Gravid Yemen

[Shinybeetles]

Hi guy's/Gals,

I'm new to this site (and breeding chams), I have a 7 month old female Veiled chameleon and a 5 month old male. The male is about 20/30% smaller than the female, I put the 2 together about 10 days ago and he was on her like a shot. Every time I looked at them 'at it', he never seemed to actually connect, theer was a lot of head-butting and shivering but in the 5/6 days they were together I didn't see him actually connect. Anyway, I think she has gravid colouration though it is not as orange as in some pictures I have seen of other gravid females. My question is, is it likely she did actually mate properly? Would his size difference have lessened the chances? Could she have gone gravid just from seeing/being with him but not actually mated?

Your advice would be very helpful!

Chris

 

[RhettusMaximus]

sexual maturity

Typically a male takes about 6 months before he can mate and be potent....

 

[Chase]

Typically a male takes about 6 months before he can mate and be potent....

Ya, also make sure she has a spot to lay her eggs.

 

[Justin Carl]

well, if your female was gravid she will trun very dark and have blue spots all on the top of her back. just to double check you can stick the male back in the cage and see if she is willing to mate again. if she gets mad and dosent want him in there then she was fertilized the first time.

 

[Chase]

well, if your female was gravid she will trun very dark and have blue spots all on the top of her back. just to double check you can stick the male back in the cage and see if she is willing to mate again. if she gets mad and dosent want him in there then she was fertilized the first time.

But the male might not be fertile.

 

[Shinybeetles]

She has turned a very dark green, and has light turqoise/green spots on her back. The patches that were usually pink are now a light browny yellow. And yes I've put the male back in with her and she gapes and bites him when he tries to climb on. What do you think? Can she look gravid and still be infertile? How the heck does that work??

Thanks, for the advice so far!

 

[Justin Carl]

she is fertile! give it about 30 days she should lay

 

[Chase]

She has turned a very dark green, and has light turqoise/green spots on her back. The patches that were usually pink are now a light browny yellow. And yes I've put the male back in with her and she gapes and bites him when he tries to climb on. What do you think?

They most likely bred. If you don't know if they connected then just watch them. Don't stress her out too much because it might hurt her. Also, make sure she doesn't hurt the male and make sure she doesn't see him at all.

 

[Shinybeetles]

They most likely bred. If you don't know if they connected then just watch them. Don't stress her out too much because it might hurt her. Also, make sure she doesn't hurt the male and make sure she doesn't see him at all.

Thanks, though I'm still unsure if it is possible for a gravid coloured female to lay infertile egges? Could she be gravid colours but have infertile eggs?

 

[Chase]

Thanks, though I'm still unsure if it is possible for a gravid coloured female to lay infertile egges? Could she be gravid colours but have infertile eggs?

Yes, infertile eggs can occur anytime in any clutch. It's the fact that if the Male's sperm is fertile.

 

[Shinybeetles]

Yes, infertile eggs can occur anytime in any clutch. It's the fact that if the Male's sperm is fertile.

well fingers crossed they are fertile, I'd love to breed them. I managed to breed and rear up (the hard part) over 70 red-eyed tree frogs, I'm told Yemens are easy by comparison!!0

Thanks for your advice guys, very much apreciated!

Chris

 

[Chase]

well fingers crossed they are fertile, I'd love to breed them. I managed to breed and rear up (the hard part) over 70 red-eyed tree frogs, I'm told Yemens are easy by comparison!!0

Thanks for your advice guys, very much apreciated!

Chris

Upload a pic of her so we can be absolutly sure. Also, how long ago did they breed?

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Hi guy's/Gals,

I'm new to this site (and breeding chams), I have a 7 month old female Veiled chameleon and a 5 month old male. The male is about 20/30% smaller than the female, I put the 2 together about 10 days ago and he was on her like a shot.

Chris

It seems as though you have had success breeding your chameleons.
Unfortunately, I believe you have done your female a great disservice by breeding her at such a young age.
You are going to have to really focus on her calcium supplementation now, as she is still developing bone and bone density ... and now has to produce eggs. She will produce a second clutch about 30 days after the first.
The recommended minimum age to breed a female veiled chameleon is 12 to 18 months of age.
And yes, I know they are sexually mature and would breed at this age in the wild .... but a female's lifespan in the wild would be a year, maybe two. We try to improve their situation in captivity, and females can live to be 5 or 6 years old.

-Brad
-Brad

 

[Shinybeetles]

Well to be fair I research every animal I keep and I didn't hear about this problem though my animals have always been on very high calcium diets, and this female is very large. Anyway, here's a picture of her, look forward to hearing your views.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

She's definitely showing gravid coloration.
It's good that you are making sure she gets lots of calcium.
By the way, Welcome to the forums! You'll get a lot of good info here.

-Brad

 

[Justin Carl]

oh yea! that is gravid coloration for sure!
I am surprised you did breed her so young.
best of luck!

 

[Shinybeetles]

Well guys, just so as to really confuse things further, tonight, after 5/6 days of being those colours, she's gone back to her light colour again!!!!! How can she do that? Any ideas?

Thanks for the welcome to the forum by the way!

 

[kinyonga]

First of all, I can't tell you for sure that your male is old enough to produce or not...some become sexually mature earlier than others...so....

If he isn't fertile, she will likely produce eggs anyway since she is showing non-receptive coloration.

OR

If she is fertile, she could produce a clutch of all fertile eggs or a clutch that contains some fertile eggs and some that are infertile.


You asked..."Could she have gone gravid just from seeing/being with him but not actually mated?"...its quite possible that just seeing him has triggered her reproductive cycle.

You said..."I've put the male back in with her and she gapes and bites him when he tries to climb on"...I would advise you not to put the female back in like that next time. They could have injured each other. Next time, hold the female outside the male's cage so they can see each other but not have contact. She will give that gaping colorchanging indication that she is non-receptive/gravid by just seeing him and it won't put either of them in danger.

You said..."Can she look gravid and still be infertile? How the heck does that work??"...yes, she can look gravid because the coloration showing that she is non-receptive is the same as showing that she is gravid.

You said..."after 5/6 days of being those colours, she's gone back to her light colour again!!!!! How can she do that? Any ideas?"...they only need to show the gravid/non-receptive/don't-bother-me coloration when there is a male around....so they can go back to normal whenever they can't see the male.

 

[Chase]

First of all, I can't tell you for sure that your male is old enough to produce or not...some become sexually mature earlier than others...so....

If he isn't fertile, she will likely produce eggs anyway since she is showing non-receptive coloration.

OR

If she is fertile, she could produce a clutch of all fertile eggs or a clutch that contains some fertile eggs and some that are infertile.


You asked..."Could she have gone gravid just from seeing/being with him but not actually mated?"...its quite possible that just seeing him has triggered her reproductive cycle.

You said..."I've put the male back in with her and she gapes and bites him when he tries to climb on"...I would advise you not to put the female back in like that next time. They could have injured each other. Next time, hold the female outside the male's cage so they can see each other but not have contact. She will give that gaping colorchanging indication that she is non-receptive/gravid by just seeing him and it won't put either of them in danger.

You said..."Can she look gravid and still be infertile? How the heck does that work??"...yes, she can look gravid because the coloration showing that she is non-receptive is the same as showing that she is gravid.

You said..."after 5/6 days of being those colours, she's gone back to her light colour again!!!!! How can she do that? Any ideas?"...they only need to show the gravid/non-receptive/don't-bother-me coloration when there is a male around....so they can go back to normal whenever they can't see the male.

Lol, She looks like a gravid color on her.

 

[Shinybeetles]

Thank you very much for that advice, very useful, I will definitely 'test the water' next time before putting them in together. I'll let you all know what happens over the next month, I guess if she isn't gravid then it may not be such a bad thing at this stage.