Conference report 2025

Conference report 2025

Conference reports

From 16 to 18 May 2025, the annual meeting of the AG Chameleons took place once again in Boppard am Rhein. Traditionally, the chameleon friends ‘Diverso’, who had already arrived on Friday, met in the Rheinallee for a cosy and very tasty dinner. An exchange of experiences and many discussions about, with and around chameleons heralded the start of the conference.

Saturday morning began with the first remote lecture directly from Berlin in front of around 35 conference participants. Sophie Obermeier reported on the expert training courses offered by the VDA/DGHT Expert Training Centre East. There, interested parties can complete both the certificate of competence according to §2 TschG and that according to §11 for commercial and – attention, this also applies to many private owners – commercial owners. Sophie also explained why every chameleon keeper should obtain a certificate of competence – even if it is not yet compulsory in Germany. A training course focussing solely on chameleons is currently being planned. Now that the technology is working perfectly after a few teething problems, there are already initial thoughts about using this option at future annual conferences to allow speakers to speak who are unable to attend in person due to physical distance.

Falk Eckhardt then presented his keeping of Trioceros serratus. The animals – especially the females – are visually difficult to distinguish from Trioceros peretti and Triocecros wiedersheimi. Falk had taken over a group from another keeper and also bred them. He explained how they are kept in gauze enclosures with cork walls on two sides and discussed egg laying and successful incubation of the eggs. As the species’ country of origin, Cameroon, has not allowed chameleon exports for years, the terrarium population of Trioceros serratus is unfortunately not particularly large at present. A lack of females in particular makes the long-term conservation of the species in German terrariums rather unlikely at present. Anyone keeping animals of this species, including individuals, should definitely contact Falk so that any individual animals that still exist can be reunited.

 

After the lunch break, the programme continued with a richly illustrated travelogue by Gerd Fritzsche. He has already visited the KwaZulu-Natal region in eastern South Africa twice. His ‘bucket list’ on the last trip included various dwarf chameleon species, including Bradypodion melanocephalum, Bradypodion setaroi, Bradypodion thamnobates, Bradypodion caeroleogula and Bradypodiondracomontanum. From Durban we travelled by car to St. Lucia and back to the famous Drakensberg and Karkloof. The odd mamba was removed from huts and houses by his local guide, who specialises in snakes. Hippos and giraffes were also on the itinerary ‘as accessories’ – even though the diverse dwarf chameleons were the main target of the trip.

We then returned to herpetoculture with the presentation by Jean-Dominique Dufraine. He has been keeping carpet chameleons (Furcifer lateralis) for some time now, a small but all the more colourful species from the highlands of Madagascar. Jean-Dominique hopes to find a small group of keepers who would like to keep and breed Furcifer lateralis on a long-term basis. He is particularly interested in exchanging experiences on special, species-specific issues such as ‘egg throwing’, for which Furcifer lateralis is well known. Jean-Dominique reports the experience of the breeder of his animals that the chameleons buried eggs in the sand when the light from a lamp reached the bottom of the terrarium. Several clutches are now in the incubator. There were other interested parties on site who might want to keep the species again or for the first time.

 

The photo competition was once again divided into two categories this year. Marko von der Osten-Ellinghaus won first place in the nature photography category with his photo of an amazingly colourful, mating Furcifer rhinoceratus male on Madagascar. Second place went to Markus Bartels with a photo of a Calumma parsonii parsonii of the colour variant ‘green giant’, taken on the Masoala Peninsula in Madagascar. Gerd Fritzsche took third place with his Bradypodion setaroi from St Lucia, South Africa. Gerd won again in the terrarium category, but this time in first place, with a very nice Bradypodion damaranum. Benni Ludwig took second place with a Parsons chameleon. Third place was drawn by lot among several participants due to a tie – Jean-Dominique Dufraine won the race with a carpet chameleon. The two first place winners each received a €50 voucher from Chimaira. The second and third places received vouchers worth €30 and €20 respectively from QB Insects and Der Terraristikladen. The latter were fully sponsored for the photo competition, for which we would like to express our sincere thanks. In addition, each winner received one of the conference collector’s mugs, which are designed by Caro Vierbücher and change chameleon species every year – depending on the winning motif of the previous year’s photo competition.

The lecture part ended on Saturday with the general meeting. In her annual report, WG spokesperson Dr Alex Negro presented what the management team had achieved over the past 24 months. These included the 120-page CHAMAELEO 49 as well as two flyers for member recruitment and advertising the breeding statistics. Social media and the lively newsletter were also continued. The offspring statistics, which have been advertised intensively since 2022, were able to record the first reports for 2024 for the first time in almost 10 years. After Tim Vierbücher resigned as treasurer, Alex Negro also provisionally took over his role. She therefore also outlined the current financial situation of AG Chamäleon. The 50th anniversary edition of CHAMAELEO is on the agenda for the coming year. In addition, a competition is planned to modernise the AG Chameleon logo, which is now over 30 years old.

As expected, the new elections were quick and straightforward: the management team was confirmed in its current composition. The team of spokesperson and – new, also treasurer – Alex Negro and the assessors Jan-Benedikt Glaw, Monique Bartsch, Anne Stemper, Benjamin Ludwig and Svea Brüne is now completed by Lars Dwinger. Saturday evening ended with a pizza dinner.

 

Sunday started with a presentation on the current state of chameleon medicine by vet Alex Negro. She reported that there has been an enormous increase in knowledge, especially in the last ten years. Whereas in the early 1990s, when the AG Chameleons was founded, there were only a few vets who looked at reptiles at all, today there are not only over 120 reptile experts on the AG ARK list, but also reference values for a variety of diagnostics such as blood chemistry, blood counts, ultrasound, X-rays and even computer tomography just for chameleons. Various case reports from around the world complemented the lecture.

This was followed by a more practical and richly illustrated presentation: Markus Bartels and Lars Dwinger reported on their trip to Madagascar in April this year. They spent a whole week in the mountain rainforest of Marojejy in north-eastern Madagascar to find, document and – thanks to permits – collect undescribed species together with the Tanalahorizon team and chameleon researcher Dr Frank Glaw. Following this sweaty but very successful chameleon expedition, they travelled to the lowland rainforest of Bobangira directly on the Indian Ocean. New discoveries awaited them there too – and a rather arduous tractor journey.

 

Finally, there were some great donations to the AG: Jutta Dwinger donated the proceeds from the hand-sewn bags she sold, totalling € 175. Caro Vierbücher also donated her proceeds from the sale of hand-painted porcelain to the AG Chameleons, another € 184. Many thanks to both of them! A big thank you also goes to all the speakers for their interesting and varied contributions and to the helpers in the background who made the conference a success. And finally, we would like to thank Peter Sound for organising the venue.

See you in Hanover in 2026!

 

Tagungsprogramm 2025

  Freitag, 16. Mai 2025
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19:00 Anreise und gemütliches Abendessen
Diverso, Rheinallee 47a, 56154 Boppard
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  Samstag, 17. Mai 2025
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09:30 Eintreffen am Tagungsort: Altes Rathaus, Marktplatz, 56154 Boppard
09:45 Begrüßung und Tagungsbeginn
10:00 Sophie Obermaier: Sachkundenachweis für Chamäleonhalter in Deutschland
11:00 Falk Eckhardt: Haltung und Nachzucht von Trioceros serratus
12:00 Mittagspause
14:00 Gerd Fritzsche: Streifzug durch die Provinz KwaZulu-Natal in Südafrika
15:00 Jean-Dominique Dufraine: Back to the roots – Teppichchamäleons
16:00 Kaffeepause
16:30 Fotowettbewerb
17:00 Mitgliederversammlung mit Neuwahlen
  __
  Sonntag, 18. Mai 2025
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09:45 Eintreffen am Tagungsort
10:00 Alex Negro: Neues, Skurilles und Interessantes aus der Chamäleonmedizin
11:00 Lars Dwinger, Markus Bartels: Der Gipfel von Marojejy und der Galeriewald von Bobangira – zwei nahezu unerforschte Chamäleonhabitate auf Madagaskar
12:00 Verabschiedung
Conference Report 2023

Conference Report 2023

Conference reports

From 05 to 07 May 2023, the annual meeting of the AG Chamäleons once again took place in Boppard am Rhein. Traditionally, the chameleon friends who had already arrived on Friday met at the Italian restaurant in the Rheinallee for a cosy dinner. After the location had changed owners and names several times in the past years, it is now called “Castello da Toni” again, as it was many years ago. An exchange of experiences and many exciting conversations heralded the conference.

Saturday morning started with a classic keeping and breeding session in front of almost 50 chameleon lovers who turned up. Jean-Dominique Dufraine gave a talk on two species that he has been keeping and breeding successfully for several years. Rieppeleon brevicaudatus, a terrestrial chameleon that seems to have been somewhat forgotten in herpetoculture in recent years, but which is a lot of fun to keep, will hopefully get a new chance to reappear in German terrariums in the future. The Seychelle’s Chameleon Archaius tigris is also small, but a species with interesting behaviour that can be kept in groups. Thorsten Negro then reported on his recent trip to Madagascar, where he went in search of the various Parson’s Chameleons of the red island. A special target was the “green giant“, the colour variant of the Parson’s Chameleon in the rainforest of Masoala, which had hardly been documented until then.

 

After the lunch break, we continued with legal aspects of terraristics, interestingly presented by Oliver Witte. Whether a tenant can prohibit the keeping of chameleons, whether a certificate of competence makes sense for everyone (yes!) and what rights and obligations you have when selling animals were just some of the topics discussed. In the photo competition, a beautiful photo of a Brookesia vadoni from Marojejy in Madagascar by Markus Bartels was chosen as the winner. He received a 50 € voucher from Chimaira as well as one of the beautiful conference collector’s mugs designed by Caro Vierbücher, which change chameleon species every year – depending on the winning motif of the previous year’s photo competition. Second place went to Markus Grimm with a photo of a Chamaeleo chamaeleon reticrista from the island of Samos in Greece. He received a 30 € voucher from QB Insects. Third place went to Monique Bartsch with a photo of a Calumma globifer she bred herself. She also received a voucher from QB Insects.

 

The eagerly awaited lecture by Dr. Sarina Wunderlich on the subject of UV-B LEDs. then went directly into practical herpetoculture. The conclusion after many measurements and considerations: Currently, the physicist advises against the use of UV-B LEDs over chameleon terrariums. However, the technical possibilities to reduce the previous deficits of LEDs are already available – just not affordable for the normal consumer so far. It is therefore realistic that UV-B LEDs will become usable in a few years. So we are eagerly awaiting an update in the not-too-distant future. The lecture part was concluded by Rayane Vuillemin, who presented the Association Caméléon Center Consérvation founded in Switzerland last year. Various projects are planned to draw greater public attention to the protection of chameleons. Among others, a project on the occurrence of chameleons in the Vohimana Special Reserve in Madagascar is currently being supported. Several chameleon species are also to be propagated across Europe as part of an ex-situ breeding programme to establish a stable population outside their home countries. An exciting project that we are sure to hear more about!

The general member meeting at the end of the day was pleasantly short. Treasurer Tim Vierbücher gave an overview of the current financial situation. WG spokesperson Dr Alexandra Laube presented the activities of the board in the past year. In addition to the complete overhaul of the website and increased activity in social media, a monthly newsletter was launched and a AG-owned cloud and a data management system were set up, especially for publications. The increased visibility generated a lot of approval among the AG members. The goals for the coming year are the revival of the breeding statistics and the 50th-anniversary issue of CHAMAELEO. In addition, there will be a survey on whether the conference should continue to take place in Boppard or whether it should change location again after 21 years. We are already looking forward to the result! The various ideas and presentations were then eagerly discussed at the joint dinner.

 

On Sunday, it started right on time with a travel report by Lars Dwinger, who actually comes from the aquatics scene and came to the chameleons via his first trip to Madagascar. He showed many great photos from the rainforests of Ranomafana and Andasibe in the highlands as well as Akanin’ny Nofy on the east coast of Madagascar and gave tips for travelling around the Indian Ocean. The conference ended as it began, with a husbandry report – this time by Markus Grimm. He told about the habitat of Chamaeleo chamaeleon reticrista in the wild and showed video and picture material of storm-beaten chameleons as well as mating. Afterwards, the expert examiner for Switzerland presented his own husbandry conditions for the species in the terrarium and gave a lot of information on how the successful incubation and breeding of the European Chameleon can succeed.

Finally, there were some great donations to the AG: Jean-Dominique Dufraine donated 500 €, Jutta Dwinger donated the proceeds of the bags she sold of 320 € and Caro Vierbücher rounded up the already impressive sum by another 100 € for the AG Chamäleons. Many thanks to all three donors! A big thank you also goes to all the speakers for their interesting and varied contributions and to the helpers in the background who made the conference a success. And finally, we would like to thank the DGHT Policy Advisory Board, Peter Sound, for once again making the premises available without complications. We are looking forward to 2024!

Tagungsprogramm 2023

  Freitag, 05. Mai 2023
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18:00 Anreise und gemütliches Abendessen
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  Samstag, 06. Mai 2023
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09:00 __ Eintreffen am Tagungsort
09:15 Begrüßung
09:30 Jean-Dominique Dufraine: Haltung von Archaius tigris
und Rieppeleon brevicaudatus
10:30 Thorsten Negro: Auf der Jagd nach dem Green Giant – Calumma parsonii parsonii auf Madagaskar
12:00 Mittagspause
13:30 Oliver Witte: Alles was Recht ist
14:45 Fotowettbewerb
15:00 Sarina Wunderlich: UVB-LEDs – neue Entwicklungen in der Terrarienbeleuchtung
16:00 Diskussionsrunde
16:45 Mitgliederversammlung
  __
  Sonntag, 07. Mai 2023
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09:15 Eintreffen am Tagungsort
09:30 Lars Dwinger: Einmal Madagaskar, immer Madagaskar – Von der Sucht nach der roten Insel
11:15 Markus Grimm: Das  Gemeine Chamäleon (Chamaeleo chamaeleon) – Systematik, Habitat, Haltung und Zucht
12:00 Verabschiedung
Conference Report 2022

Conference Report 2022

Conference reports

Finally another conference! From 20 to 22 May 2022, the meeting of the AG Chamäleons took place in the tranquil town of Boppard am Rhein. Due to the pandemic, the 2020 and 2021 meetings were cancelled – so it was all the nicer to see old and new chameleon friends again after such a long time. On Friday evening, they met for a cosy get-together at the former “Pizza Toni”, which is now run in Croatian and called “Albano“.

On Saturday, the conference started with an interesting presentation on various diseases in chameleons by Svea Brüne. To give a lecture at the age of 17 was praised by the AG, especially in times of a lack of young people in the field of herpetoculture. Afterwards, chameleon veteran Wolfgang Schmidt presented his experiences from many decades of successful keeping of leaf and pygmy chameleons. From Brookesia stumpffi to species of the minima clade to Rieppeleon brevicaudatus, Wolfgang has already kept an enormous variety of smaller species and was able to report which of them were good or more complicated to breed in the past and what he had noticed in particular, for example physiologically occurring white spots in the head area after hatching. After the lunch break, we continued with a travel report, also by Wolfgang Schmidt, on the African Chameleon in Greece. After the Chamaeleo africanus project in Gialova Bay collapsed a few years ago, the development of the area for tourists has progressed rapidly in recent years with the construction of another huge hotel. Nevertheless, Wolfgang was able to show that the future of Chamaeleo africanus in Greece does not seem to be nearly as endangered as originally assumed. Together with his wife, he was able to find several more areas where the animals occur in larger numbers. However, as is often the case with these chameleons, you have to be in the right place at the right time to find them!

 

This exciting update was followed by the elections of the new leadership team. David Hellendrung, who had successfully led the AG Chamäleons since 2015, was unfortunately no longer available for the position for professional reasons. Alexandra Laube was unanimously elected as the new spokesperson of the AG. Jan-Benedict Glaw was re-elected as literature and internet professional, Tim Vierbücher as treasurer. Likewise, the long-time, tireless helpers Anne Stemper and Monique Bartsch were confirmed in their positions as assessors. Benjamin Ludwig was also appointed as an assessor and Svea Brüne as social media officer to complete the leadership team. DGHT President Markus Monzel congratulated the new management team on behalf of the DGHT and looked forward to good cooperation.

Late on Saturday afternoon, Falks Eckhardt’s lecture on the short-lived Furcifer labordi from Madagascar followed. It has just been proven that this colourful species is extremely dependent on the climate in southwest Madagascar. It could become a loser of climate change in the future if rainy seasons shorten and no longer provide enough time for the extremely fast life cycle from hatching to reproduction within a few months. In the photo competition, a beautiful photo of a Furcifer timoni from the Amber Mountain in Madagascar by Markus Bartels was chosen as the winner. He received a voucher from Chimaira as well as one of the beautiful conference collection mugs designed by Caro Vierbücher, which change chameleon species every year – depending on the winning motif of the previous year’s photo competition. Second place went to Martin Knauf with two photos of Furcifer voeltzkowi from Katsepy and Furcifer pardalis from Ankify, for which he received a voucher from “der Terraristikladen“. At the end of the day, Falk Eckhardt presented facts, figures and considerations on importing chameleons, which were very lively discussed afterwards.

 

Sunday started early with a great talk by herpetologist Dr. Frank Glaw, who showed the development of chameleon research on Madagascar from the 17th century until today. Frank also presented several highlights from his own research, such as the rediscovery of the Voeltzkov’s chameleon in 2018, which was even shared by Leonardo di Caprio on Instagram. Special highlights also included the groundbreaking discoveries of the world’s smallest chameleons, including Brookesia micra in 2012 and, a few years later, an even smaller terrestrial chameleon, Brookesia nana in 2021. David Suryanto Kasih then followed with a practical, very interesting talk on different ways to create living terrarium grounds. The last lecture of the 2022 meeting was given by Alexandra Laube with a brand-new travelogue from Madagascar about camping with chameleons post-Corona.

A big thank you goes to all the speakers for their interesting and varied contributions and, of course, to all the helpers in the background who made the conference a success. Special thanks to David Hellendrung as the previous speaker of the AG – we will certainly ask you again for one or the other lecture! And finally, we would like to thank the DGHT policy advisor, Peter Sound, and the town of Boppard, who have provided uncomplicated accommodation for the AG Chameleons conference for 20 years. We are already looking forward to next year!

 

Tagungsprogramm 2022

  Freitag, 20. Mai 2022
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18:00 Anreise und gemütliches Abendessen im Restaurant Albona, Rheinallee 47a (ehemals Toni)
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  Samstag, 21. Mai 2022
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09:00 __ Eintreffen im Gebäude des Stadtrats, Marktplatz 17, 56154 Boppard
09:30 Begrüßung
09:45 Svea Brüne: Krankheit oder nicht? Erfahrungsberichte aus meiner Chamäleonhaltung
10:15 Pause
10:30 Wolfgang Schmidt: Stummelschwanz- oder Erdchamäleons—längst vergessene Juwelen im Terrarium
12:00 Mittagspause
14:15 Wolfgang Schmidt: Reise zum Afrikanischen Chamäleon in Griechenland
15:30 AG-Intern: Kassenbericht, nächstes Treffen, Wahlen
16:30 Pause mit Wahl der Gewinner des Fotowettbewerbs
16:45 Falk Eckhard: Furcifer labordi in Kirindy, Madagaskar
18:00 Falk Eckhard: Chamäleon-Importe
  __
  Sonntag, 22. Mai 2022
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09:00 Eintreffen im Gebäude des Stadtrats, Marktplatz 17, 56154 Boppard
09:15 Frank Glaw: Highlights aus 30 Jahren Chamäleonsforschung in Madagaskar
11:15 David-Suryanto Kasih: Von Destruenten und anderem Ungeziefer: Lebender Boden
12:10 Alexandra Laube: Camping mit Chamäleons—Neues aus Madagaskar
13:30 Verabschiedung