Gravid F. Paradalis (Panther Chameleon)

[Whodunit13579]

Hi everybody I am new to this website, and this is my first posting (probabally of many).
So today I had my first successful mating between my male and female panther chameleons! I am so excited! I have been reading blogs, books, info websites, etc. And I have seen sooooo many differing opinions that I am a little confused about a few things. That being said I have some questions for those who have successfully bred these awesome animals. I have seen some sources say if you actually see them copulate once you are good to go. Others say wait till she starts to show disinterest, then separate them, still other sources say to just leave them together for 3 days. What I did was put them together then when I saw she was receptive watched them copulate twice (I think), then I went way for half an hour then came back and saw her showing gravid colors (at least that's what I assume from gravid Internet photos), so i separated them. Should I put them back together, or should I be good? On a funny note when I removed the male he tried to copulate with my hand! Lol. Another question... I have seen timeframes mentioned for anywhere from 10 days to 2 months for the gestation period. What should I be expecting realistically? Wondering when I should put laying medium with her. That brings up anothern question. There are many many opinions for the laying medium, depth of the medium, how much water it should have, what is best? When the eggs are laid should I remove them? What do I put them in? What temperature? What humidity? Do I turn the eggs? I am sorry for the long post, but I have read a lot about this and there seems to be little consensus when it comes to slot of these aspects, and I would just like to hear what people who have actually been through this successfully have done. He is a blue bar (named Xerxes) about 14 months I think. She is a blue bar (named Ellie) too I was told, although she shows alot of lime green, salmon pink, and orange, not a whole lot of blue, but some on occasion. She is 10 months old.

Thanks in advance for any info!

1.1 Furcifer paradalis (Blue Bar Panther Chameleon)
1.1 Boa constrictor (Columbian Red Tail Boa)
2.3 Dendrobates auratus (green and black dart frogs)
0.1 African Clawed Frog
55 gal. Fish tank- guppies, dannios, mollies, plecos
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair tarantula
1.1 Brachypelma albipillosum (Curly Hair tarantula)
14 other T's
0.1 Leopard Gecko
Many Madagascan Hissing Cockroaches
Many Giant Cave roaches
Many Dubia Orange Head roaches
Several scorpion species
Many Anoles

 

[Whodunit13579]

BUMP please help me I would greatly appreciate advice. I put them together again yesterday and left them together overnight. About to separate them to feed them soon here.

 

[kinyonga]

Since you bred her before she's a year old, I hope she's full grown so she won't be taking calcium/nutrients that she should be using for her own growth for the eggs.

Background information..I've been keeping/breeding/raising chameleons for over 20 years as well as quite a few other lizards and turtles/tortoises. The following is my way of doing things and there are surely other opinions/ways of doing it all.

I always leave the female in with the male until she starts rejecting him (shows non-receptive behavior and colors)....but you need to watch so that they don't get to the point where they fight.

Regarding how long it will be after mating IMHO depends on the point at which she was mated. She could lay mostly infertile eggs, all fertile or just a few fertile depending on when she was mated within her cycle.

If you put the opaque (minimum size 12" deep x 12" x 8") egglaying container in the cage now and leave it there, you shouldn't miss her time. I have always used a washed playsand that I buy at home depot that comes in a white bag with red, blue and yellow sand toys on it and is produced by Kings for the laying medium. It should be just moist enough to hold a tunnel. I leave this sized container in the cage at all times once an egglaying chameleon female is sexually mature. When she starts digging you can move her to a bigger egglaying set up if you want to...but most will lay in the container in the cage.

There seems to be a period of time that the eggs can be turned when being moved from the laying site to the incubation container...but I try not to turn them. After they are in the incubator I make sure they are not turned too...better safe than sorry. When the eggs are laid in the ground and buried, what would turn them? (Not saying that they can't/won't hatch if they are turned because they often do...but why risk it.)

Here's how it should go....
Signs that she is getting ready to lay include but are not limited to....she will likely be more thirsty than normal, roam the cage, may stop eating a couple of days before, may bask more.

The female should start to dig. Once she is digging make sure that you don't let her see you watching her since it will make her abandon the hole. If it happens often enough, it can push her to eggbinding. She may dig several test holes and even quit digging in between but should finally settle on one hole and dig in until she's satisfied with it. She should then turn around, butt down in the hole and lay the eggs. Usually in the evening the eggs will be laid. She should fill the hole and pack it down after and return to the branches, hungry and thirsty.

Signs of eggbinding may include but are not restricted to...
sitting low in the cage, eyes closed during the day, lethargic, may even have a phantom laying but when you dig the container up there are no eggs, etc.

Good luck!

 

[Whodunit13579]

Thanks for the info that is really helpful! Stretched out she is around 12 inches which I have read is full grown for her species. If she were to show signs of being egg bound is there anything to be done to help her at that point?

 

[lindawaz]

Vet. A vet can help you then. Research vets in your area so you have one prior to needing them. Best of luck on having Babies

 

[Olimpia]

If you start seeing her eyes sink in and her acting lethargic then it would be time to rush her to a reptile vet. They will be able to administer a shot of Oxytocin which stimultes contractions (after an x-ray, to see if there isn't a reason she isn't laying them on her own, like they've grown too large or are fused together). This will make her lay the eggs, either there at the vet or shortly after at home.

However, if you notice that she's acting like she wants to lay (pacing, not eating, restless) but she hasn't used her bin yet you might want to leave her abandoned in her bin so she can't get out one evening. Sometimes they're stubborn and want to use anything but their bin. Most of the time they'll realize they have nothing else to do and will lay the eggs. Try this first, and if for some reason she still won't lay and starts to show signs of going down hill then it's time to go to a vet.

 

[Whodunit13579]

It has been 45 days and she has not laid eggs yet. Also, I'm not even sure she ever got bigger. Is it possible even though I saw them copulate several times that she didn't get her eggs fertilized?

 

[sdheli420]

It has been 45 days and she has not laid eggs yet. Also, I'm not even sure she ever got bigger. Is it possible even though I saw them copulate several times that she didn't get her eggs fertilized?

yes..she may still not be at breeding age..(in my experience, females tht have lived with males usually wait till they are about 1 year to 1 1/2 years old..almost like they know it could kill them if too young) also they can mate and she can retain sperm plugs and use them when she is ready to produce..my female just laid again ( 47 eggs..waaaay too many) and it was about a month and a half after i saw them "interacting"