Ellioti mating attempt-NO GO!

[Julirs]

So now that the little Elliots have acclimated well, I decided to put them together. He went all body bobbing (they are too small to bob just the head) and at first she just walked right over him. Next he tried to mount and she was not having it. She was trying to bite, and when she finally got his leg in her mouth I separated them. As far as I know she should not be gravid, as wide as Ellioti can look it can be hard to tell, but Cain had her for quite awhile without a male. You can see in the last pictures what a pissed off female Ellioti looks like, and what a defeated male looks like. I suppose I will try again in a few weeks or so.
Pre Introduction Male:

Female (on right) walks right over male:

Defeated Male:

Pissed off female:

 

[Cainschams]

Thats a bummer!! Hope all goes well next time. If she was gravid from when I had her I think you would be able to tell by now. They are both great looking chameleons!!!

 

[Chuck G]

Someone correct me if I am wrong,but these guys are pretty shy and may not breed next to those personality filled Veileds.Maybe if you had regular Veileds.

 

[Julirs]

Someone correct me if I am wrong,but these guys are pretty shy and may not breed next to those personality filled Veileds.Maybe if you had regular Veileds.

You are rotten to the core!

There is a visual barrier FYI.

 

[Chuck G]

You are rotten to the core!

There is a visual barrier FYI.

That's why I love you...personality.

 

[kinyonga]

She looks gravid to me already in the last 2 pictures of her....but not in the one of her with the male.
Could she see the veiled that I see in the cage in one of the pictures?

 

[Julirs]

She has the ability to make herself look pretty darn wide if she wants, and then she can slim down. I thought the same thing when i saw the picture. She could not see the Veiled-there are visual barriers.

Cain-when was she last with a male?

 

[Cainschams]

She has the ability to make herself look pretty darn wide if she wants, and then she can slim down. I thought the same thing when i saw the picture. She could not see the Veiled-there are visual barriers.

Cain-when was she last with a male?

Im not sure. It would have been long enough to where she would be consistently fat like she was before she dropped for me, I would think.

 

[Julirs]

Did she drop babies for you? When?

 

[Cainschams]

Yeah, around the beginning of last June.

 

[Vegas Chad]

A knife fight between you and Chuck can solve this. Saturday at 3:00 PM in front of the Tiki booth at the San Diego Super Show.

 

[Kansascity]

A knife fight between you and Chuck can solve this. Saturday at 3:00 PM in front of the Tiki booth at the San Diego Super Show.

LOl I need to get a bet on that event

 

[Julirs]

Yeah, around the beginning of last June.

Did she try to kill the male?

Chad-a knife fight? Really? Chuck loves me!

 

[Vegas Chad]

Soon we shall see... 3:00 PM...

 

[Cainschams]

No, not when I left them together a while after she dropped the first clutch. Im not sure if my male was trying to breed with her or not. I only left her in his cage for a few days.

 

[Julirs]

Hmmmm-maybe she just hates this male? He was all too willing. She, however walked right over to him, and then went after him with a vengeance. She is a mean one!

When should I try this again?

 

[Cainschams]

Hmmmm-maybe she just hates this male? He was all too willing. She, however walked right over to him, and then went after him with a vengeance. She is a mean one!

When should I try this again?

LOL!! She was a feisty little thing I forgot to mention I never saw any head bobbing or courting from the male. He was smaller than she was.

Its possible she is carrying a retained clutch/slugs and its just a small amount. I would just give it a week or two and try again. What is the humidity and temps like?

 

[Trace]

Are you doing much in the way of seasonal cycling? What's your temperatures and humidity like?

 

[Julirs]

Are you doing much in the way of seasonal cycling? What's your temperatures and humidity like?

Well-this is something I should think about! I guess the closest thing to seasonal cycling I have right now it that it has really started to get hot and humid here in the past few weeks, so temps in the house and humidity would have increased slightly. I have only had these guys a few months, with the male being WC and the female being LTC. Maybe I am keeping her too cool? She is basking at about 78.

 

[Trace]

Out of the bitaeniatus complex the ellioti and the sternfeldi breed and produce litters many times a year and in my experience they aren't as dependant of the seasonal cues as much as some of their closely related brethren. That said they are going to need some different husbandry than your Veileds. They come from areas that have lush vegetation and being that they are a fairly shy species you may want to provide more cover for them. Both of them look stressed although that could be because the pics were being taken out of the cage. They have a fairly wide distribution across East Africa so depending on locality they will have differing requirements but that entire area does receive ample amounts of rainfall over the course of the year with the maximum occurring March through May. Your temperatures seem fine, they can tolerate warmer ones if need be but they are not hardcore baskers. I found they bask in the morning and move off to cooler, shadier areas to eat and rest in the afternoons. Most localities come from high elevations that have a significant temperature drop at night with some tolerating temperatures into the 40's. Humidity should 80% or more with it peaking at 100% overnights.

Unfortunately some of these rarer species need more exacting care and long-term planning than just throwing them together and hoping they breed. If it were that easy everyone would be doing it! See if making some subtle changes to their cage, temperatures, watering and humidity over a longer period of time makes a difference. Since we are coming into a warmer season, you may not see much breeding attempts until the fall when the temperatures drop, daylight hours become shorter and (simulated) rainfall increases.

Good luck! The world needs more CB ellioti.