Recently Luke and I (Chad Keates) went on a herping adventure to the Western Cape. We stayed two night in Wilderness and one night in Oudtshoorn, and the function of the trip, as usual, was to find as many reptiles and frogs as we could. Whilst dwarf adders and ghost frogs remained high on our list, the main function of this trip was to find dwarf chameleons. South Africa is home to just under 20 dwarf chameleons, but on our trip, that spanned from, Wilderness to George and all the way to the Swartberg Mountain Range (near Oudtshoorn), there were three species to be found.

Even though the expedition spanned only three nights, we were lucky enough to find all three species of dwarf chameleon, one sneaky berg adder (Bitis atropos) and one very small southern ghost frog (Heleophryne regis). Although we were unable to find a red adder (Bitis rubida), the trip was considered a massive success and definitely one well worth remembering.

Check out the photos and videos below, to get a better idea of what we found and how we found it.

George and surrounds

Southern Ghost Frog (Heleophryne regis)

---

Berg Adder (Bitis atropos)

---

Little Karoo Dwarf Chameleon (Bradypodion gutturale)

---

Clicking Stream Frog (Strongylopus grayii)

---

Knysna Dwarf Chameleon (Bradypodion damaranum)

---

Cape Mountain Lizard (Tropidosaura gularis)

---

Cape Crag Lizard (Pseudocordylus microlepidotus)

---

Swartberg

Cape Legless Skink (Acontias meleagris)

---

Swartberg Dwarf Chameleon (Bradypodion atromontanum)

---

Snakes and their Mates

Herping the Western Cape: Part 1

---

Herping the Western Cape: Part 2