Should I introduce a new male chameleon to my female?

nbhs_lauren08

New Member
Okay. My male flap-neck just died about a week ago and it was my female's mate. The first few nights he was gone and she had the cage to herself, she seemed kind of scared and just wasn't moving around as much as she was when the other guy was in there. She's doing well now but I don't know if she's happy. She's not as colorful as before....a lighter green....but she's still eating and drinking fine. Do they typically get lonely after their mate dies?
 
They shouldn't have mates in the first place. They are solitary creatures. Most chameleons are most colourful when they are stressed, so it wouldn't be a surprise to me that she "lost" her colour.

Asocial creatures don't get lonely.
 
She's finally happy and relaxed.
Don't put another male in there. Let her enjoy her new stress free situation and do a little research on flapnecks.

-Brad
 
They shouldn't have mates in the first place. They are solitary creatures. Most chameleons are most colourful when they are stressed, so it wouldn't be a surprise to me that she "lost" her colour.

Asocial creatures don't get lonely.

Well. I know they are usually solitary, but the people I bought them from said they were raised together and should stay together...probably just a way to get me to buy both of them then, huh?

I feel smart.:rolleyes:

I thought that when they get really light green they're sick...is that true?
 
If she is old enough, her darker colors when the male was alive might have meant that she is/was non-receptive or gravid. Once the male was no longer around some females don't show those non-receptive/gravid colors until there is a reason to. Does he have a proper place to dig to lay eggs? If not and that is why she was showing the different colors in the presence of the male, she could become eggbound and die.

How long were they together? How old is the female?
 
If she is old enough, her darker colors when the male was alive might have meant that she is/was non-receptive or gravid. Once the male was no longer around some females don't show those non-receptive/gravid colors until there is a reason to. Does he have a proper place to dig to lay eggs? If not and that is why she was showing the different colors in the presence of the male, she could become eggbound and die.

How long were they together? How old is the female?

:eek: I have some jungle mix dirt/soil stuff at the bottom of the cage and its about 1 1/2 inches thick...they had been together for at least 4 months and the female is a year old.
 
Out of curiousity, what were the relative sizes of the chams? Generally the smaller one will be stressed out more by the larger one. A year-old female could have intimidated a younger, smaller cham, if that was the case.

Also, 1 1/2 inches won't be deep enough for her to lay eggs in. However, it will be enough for her to start digging in.
If you see her starting to dig in the soil, she wants to lay eggs, and so it will be time to move her into a laying container.
There have been a few good examples of these containers on this forum. Do a search for some photos of their set-ups (I like the big garbage bin type nesting container, complete with lights and plants).
Also, read A Simple Nesting Site and Female Chameleon Health and Care for more information.
 
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