Mellers,male or female?

kathy117

New Member
I bought a mellers back in september, i believed it to be a male but now
IM unsure because hes been heading to the bottom of the cage alot and reading up on it it may be trying to lay eggs. Help me out guys!
 

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I bought a mellers back in september, i believed it to be a male but now
IM unsure because hes been heading to the bottom of the cage alot and reading up on it it may be trying to lay eggs. Help me out guys!

Melleri are really difficult to sex. There are various theories (spots behind ear flaps) around but they don't hold up. Just going to the bottom of a cage would not (IMHO) indicate a female. Now if you had been tracking the cham's weight over time and noticed a sharp increase in weight it could be a sign of a gravid female, but not always. When your cham poops, try to watch for hemipenes. They often flash them for a moment. If you haven't already, check out the website The Melleri Discovery. It has very detailed good info on melleri including gravid coloration.
 
To sex a melleri you really need a few. If they are visually isolated and re-introduced after a few weeks, they display typical chameleon sexual behaviors- males nod and females gape and rock.

Something you might try- show the lizard to itself in the mirror and see if you get a reaction that is male typical.
 
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