parsons chameleon

Many lizards are relatively low maintenance and thrive in captivity with minimal care. However, there are many that have finicky temperaments, need more space, or have specialized diets that are not so effortless to keep in captivity, even though they can make equally rewarding companions.

The following list describes our top picks for the lizards that we feel are best suited to be kept by hobbyists with plenty of experience. In other words, these animals can be tricky to care for.

Flying Dragon (Draco volans)

The flying dragon is an agamid lizard that gets its name from its ability to open up membranes attached to the side of its body that allow it to glide from tree to tree in its natural habitat.

trickiest pet lizards — Pictured is a flying dragon with its wings folded against its body.

Flying dragons are dark brown with even darker accent markings and appear remarkably ordinary when their wings are not in use. The dragon’s wings are kept folded tightly against its body when it is not gliding, which gives the lizard a long, slender appearance. When extended, the wings have bright yellow and black markings which is what attracts many owners to them in the first place.

Due to their inclination to glide, you will need to provide a very large enclosure for such a relatively small lizard. We also recommend that the enclosure’s walls be constructed of screen material both to cultivate the proper humidity levels and also so that the dragon doesn’t glide into a hard surface and injure itself accidentally.

In addition to requiring a large, semi-specialized enclosure, flying dragons can also take time to acclimate to captive diets. In the wild, they eat mostly termites and ants, so you will need to spend some time training your dragon to consume prey items outside of its usual fare such as crickets, roaches, and other invertebrates.

If you’re prepared to own your own flying dragon, Backwater Reptiles sells these unique lizards and also has a blog article written up that details how best to care for them.

Flying Gecko (Ptychozoon kuhli)

Like the flying dragon, flying geckos are another species of lizard that can glide from tree to tree in the wild. However, flying geckos are much larger and heftier than flying dragons and don’t possess wings to help them glide. Instead, these geckos have specially designed tails, thick webbing between their toes, and membranes extending from their sides.

Housing a flying gecko is also different than housing a flying dragon. Because geckos are more likely to injure themselves by gliding in a confined space, most owners actually restrict them to a small space so that they don’t have room to fly.

flying gecko adult — This photo shows the serrated nature of the flying gecko’s tail. You can also see the thick webbing of the gecko’s toes.

Flying geckos are also not known for their stellar personalities. While they’re not necessarily outwardly aggressive, they certainly don’t enjoy being handled too frequently and would much rather hide than interact with you. Flying geckos are pets that are ultimately best kept for display purposes rather than for their social skills.

Interested in a flying gecko of your own? Backwater Reptiles has got you covered.

Parson’s Chameleon (Calumma parsonii)

Like many chameleon species, Parson’s chameleons can have a tough time acclimating to captivity. And because these chameleons are so rare, they come with a very steep price point, which is very risky if you don’t feel confident in your capabilities to care for the animal.

Parson’s are the heftiest chameleons both in terms of weight and physical body size. This means that they will require a very large mesh enclosure with just the precise amount of humidity, plenty of misting, and lots of invertebrates to feed such a considerable lizard.

adult parsons chameleon — Parson’s chameleons grip very hard, so we recommend protection if you wish to handle yours.

Although you can handle your Parson’s chameleon, we only recommend it for experienced herp enthusiasts. Due to their immense size, the grip of a Parson’s is actually quite strong and very tenacious. If a Parson’s grabs you and doesn’t feel like moving along, you’ll have quite a tough time getting it to relinquish its hold. In other words, many owners of Parson’s chameleons will wear gloves when handling large, mature animals.

Parson’s are not aggressive like some other smaller chameleon species, but they are rather shy. They’d prefer to hide from you. But that doesn’t mean that they’re incapable of biting. Approach your Parson’s with caution and be careful if it begins to hiss or express discomfort towards you.

If you are ready to commit to a hefty Parson’s chameleon, they can certainly make very prized pets. These are very hard to come by, but Backwater Reptiles has a few for sale.

Conclusion

While all three of the lizards listed above are not commonly kept in captivity due to tricky care requirements and/or temperaments, they can be very cherished pets.

We highly recommend that these lizards be kept only by people who have had a few years of experience keeping other reptiles.

A while back, we wrote about the four largest chameleon species and you learned that the biggest chameleon species in the world is the Parson’s Chameleon (Calumma parsonii).

Now, we’re going to tell you a bit more about the gigantic Parson’s Chameleon and why we recommend that only experienced reptile enthusiasts keep these gorgeous and impressive lizards.

Parson’s chameleons are usually a blue-ish greenish teal in color with accent colors of brown, yellow, or green. There are two main varieties seen in the reptile trade: orange eyes, and yellow-lips.

Orange eyes are much more common, and are named so because their eye turrets are a bright, vivid orange color.

Yellow-lips are far less commonly seen in the hobby. Males have yellow trimming on their lips with diagonal stripes along their sides, while females are similarly patterned but generally lack the yellow-lips.

Males Parson’s are larger than females, although not by much. Males also have pronounced nose bumps or protrusions, whereas females do not.

So, we’ve already established that the Parson’s Chameleon is the biggest chameleon species in the world, but how large is it really?

Well, they can reach lengths of up to 30 inches and weigh anywhere from a pound to two pounds. This might not seem like a lot, but when compared to what other chameleons weigh, it’s monstrous! It’s possible that they are not the longest chameleon in the world, but they are certainly the biggest chameleon when it comes to overall mass.

They also have thick, bulky torsos with very strong limbs. In fact, if you ever get the chance to hold one, it might be wise to wear gloves as they have sharp toe claws and can grip hard enough to leave marks and draw blood, although we think it’s worth it!

Often times, it is said that Parson’s chameleons can get as big as a small house cat. This is only partially true as they can get as long as a small cat, but definitely will never weigh as much or be as bulky. They can definitely live as long as a house cat though – some have been reported to live to well over twenty years of age!

Because of their large size, it would make sense that Parson’s chameleons require a large enclosure. A full-grown male or female being housed solitarily should have a mesh cage that is at least 24 inches long and 48 inches high, but the larger the better.

Parson’s are arboreal and will need as much space as possible to climb, so considering how big the animal can be, vertical space is definitely important. Make absolutely sure the vines and branches are strong enough to support their weight easily. Also make sure they cannot wrap their claws all the way around the entire vine/branch width, as this can cause issues for them.

Largest Female Parson's Chameleon — This is our resident female Yellow-lipped Parson’s chameleon. She laid us a clutch of 68 healthy eggs earlier this year!

In addition to requiring a large cage, we don’t recommend Parson’s chameleons for beginners because they also need large food items. In the wild, it has been reported that Parson’s eat small birds (finches), so they definitely have appetites and will need to be fed accordingly.

At Backwater Reptiles, we feed ours large roaches, large crickets, and large hornworms. If your Parson’s is particularly well-trained, you might even try feeding it pinkie mice, but it’s usually hard to get chameleons of any species to eat on cue, especially if the food item is already deceased.

Parson’s chameleons are quite rare in the reptile hobby and breeding world for several reasons. Probably the most impactful reason is that these chameleons are listed as “near threatened” on the IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species.

What this ultimately means is that trade and exportation of these large lizards has been strictly regulated since 1994. It wasn’t until just recently that legal export quotas opened up in their home country of Madagascar, but there are still very few of these animals for sale in captivity, and that’s probably a good thing. Regardless, it’s always best to start with captive bred animals if possible.

Male Parsons Chameleon (Calumma parsonii) — Notice the diagonal accent stripes on this male’s sides.

The rarity of the Parson’s chameleon means that it comes with a steep price point. Most chameleon species have been captive bred in the U.S. for long enough that that they are not too hard to come by at reptile expos or through private breeders.

But due to the toughness of acquisition as well as the lack of captive breeding projects, Parson’s are still extremely expensive, particularly when compared to other pet chameleon species, often times fetching a price of $1,500 to $3,000, depending upon the locale.

So now let’s assume that you can meet the requirements mentioned above – you’ve got the large cage, you can supply the large food, and you can meet the steep price point. We still recommend that only owners who have kept other species of chameleons own Parson’s chameleons.

Parson’s are particularly delicate, despite their large frames. They stress easily and don’t reproduce in captivity as readily as other species do. And just like all chameleon species, they require high humidity, and a dripping/misting system so that they’ll drink water. They drink a lot of water.

Calumma parsonii - biggest chameleon in the world — Large adult Parson’s chameleons require an equally large enclosure.

Biggest chameleon species – Conclusion

While Parson’s Chameleons are highly sought after due to their large size, magnificent coloration, and rarity, Backwater Reptiles would like to stress that these animals do best when kept by an experienced reptile hobbyist.

If you think you are interested in one of these chameleons, Backwater Reptiles does have Parson’s Chameleons for sale. We’re always here for questions or pictures of the exact Parson’s chameleons we offer.

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