Chameleon Breeder Podcast With Bill Strand

Today we are going to be talking about gutloading the feeders for your chameleon. This conversation is loosely based on the end chapters of his book “The Arcadia Guide to Reptile & Amphibian Nutrition”.

Today we hear from a Thorsten Negro who puts together tours of Madagascar specifically for Chameleon enthusiasts! Not only do you enjoy the sights and take incredible pictures, but you experience the natural environment that our chameleons come from!

Bacteria are all around us and our chameleons. Some bacteria helps us in a symbiotic relationship and some bacteria can kill us if it takes hold. Chameleons have the same life challenge so obviously, it is important we understand bacteria and how to treat infections. But what exactly is bacteria? Isn’t it all around us? When does bacteria turn dangerous? We are going to answer these questions and more today as we dive in to understanding the relationship of bacteria and our chameleons.

Mark Scherz is back to talk about what he saw first hand regarding the differences between Furcifer habitat and Calumma habitat. Mark is a scientist whose life mission is to finish describing the reptile and amphibian species of Madagascar.

Marita De La Pena, the Deadly Tarantula Girl, comes on to take us to the Outer Fringes with a talk on arboreal tarantulas! Tune in to learn about these fascinating creatures and learn more about the people that can't get enough of them!

Both vitamins and minerals are critical components to our chameleon's health. This is the second part of our nutrition series where we focus on minerals. This episode is based on John's book The Arcadia Guide to Reptile and Amphibian Nutrition.

John Courteney-Smith is the Reptile Products Manager at Arcadia-Reptile. It is his job to push captive husbandry as close to optimal health for our reptiles and amphibians as possible – and make that products that allow this to be carried out. He is also the author of a set of books which address the many aspects of keeping healthy reptiles in captivity. Last month, in episode 55, we discussed his first book, The Arcadia Guide to MBD and its elimination in captivity. And if you haven’t heard it, I suggest going back and catching that one! Today we are going to go over his second book, The Arcadia Guide to Reptile and Amphibian Nutrition. It is a huge topic and will not fit in one podcast so we will break it up. This episode we will concentrate on vitamins. Of course, all vitamins and minerals work together and must be in balance so it is impossible to discuss one without the other. There is a great deal of overlap!

One of the most beautiful chameleon books available is Mountain Dragons by Jan Stipala. It is a photo journey across the wilds of Kenya and it has a rich variety of pictures of both chameleons and their habitats. I am very pleased to be able to introduce you to the author and photographer of this book!

Join me as I talk with Mark Scherz and we learn about how chameleon species are determined and how they get their names! Mark studies the herpetofauna in Madagascar and gives us a fascinating insight into the life and work of a scientist studying chameleons!

Welcome back to the Outer Fringes! Today we explore Poison Dart Frogs with Joshua Willard of Josh's Frogs! In this episode Josh will give us a introduction to these beautiful frogs and get us going in the right direction to keeping them healthy!

John Courteney-Smith, the Reptile Products Manager at Arcadia Reptile joins us to talk about Metabolic Bone Disease and UVB. John has a mission to eradicate this affliction and spends a great deal of time educating the community on UVB and Vitamin D3. He has written The Arcadia Guide to MBD and its Elimination in Captivity. This podcast episode is an introduction to that book.

For a wild caught chameleon purchased in a store or from an importer, their journey started with an exporter in their native country. And this is the leg least visible to us at the other end. Today I am talking with Euan Edwards who is a world traveling reptile lover who was also a chameleon exporter in Madagascar.

Welcome back to season 2 of the Chameleon Breeder Podcast! We are going to kick off the new season with an episode about keeping chameleons in glass terrariums. Glass has gotten an undeserving black mark in the chameleon community. Dr. Chris Anderson keeps chameleons in glass terrariums exclusively in both his lab and personal collection. He comes on and tells us how to determine if a glass terrarium is right for your conditions and, if so, how to go about setting up a chameleon enclosure which retains both heat and humidity.

Welcome, chameleon wranglers, to episode 52 of the Chameleon Breeder Podcast. Can you believe it has been a year already? This episode marks our first birthday! Reptile podcasts had been tried before and some went for a pretty good run, but never did we have one just for our chameleons. I am happy to say that we represented in a big way. We have been able to provide a repository for information that can be studied in a whole new way – while you’re driving or doing chores! Just looking back on all we have done we have had tutorials and interviews on husbandry. We have travelled to places where chameleons run free with our Chameleon Adventurers series and with the new Outer Fringes episodes we explore other reptiles, amphibians, and anything else that might interest a chameleon enthusiast! The podcast has grown from just available online at www.chameleonbreeder.com and iTunes via podcast playing apps to having a dedicated iPhone/iPad app and being carried by iHeartRADIO.   So this is where we go from here. This

Today Steve McNary of Chameleons International shares with us the details of how he prepares for and incoming shipment of chameleons and then the steps he takes to ensure that each imported chameleon gets the best chance of bouncing back and enjoying a long life in your living room.

Have you ever been fascinated by the flash of a day gecko? With your chameleon background you should have no problem taking care of one of these living jewels! Though there are a couple things to watch out for. Frank Payne joins me and we go over husbandry of the Day Geckos!

This week we talk about breeding superworms for chameleon food. The is a timely subject as the Northern latitudes are heading into winter snow storms and for some of us, it is a good idea to start raising our own feeders just in case the mail delivery service is not able to reach you. Having your own back up feeder supply is a great idea for this time of year! But even if you are not in danger of being snowed in, raising your own feeder is a great way of controlling the nutrition that your chameleon gets. Superworms are the perfect feeder to work with because they are easy to breed and raise up. They also are one of the few feeders that can, at different times during their lifecycle, feed anything from baby chameleons to adult parson's chameleons!  So Superworms are a versatile feeder as well as being easy!

This week we talk about the importation process. We need to understand all aspects of how our chameleons get to us to be able to make responsible decisions. Join me as I bring on Steve McNary from Chameleons International to talk about what the importation process is like!

This week I interview someone who has just completed their first successful chameleon breeding project. I wanted to get a view from someone who has researched and made plans in today's community and ask how it went. Anthony Napoliton was a great sport and shared his experience. Are you thinking of breeding a chameleon for the first time? Listen in and hear how some one did it!

Have you ever been fascinated with Rhacodactylus leachianus, the New Caledonia Giant Gecko? This week we talk with Philippe de Vosjoli and discuss this wonderful gecko and talk about his observations from their natural habitat! In this episode of the Outer Fringes we go big!