Male or Female Veiled...

[whyteshark]

I was wondering if I could gauge your opinions on which would be best to own. A male or a female veiled chameleon.

I had a female named Cleo but she passed away on me over a month ago or so. I was about to leave for school (I'm a teacher) and she was dead in her cage. I double checked everything (humidity, heat, etc.) and it all checked out. I have no idea why I lost her. It was a pretty crappy day at school after that. She was loved and is missed dearly.

So I want to get another one but I am wondering which is better to own, a male or female and why. Opinions please.

 

[carol5208]

How old was she? Did you have an egg laying bin for her in the cage? Were you aware that females can lay eggs without being mated with a male? Sometimes the females can become egg bound. You are better off with a male I think. Less worries with the egg laying and all.

 

[kinyonga]

If you get a male you won't have to worry about reproductive issues.

 

[facelesdoll]

what kind of class is she in? age/grade of students? chameleons can legit drop dead on sight from stress related incidents having to do with high traffic areas. ive had chameleons but in my experience for some 10 years now i learned the hard way when i removed a juvi female veiled from its cage. it shook and spazmed, at that moment it was parilyzed from its neck down and could only move her eyes. it was the most traumatizing thing to see. A dead limp lifeless body and a perfectly motor skill operational head. mind you i figured it was shock and maybe a natural reaction and that she would come around, but no! even after eating and such, keeping her alive for weeks would have been easy. in the sence she almost seemed fine, though the rest of her was dead. i had to take her life! all of this was due to stress. just because i took her out!!!! chameleons are not meant for class rooms. they can be used in schools but you should be using some sort of "white" blind infront of the cage to lock its view unless its "opservation" time. she could have been old/ eggbound/ or stressed! cut her open and check for eggs! females whether bred or not produce eggs and need to bury them. a male would be better for you, they live longer, have better tudes, and dont do the egg thingy. best of luck

 

[carol5208]

what kind of class is she in? age/grade of students? chameleons can legit drop dead on sight from stress related incidents having to do with high traffic areas. ive had chameleons but in my experience for some 10 years now i learned the hard way when i removed a juvi female veiled from its cage. it shook and spazmed, at that moment it was parilyzed from its neck down and could only move her eyes. it was the most traumatizing thing to see. A dead limp lifeless body and a perfectly motor skill operational head. mind you i figured it was shock and maybe a natural reaction and that she would come around, but no! even after eating and such, keeping her alive for weeks would have been easy. in the sence she almost seemed fine, though the rest of her was dead. i had to take her life! all of this was due to stress. just because i took her out!!!! chameleons are not meant for class rooms. they can be used in schools but you should be using some sort of "white" blind infront of the cage to lock its view unless its "opservation" time. she could have been old/ eggbound/ or stressed! cut her open and check for eggs! females whether bred or not produce eggs and need to bury them. a male would be better for you, they live longer, have better tudes, and dont do the egg thingy. best of luck

I am not sure she said it was in a classroom??? She said she was leaving FOR school. I am thinking she was at her house, no?

 

[Takara]

so you just need an egg bin for females? dirt?

 

[kinyonga]

Takara...its recommended to put an opaque container of washed playsand (12" deep x 12" x8" minimum size) in any sexually mature egglaying female chameleon's cage so that she has a place to dig to show you she's ready to lay eggs. This way you won't miss the sometimes subtle signs that the female needs to lay eggs. (BTW when the female is digging, you should not let her see you watching her.)

Although giving her a place to lay eggs helps, its also important not to overfeed females once they are sexually mature...and even if you do everything right, there are still possibilities of reproductive problems due to physical issues (fused eggs, reproductive system deformities, etc.)...with a male you avoid these issues.

 

[whyteshark]

I am a teacher but my chameleon was at home (and a male one too. . After a lot of research I knew I wouldn't want a chameleon in my classroom because of the constant traffic, stress of visitors etc. So she never left my house.

She could have been egg-bound. I truly hope not as I was not prepared for that and I feel terrible already that she is gone. I talked with the reptile store employees and they said that if you don't have anything set up for egg-laying then she would most likely not develop them. I hope their mistake/ignorance did not cost my little Cleo her life. This is one reason I want a male.

I've read that males can be more 'moody' but that they won't have any egg problems (obviously). I also have a large cage (24"x24"x48") already set up and ready for my new arrival. Would a cage this large be a problem for a wee one? I have a feeder cup/tray, water dripper etc. going and so forth too. I am even thinking of jury rigging something so my new little man will have easier access to water instead of crawling down to the bottom like before. Should I put my new Cham in a small cage at first?

Sorry for the questions, I just don't want to repeat any past mistakes again. Thanks in advance for the advice. Cheers.

 

[Olimpia]

She could have been egg-bound. I truly hope not as I was not prepared for that and I feel terrible already that she is gone. I talked with the reptile store employees and they said that if you don't have anything set up for egg-laying then she would most likely not develop them. I hope their mistake/ignorance did not cost my little Cleo her life. This is one reason I want a male.

This is not true. She will produce eggs regardless of whether she has a laying bin available or not. However, an easy way to help prevent (or greatly reduce the number of eggs per clutch) is to feed little and keep her temperatures cool. This link has all the info you need about this strategy: http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/2007/12/keeping-female-veiled.html Many people have successfully kept female veiled without laying any clutches at all their entire lives.

I've read that males can be more 'moody' but that they won't have any egg problems (obviously). I also have a large cage (24"x24"x48") already set up and ready for my new arrival. Would a cage this large be a problem for a wee one? I have a feeder cup/tray, water dripper etc. going and so forth too. I am even thinking of jury rigging something so my new little man will have easier access to water instead of crawling down to the bottom like before. Should I put my new Cham in a small cage at first?

Temperament so depends on the individual animal. If you asked, 100 people would tell you how docile their female is and another 100 would tell you how mean she is. And vice versa for males, so it's very much luck of the draw as far as personality. But the egg laying issues are a big deciding factor for many people, and males are often easier to keep because you don't have to be constantly worried about overfeeding or high temps.

In my opinion, I think 3 month old babies do just fine in large cages. Some people get really worried about them feeling overwhelmed but that's never been the case with any of mine, who tend to thrive in larger cages compared to smaller ones. But again, it might not always be the case. If you are worried about him finding his food I would hang a little plastic cup with insects in it from a branch and he will learn to go there for his food. You can also rig a shallow dish to a branch and have water drip into that and then down to the floor/plant. I tried this with my Jackson's and he loved drinking from this because he could really gulp down water. It was so shallow that water never sat in it stagnant for very long, and would dry between dripping sessions, so it could be an option.

Hopefully that helps you some in your decision making I have a little female I love, but males are great options as well. It depends on how comfortable you are with the reproductive issues.