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One of the most extraordinary of the 29+ known species in the Calotes genus, Calotes calotes, known commonly as the green forest dragon or green forest lizard, is a species rarely seen in herpetoculture, and even more rarely seen in US herpetoculture.

Calotes calotes display some of the most vibrant coloration of the genus, with rich green base tones replacing the neutral tones seen in many more common species, as well as the ability to rapidly change the color of their head and shoulders to a deep scarlet. Many will often display light, sometimes almost white vertical bands along the body. When stressed, their vibrant green base can rapidly change to a dark green to almost black, while maintaining the lighter bands along the body.

Alongside their gorgeous colors, Calotes calotes possess incredible structure, with large scales, a tall crest starting at their head and running down their back, and a row of horns behind each ear. Calotes calotes are one of the largest species of the genus, reaching a maximum length of around 26 inches nose to tail, dwarfing many of the common Calotes species.

Always out and about in the terrarium, our green forest dragons have proven to be bold and full of personality. Males frequently put on unique displays where they move their head in circles or semicircles while bobbing their head and doing pushups. Both males and females are capable of changing head color to scarlet and even females will bob sometimes, but males do so more frequently and enthusiastically. We tong feed our breeding adults, and they frequently pause after taking an insect to look at us and bob their heads. Even hatchlings display this behavior. Seeing groups of hatchlings each having multiple “conversations” within the same terrarium has been entertaining for us!

Terrarium bred green forest dragons warm up to people and become socialized fairly easily! They are very intelligent, and quickly connect us to food. We start tong-feeding all of our dragons as older juveniles, so all subadults and adults are used to hand feeding and light interaction by the time they are ready to move to new homes. Most allow petting, and eventually handling after getting used to this routine. Many will run up and onto our hands when we enter their terrarium of their own accord! Those we’ve spent a bit more time interacting with have become wonderful pets in addition to stunning display animals, often spending time out sitting on our shoulder and hanging out outside of their terraria.

We have found Calotes calotes to be resilient and easy to breed with proper care. Females are incredibly prolific, and can lay a clutch of 12-14 eggs on average roughly every 30 days. We have had a near 100% hatch rate, and of those that have hatched, we currently have a 100% survival rate. Not too many in the US are breeding Calotes calotes right now, so this is a great opportunity to add them to your collection!

If you want to learn more about this extraordinary species, go check out our care article!