quattlebaum12194
Member
Im thinking about getting a pair of veiled chameleons for breeding, but ive heard that chameleons do not like to be around each other, how would i breed them safely without them getting too stressed out
How to breed
- Thread starter quattlebaum12194
- Start date
Thatcher
Chameleon Enthusiast
I think you should read and learn about husbandry inside and out. How to control clutch size for a female is very important. They both have to be housed separately. You have to learn the color changes that a female will do being receptive and then gravid. Learning about incubation of the eggs. Being able to provide separate complete cage set ups for each baby. It is very expensive and Veileds do not have a real return on investment since they are priced so low. Knowing how you will sell them is important too. Learning about how to ship chameleons and the cost involved with it is also an important aspect.
It is not something I would go into blindly at all. We see it here where someone will decide they want to breed then have no idea how to even incubate the eggs much less how to feed them or when to separate the babies. Or someone will breed a female that is too young and has not even laid a clutch yet. Search through old threads and learn as much as possible.
It is not something I would go into blindly at all. We see it here where someone will decide they want to breed then have no idea how to even incubate the eggs much less how to feed them or when to separate the babies. Or someone will breed a female that is too young and has not even laid a clutch yet. Search through old threads and learn as much as possible.
quattlebaum12194
Member
yes, Thats what ive been doing, I found a breeding pair of veiled chameleons for around 150, im watching youtube videos, and reading lots of forums, im going to learn as much as possible first, im not the type that goes into something this challenging blindly, i care about the health of all of my reptiles, so you best believe im going to research everything first, but thinks for the response, i mostly keep Trioceros jacksonii and i know that the care for veilds is different so ill make sure to do my research, thanks for the response.
That is good. Too many times I have seen where people go in blind thinking nothing of it. Truly sad to me because it is the animals that suffer.
You need to find out from the owner when they bred them last, age of both of them, Clutch sizes that she is producing. Make sure they have had the right supplementation and UVB. This is really important for a breeding female, you do not want to deal with MBD.
If you get them I strongly encourage you to get fecals on both to make sure they are clean since you have other chams.
Once you have the pair, you need to keep them in separate cages and have a barrier so they can't see each other as well.
To breed them I take the male and hold it outside the cage of the female so they can see each other but can't attack each other if they female isn't receptive.
Watch the behaviour. If the male brightens his colors and doesn't show aggressive behaviour towards the female, then he will likely breed her. If she walks slowly away from the male and does NOT rock back and forth, sway from side to side, darken her colors, gape, hiss, then she is likely receptive to him...and you can put him into her cage....but you need to continue to watch them in case things do not go in the right direction.
If they are ok together, they will breed and can be left together until the female starts to reject the male...by hissing, gaping, swaying, rocking, biting and turning dark. You have to watch them because you want to take him out as soon as she starts to repel him so he won't get bitten.
Once this is done, you have the issue of the female laying her eggs. She needs a proper egglaying bin available to her at all times. Do not let her see you watching her while she is digging.
She may dig several test holes over several days, but should select one and when happy with it, turn around butt down (usually at night) and lay her eggs. She should fill the hole in and tamp it down and return to the branches.
If she was obese going into this, had MBD or other issues it's quite likely she will develop eggbinding or become eggbound and die.
You need to make sure that as she approaches maturity, you don't overfeed her or keep her temperatures too high because this will pushe her into follicular stasis or eggbinding.
If she lays the eggs, you will have to dig them up carefully, have an egg incubation container ready for them...a Shoebox sized container, filled about half full of coarse grained vermiculite that is just the right moisture. Make dents in the vermiculite about an inch apart in all directions and lay the eggs in the dents. Put the lid on the container and place them where the temperature will be right for the whole incubation time and will also be dark all the time. Then, you will have to incubate them at about 74F and they should hatch at about 8 months.
When the eggs hatch you need to be ready with fruit flies and caging, lighting, etc for all the babies. Then soon, you need to find them all good homes. They eat a LOT too.
I've likely miss a few details.
Still want to breed?
To breed them I take the male and hold it outside the cage of the female so they can see each other but can't attack each other if they female isn't receptive.
Watch the behaviour. If the male brightens his colors and doesn't show aggressive behaviour towards the female, then he will likely breed her. If she walks slowly away from the male and does NOT rock back and forth, sway from side to side, darken her colors, gape, hiss, then she is likely receptive to him...and you can put him into her cage....but you need to continue to watch them in case things do not go in the right direction.
If they are ok together, they will breed and can be left together until the female starts to reject the male...by hissing, gaping, swaying, rocking, biting and turning dark. You have to watch them because you want to take him out as soon as she starts to repel him so he won't get bitten.
Once this is done, you have the issue of the female laying her eggs. She needs a proper egglaying bin available to her at all times. Do not let her see you watching her while she is digging.
She may dig several test holes over several days, but should select one and when happy with it, turn around butt down (usually at night) and lay her eggs. She should fill the hole in and tamp it down and return to the branches.
If she was obese going into this, had MBD or other issues it's quite likely she will develop eggbinding or become eggbound and die.
You need to make sure that as she approaches maturity, you don't overfeed her or keep her temperatures too high because this will pushe her into follicular stasis or eggbinding.
If she lays the eggs, you will have to dig them up carefully, have an egg incubation container ready for them...a Shoebox sized container, filled about half full of coarse grained vermiculite that is just the right moisture. Make dents in the vermiculite about an inch apart in all directions and lay the eggs in the dents. Put the lid on the container and place them where the temperature will be right for the whole incubation time and will also be dark all the time. Then, you will have to incubate them at about 74F and they should hatch at about 8 months.
When the eggs hatch you need to be ready with fruit flies and caging, lighting, etc for all the babies. Then soon, you need to find them all good homes. They eat a LOT too.
I've likely miss a few details.
Still want to breed?
quattlebaum12194
Member
yes, it seems like lots of work to breed them, but i am still interested in it, but im still going to think about it, im going to do lots of research before i get into it though.
