Variable gestational periods in Jackson.

[opihiman]

Does anyone know if Chams (jacksons in particular) are able to speed up or slow down their gestational periods? And would that account for the variable birthing times 6 to 10 mos?

If it is, what would account for this variance? environmental? habitat setup, food supply, water? Just curious.

OPI

 

[kenya]

I think it is all a combination of environment, accessibility of water and food, size of cage, stress levels, genetics of the individual cham, size of the coming clutch....and most importantly, the temps they are kept at. I keep my female in the lower end temps because I want her to develop embryos slowly and not have to hurt herself to do it. I think that if she were to develop them rapidly, she would take calcium from her bones and impact her own health in a negative way to produce her clutch.

I could absolutely be wrong, but those are just my thoughts on it.