Jackson's retaining sperm??

[HiroProtagonist]

I just bought a female jackson's chameleon from a private party to (hopefully) breed with my male. According to them she's about 1 year and 3 months and had babies 2-3 months ago. She looks healthy, very lively, curious, good appetite, etc etc. My question is, since i've heard this mention a a few times on this site, do jacksons females retain sperm as other chameleon species do? And if so, how would I tell if she were pregnant now. If not, how long should I let her "recouperate" from her ordeal before introcuing her to my male? Oh, and he's only about 7-8 months old and a bit smaller than she is...i'll get pictures up soon...it's not that big of a gap in size but it's enough...so I'm wondering how to tell when he's ready to tackle this big mama jama

Thanks!

 

[Edward Kim]

What sub species of Jackson's are you working with?

 

[HiroProtagonist]

I'm not sure if its jacksonii jacksonii or xanthalophus (sp?) but i'm sure neither is a mt. meru. They're not dwarves that's for sure. At the size my male is now I guess he could pass for a dwarf but I know he isn't because his parents were huge. The female is smaller than his parents but still too big to be dwarf.

 

[HiroProtagonist]

Are there no jackson's breeders around here?

 

[Kent67]

To answer the basics of your question, yes, she can and probably will deliver another clutch without breeding. As to whether or not they store sperm, I'm not so sure anymore. It is apparently common to find embryos at very different stages of development during necropsies of live-bearing chameleons. Do they have the ability to do this and store sperm for future fertilizations? I haven't found any scientific papers or anything that ever said "I found viable sperm stored inside of X organ in a female Y species of chameleon."

You can let the male see the female and initiate his head-bobbing courtship dance. If she is receptive, let them go for it. You're only strengthening the chances of a good next clutch, imo. If she rejects his advances, wait a few weeks and try again...

 

[HiroProtagonist]

To answer the basics of your question, yes, she can and probably will deliver another clutch without breeding. As to whether or not they store sperm, I'm not so sure anymore. It is apparently common to find embryos at very different stages of development during necropsies of live-bearing chameleons. Do they have the ability to do this and store sperm for future fertilizations? I haven't found any scientific papers or anything that ever said "I found viable sperm stored inside of X organ in a female Y species of chameleon."

You can let the male see the female and initiate his head-bobbing courtship dance. If she is receptive, let them go for it. You're only strengthening the chances of a good next clutch, imo. If she rejects his advances, wait a few weeks and try again...

When I introduced them he was definately interested but she puffed up and opened her mouth so I separated them. She's bigger than he is too so I don't want her to beat him up, I guess I'll just have to wait and see if she's already got buns in the oven...cause with the way her stomach looks I'd say she definately could.