Cham help for a newbie

[liamhicks1989]

Good morning guys and girls, have been a frequent reader of your site and now i come to you for advice. ive been keeping reptiles for about 3 years now and i have and breed all sorts: Dragons, Corns, boscs, chucks ect you get the idea.

Altho i shouldn't have a favorite i do and its my 2 panther chameleons a male and a female, altho ive owned this pair for about a year now i still have questions unanswered and would like to ask some of your opinions.

I have had these from literally weeks old and never had a problem, now first question is that everywhere i look everyone says theyre to be kept solitary. I can usually tell the signs of stress and i dont see anything. they usually sleep head to head on the same branch and never really compete for food. i just wanted to know the true story if you understand.

Secondly my female is approx 18 months and male roughly 14-15. The female has become a bit "weird" not only got a little cubby but spending time running around on the substrate on the floor. with other lizards its easy to tell but could she possibly be preggo? and any way to properly tell?

Finally i had an exo terra flexarium which they were origionally housed in. altho this was a good tank and supposed to be an ideal tank i just couldnt seem to get the humidity, so they are now in a big 3 ft wide 3 ft high 3 ft deep tank. which they seem to like alot more. Both displaying some lovely colours more vibrant that when in the flexarium. What i would like to know is how do you guys get the humidity into your tanks. i use a fogger in a sectioned off corner of the tank s theyre not able to get into or near the water tub itself and ofc the spraying everyday but i dont feel like its enough and i hate having this feeling that im depriving them of water.

Sorry its such a read but i hope i can settle a few of my issues and concerns.

Thanks liam

 

[carol5208]

most likely if you have had them together they have mated. I cannot believe she has not gotten pregnant earlier if she is not now. You need to get a laying bin in the cage immediately. If she has eggs and cannot lay she will become eggbound and die. Please post some pics of her so we can tell you if she is with eggs. The laying bin should be atleast 12 X 12 and have some moist washed play sand in it, moist enough to hold a tunnel that will not collapse. I still cannot believe they have been housed together all this time. You have never seen her change colors toward the male or seen them trying to mate? you said you could tell the signs of stress? What would they be? am a little confused here.. you say you have had them from two weeks old, have had them for year, but the male is 14-15 months old and the female is 18 mos old. How can that be?When you say tank, you don't mean fish tank I hope.

 

[liamhicks1989]

Sorry kinda rushing my explination there appologies, We had her first at the age of about 3 weeks from a local pet shop. she went into a small exo terra glass tank which were advised to by the shop. after reading up and people so against these we got the flex. we got the male about 3 months later but the female wasnt overly to big and size difference was only small so was advised by the pet shop they would go together ok. but we think the male was abit older than first said. anyway she went from a very dark orange to what she is now a bright peach with a pink stripe, which i read is a sign of "readyness to mate". we have never seen the male really change his colours hes always ben a vibrant red/yellow sometimes goes a nice green depending if hes sat in the bushes. i have read about the laying bin after reading through your FAQ which really helped but wanted advice also. i will put some pictures up now i will take them as soon as i post this and upload in the next 5 mins. and sorry by tank i mean viv i would never house any reptile in a fish tank.

 

[liamhicks1989]

Ok i have taken what pictures i can appologies theyre not great have a pretty old school camera. on another note she has been lingering around the bin this evening, not digging but more just sat there. im just trying to get some more diffinative answers from more experienced keepers but in my mind i still thing a quick visit to our vet might be in order just for a check up.

Male

Female

 

[samelgert]

I'm no expert but she looks prego to me

 

[carol5208]

she looks like she is gravid. Get a laying bin in there asap. Do not let her see you watching her dig or she couldl abandon the hole. Put a blanket over the cage and give her privacy if you are worried about her seeing you. You will probably have to remove the male if you are gonna cover the cage. The male is gorgeous by the way! yes, a vet can take xrays and let you know for sure if she has eggs. Has she stopped eating? when they are getting ready to lay they may not eat. What do you have in the bottom of the cage? it looks like oats! Most of us use no substrate. I highly doubt she will dig in that stuff to lay eggs. It looks too loose.