First showers/ sperm plug?

danielle609

Established Member
Okay well today both of my chams got there first showers. I think the female liked it more than the male surprisingly! My boyfriend and I finally replaced the shower that my dad tore out a year or so ago. I think I am going to add a shower to their weekly routine!

But so my main question is wether or not my male has a sperm plug. He does have a buldge at the base of his tail but I don't know wether or not it is normal to have a buldge. There isn't anything coming out of his vent and I do occasionaly see sperm plugs on his vines. For about the last 2 months or so he has only been defecated once maybe twice a week, and they tend to be quite large, other than that everything is normal about it. I posted some picture of him if you would like to take a look. I also posted pictures of their shower. ( Altough some of the pics look like the shower is spraying right on him it was hitting the wall first :D ) Let me know what ya think! Thanks!!
 

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I am starting to think that he may have a sperm plug from doing more "research" . All of the pictures I have seen of normal sperm plugs look like there are 2 put together, all of Dizzy's sperm plugs just looked like they came from one of his hemipenes. So is it possible just to have one retained sperm plug? I am sorry if this is hard to follow. I will try to post some pictures to give you guys a better idea about what I am talking about. Thanks!

https://www.chameleonforums.com/guido-constipated-5448/

That link is to another thread. If you scroll down their is a picture of Guidos smegma. Dizzys smegmas look exactly like that, but if you cut it in half. So that is why it made me wonder wether or not one of his hemipenes has a blocked sperm plug.
 
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Hi,about the shower,did u directly spray onto them? Id like to know more about how you did it cause it looked great,im tryin to figure out ways to give my cham a shower.
 
I have a shower has 2 shower heads. I had one spraying at the wall and the other just spraying toward the ground no where near my chams. So they weren't being sprayed directly, just getting what ever bounced off the wall. I only gave them like 20 min showers each, so maybe I will give them a little longer ones next time.
 
God,im trying to wonder how you got them to stay there?! I tried givin my cham a shower on a little bar in the back of the shower so he could get some mist,he wouldnt stay put!
 
God,im trying to wonder how you got them to stay there?! I tried givin my cham a shower on a little bar in the back of the shower so he could get some mist,he wouldnt stay put!

They actually behaved very well for me. I am actually going to give them one today in a few minutes! :
 
I’ve just recently had issues with seminal plugs with one of my panthers. Believe it or not these plugs make them selves very obvious when they become a problem. You’ve already noted once that you have seen these plugs in the droppings. That’s a good sign, that tells us that he has been passing them fine in the past and we can assume that he should (in theory) be able to pass the majority of his plugs. Although your male has not been defecating as much recently, have you been noticing any plugs in or near the fecal matter? If you have than regardless of the slow rate of deification he is still able to pass the plugs with out difficulty. If you can not see anything that resemble to plugs in his excrement then there is a possibility that he is having a problem passing them. Here is where the fun begins, keep an eye on your male over the next while, you will not know for sure if he has plugs until they start to protrude from the flap. These plugs will be very firm and will extend from the opening of the flap up to the base of his hemi-bulge. If you press lightly on the bulge near the base of the tail away from the fold, you will notice it will also be extremely firm. From here I wouldn’t suggest removing them yourself right away. Continue to bath him and see if he will pass them on his own. If the area begins to become irritated it is time to consider manual removal of these plugs. You can do this yourself or take the animal to your vet. If you have access to a herp vet that is my suggestion.

If not here is a run down on a method in which you can gently push the plugs out.

First, wear a pare of gloves and wash wash wash. Also keep in mind holding this little guy in place will be difficult, but do not force him, he isn’t as strong as you and can be easily injured.

Second, it is obvious when the plugs begin to protrude, at first you will thing it might be possible to pull them out, this is not the case. They will have to be pushed out from the back and slowly be worked out… my best example would be when you’ve come an empty tube of tooth pasted and you want to get that last bit. You start at the end to the tube and push up toward the applicator. Well it’s the same process. You will apply a small amount of pressure at the base of the hemi-bulge and push gently toward the fold, release pressure, and then reapply. Do this on one plug at a time, you will notice that as you apply pressure and release it will slowly bring the plug further and further out of the fold.

The hemi-penis will also start to protrude when doing this, do not let this scare you it will retract back into fold once the plug is removed. Once the plug is out, let your chameleon rest for a bit and then work on the second plug. Same idea, apply pressure, remove, reapply, remove, reapply.

From the photos you have provided thus far I would not be concerned about plugs just yet. However, continue to monitor the chameleon and just wait and see.

below is a link to some of my experience with the plugs.

Cheers.
 
Thanks Kosmo! For the time being I think I am just going to leave him alone and continue to keep a close eye on his vent. There isn't anything protruding out, and I have seen sperm plugs in the past on his branches. I was just getting worried because he hasn't been defecating very often. I have heard that could be due to the fact that he is getting older. But thanks for the all the details, I am hoping I don't need to use them, but if I do I know where to find them!
 
Im a little lost here,mind givin me step by step stuff on how you gave your chams showers? I tried something in what i thought was similar...but it didnt seem to work.
 
Im a little lost here,mind givin me step by step stuff on how you gave your chams showers? I tried something in what i thought was similar...but it didnt seem to work.

Don't mind at all!

1) get a fake plant that is very stury, you can also use a live plant, and put it into the shower.

2) turn the shower on and aim it at the wall. Feel with your hank where the water bounces off and make sure that is where you put your cham to perch.

3) Make sure the water isn't too hot, but warm to the touch. I don't have an exact temperature but if you think it feels too hot it probably is.

4) put you cham in the shower on the stury branch that you have already picked out and let him soak in the "rain" for about 30 minutes or so.

He may be a little stressed at first, but he should grow to like it!

Hope this helps, maybe someone else will post how they do showers.
 
Sounds good,i tried puttin him on the little pole,he just wanted to move! But i will do that.
 
hey bucky. make sure the water is warm not hot or cold. I gage this by trying to get the water to feel like I stuck my hand in my 55 gallon aquarium which is around 76 degrees. Although I dont know if this temp is exact and if other people would think I need to go warmer or cooler but it works for me and after a minute or 2 they are right where the water is comming in the most. I use an extra screen cage I have with some fake plants and vines in there. Just make sure there is a place they can get out of the rain too.
 
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