do not have to worry about where you step. I mean, other than make sure you stay on the trail. Unfortunately, Madagascar has gravity just like we do. In Madagascar you can see parson’s chameleons to panther chameleons and everything in between! Madagascar has a strong eco-tourism segment and the guides are regulated by the government. So finding a qualified guide is not hard. I have the annual Chameleon Academy Madagascar trip in January and we go with a highly experienced guide who specializes in chameleons. It doesn’t get better than that! The accommodations can be rustic. Most of the time you get hot water, but not always. Most of the time you have electricity, but not always. And most of the time the walls keep geckos and bugs out of your room, but not always. Overall, it is a comfortable trip on the rustic side.
2. Tanzania. Is the next destination with a wide diversity of species. It has a somewhat developed eco-tourism. I follow a Tanzanian lodge on Instagram just in case I find myself with the urge to wake up in the Usambara mountains. I have an interview with Carl Cattau about his trip through Tanzania so you can get a feel for what is in store. Tanzania does has venomous snakes and big cats and big other things so it is important that any exclusions into the bush is with someone who really knows what they are doing.
3. Kenya. If you like Jackson’s Chameleons then a trip to Mt. Kenya or the forests outside Machakos is something to consider. Jackson’s chameleons are in and around city centers so your treks into the wilds would be for some of the rarer species. Jan Stipala’s book Mountain Dragons is all about the chameleons found in the highlands of Kenya. Pick up that book and you’ll get an idea of what to expect and it could help you put together an itinerary for your visit.
4. Uganda. Although there isn’t a huge diversity of chameleons, you will find Trioceros johnstoni near the lodges around the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest which is where the gorillas are. So there is a strong eco-tourism structure here. It has built up around the gorillas, but ask the companies you are considering whether their guides would help you with chameleons. I have no been there, but I see pictures of Johnston’s chameleons on the grounds of the places where people stay so I suspect you won’t have work too hard! There is a gorgeous for of Trioceros hoehneli on the Ugandan side of Mt. Algon which straddles the border between Kenya and Uganda, but this is on the opposite side of Uganda from the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest so you may have to choose or just have a long visit.
5. South Africa. South Africa is the home of the brightly colored Bradypodion. We don’t see them in captivity as South Africa does not let them out. But they are common in their natural range and if you are in the right spots they can be found in backyards and in restaurant gardens. If you want to see chameleons and still have the comforts of home then a South African trip may be something to consider.
6. Hawaii. BONUS Location! I do want to throw in Hawaii as a runner up. It is not the natural range of Jackson’s Chameleons so we don’t really want to use it as a guide for husbandry. The chameleons there are adapting to the environment. But if you want a casual opportunity to see chameleons in a tree, Hawaii is an easy choice.

Chameleons live in many places and you can find them in Spain, India, many African countries, the Seychelles, Comoros, the Middle East and so if you are in these areas you might be able to do a quick day trip to see chameleons. I think the only chameleon habitat you wouldn’t be able to access no matter how Indiana Jones you were would be Yemen, the home of the Veiled Chameleon, as the civil war there will find you literally face to face with AK-47s. Petr Necas was good enough to recently verify that this is still the case. So, I am afraid you would have to settle for the introduced population in the Fort Myers, Florida area if you want to see Veiled Chameleons!

Cameroon is high on a lot of chameleon lovers’ lists due to the quadricornis and montium, pfefferi, cristatus…yeah, beautiful chameleons. The problem is that there has been fighting there between religious groups and it would not be a good thing to get caught in the middle of them out in the mountain forests. Though motivated people have done it and they have all come back so far. So, your options for where you visit pretty much depend on your experience with traveling!

The hardest part of seeing chameleons in the wild is knowing where to look. You can’t just show up in these places and expect to find chameleons right away. You need a guide and this is where the tricky part comes in. It is easy to be taken advantage of when you are sending money and how do you know they know what they are talking about? My method is to follow accounts from guides on Instagram and Facebook. In this way I get to know what they can do and what they can find. Hopefully, I can catch comments by people who have been with them and check out their references, so to speak.

There are often established tours by herp groups. And this makes it all easier, There are more and more of these reptile tours popping up and they are a great first experience. I now have what may be an annual Chameleon Academy tour to Madagascar which is specifically focused on chameleons and uroplatus leaf-tailed geckos. I love Madagascar as a first wild chameleon option because it is a relatively easy trip and we can see a lot of chameleons!

It is true that doing an expedition on the other side of the Earth is expensive. So, a trip to my #1 choice, Madagascar, isn’t always accessible. But, a Florida, Hawaii, or Spain trip may be an option. You work with what you can! Of course, part of the Chameleon Academy outreach is that I am going to try and take you along with everything I do and so if you are not able to be there in person I will share as much as is possible so you can share in the benefits.

Thank you for being part of this chameleon academy outreach. As always, every week has a topic which is presented in the weekly chameleon academy email newsletter. You can join the conversation by subscribing tot the newsletter yourself. The newsletter is a serious outreach for me. I know you are used to getting newsletters that are haphazardly thrown together to check a to-do box. But I put a great deal of effort into figuring out what is best for the community, where I want to take my herpetoculture, and writing substantial educational newsletters. So, try it out and see if it gives you the chameleon fix you are looking for!

And with that, I think it is time to send you back out into the world to be excellent to each other!

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