I purchased a female Chameleon jacksonii xantholophus from the NARBC show this weekend. (Thanks TikiTiki Reptile).

I have a few questions out there for all you Jackson keepers.

First I would like to know if anyone can tell the age of this female? She is fairly larger than the mail I purchased and is about 5 in from snout to vent. She was actually larger than then most of the other Jacksons Available.

Second , Does anyone know what the coloration she is displaying means?
Could she be Gravid? Is she still young showing juvie colors? Has anyone else seen this coloration?

When they were housed together for a couple of days (they are not anymore) The male wanted a good time and would not leave her alone. She would shake back and forth and grab him by the horns when he would get too close.

I would love to hear any input on her . Thanks for your help

Any way here is the pic.

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14.4 F. Lat. Lateralis, 4.3 F. Pardalis, 1.1 jacksonii xanth, 1.0 Veiled, 1.3 Rieppeleon brev., 0.0.1 Melleri, 86 ambi eggs, 2 carpet eggs and 24 sambava.

I haven't seen that coloration on a jacksonii before, even looks different from the red-phase jacks that I've seen. But I do know that it's not standard gravid coloration. I'm not sure if their even is such a thing as gravid coloration in jacksonii.

Don't know how to determine exact age, but 5" SVL is a normal adult size. How much does she weigh?
Her weight could give an idea as to whether she's gravid - I had a gravid female that weighed 110 gr at that size and my male of the same size only weighs 60 gr.

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1.1.1 Ch. (T.) melleri, 1.2 Ch. (T.) jacksonii xantholophus
My work: www.gibbonsrock.com

Thanks for the response. I am going to weigh her tonight. She is beautiful I can say that. I was thinking red phase but all the pics I have seen still show some green and really do not look like her.

She is only the way you see her after she sees the male or is approached by him. She will always have the red veins/stripes (for lack of a better term) and lighten up a little to a tanish camouflage color with the red on her.

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14.4 F. Lat. Lateralis, 4.3 F. Pardalis, 1.1 jacksonii xanth, 1.0 Veiled, 1.3 Rieppeleon brev., 0.0.1 Melleri, 86 ambi eggs, 2 carpet eggs and 24 sambava.

Since she is refusing to mate with the male and showing a very patterned color then she is likely gravid.

Can't tell you how old she is or how far along in the gestation she might be though.

Most keepers will tell you it is very hard to tell age of Chams...but at that size I would guess probably 6 to 8 mos or more.

As far as a gravid. a photo of her entire body will help. The "no no" dance can be an indication of being gravid, but i may also just mean she isn't in the mood too.

Noob : Aging Jackson Chameleons

here is a post on my chams which pretty much every one has identified as being gravid. The pics of my female are at the bottom of the first page. that was in june. I am still kind of waiting to see what happens because she still hasn't popped yet.

It's just like christmas... i wanna open the presents already

hope that helps

OPI

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1.1 jackson, 1 orange spotted day gecko, dog,
Herp Mist www.Herpmist.com

Thanks guys for the input. I will get another picture of her tonight. I also noticed She is also drinking like crazy. Not sure if that means anything.

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14.4 F. Lat. Lateralis, 4.3 F. Pardalis, 1.1 jacksonii xanth, 1.0 Veiled, 1.3 Rieppeleon brev., 0.0.1 Melleri, 86 ambi eggs, 2 carpet eggs and 24 sambava.

Ah ok. I thought this was her normal color. The tan color is something that I have seen - my female was like that until she was about close to 2 years old, then she suddenly turned green. I never showed her to the male during her 'tan-time' so I don't know if she would have had the similar angry colors.

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1.1.1 Ch. (T.) melleri, 1.2 Ch. (T.) jacksonii xantholophus
My work: www.gibbonsrock.com

Increased drinking in egglayers is a sign that the egglaying is near...don't know what it means in Jackson's.

As said above increased drinking/ food consumption, the "no no dance" , gaping and darker than normal coloration (when male is present) are all good indicators of being gravid.. If they were housed together for more than a couple months and are of age, she is more then likely gravid..

Good lookin' jacks Ryan! looks like i missed out on a good show.. still waiting for a herp show to come through az.....

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1.1 Ambilobe,1.0 Ambanja,1.0 Nosy Be,1.0 Sambava,0.1 Veiled

Thanks again everyone. I appreciate all the input.

I wanted to bump this one more time to see if anyone else had any info that may not have seen this yesterday.

~Ryan J

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14.4 F. Lat. Lateralis, 4.3 F. Pardalis, 1.1 jacksonii xanth, 1.0 Veiled, 1.3 Rieppeleon brev., 0.0.1 Melleri, 86 ambi eggs, 2 carpet eggs and 24 sambava.