breeding troubles

[nicxcham]

i have two veiled chams my male cham i got in sept he is healthy and recently got female cham they are in seperate vivs and when i try to introduce they just want to attack each other i seperated them and 1 week later i tried again and the same thing as my female was in a tank with others she may have bred but she dont look gravid but i put moist vermiculte in her viv just incase she keeps eating it is this normal
they both eat very well and loved being misted the only problem im having is the breeding can anyone help

 

[herpluv]

Age

How are the couple?

 

[Chameleon]

My chams were the same too. The female, Sally, kept trying to attack my male. He would just climb on top of her and mate, then I would immediately seperate them. Make sure to watch your chams when housed together; some fights can be fatal. If the female is gravid, she will enlarge, puff out her gular, turn mostly black, rock back and forth, and hiss (also try to attack) when you attempt to touch her. Don't touch a famale gravid or house it with another cham, for they can become easily stressed. If you don't breed them, the female will become pregnant anyway, but she will die egg-bound (eggs get stuck). Good luck with breeding your chams!

 

[Heika]

If you don't breed them, the female will become pregnant anyway, but she will die egg-bound (eggs get stuck). Good luck with breeding your chams!

Lots of people keep females without them becoming egg bound and dying. An unfertilized clutch needs to be layed just like a fertile clutch, so an appropriate laying spot needs to be provided. Jenna just gave really nice instructions on a laying container yesterday. Infertile or fertile, the cham has to have an appropriate place to lay her eggs or she has a much higher chance of becoming egg bound. She will try to retain the eggs until she has someplace to lay them. It has a lot less to do with fertility and alot to do with providing her with someplace to lay her eggs.

Heika

 

[nicxcham]

thanx 4 advice im still worried they both haye each other she tries to go the other way but he chases her aggressively do you think he just wants to breed i dont want them to come to any harm

 

[Prism Chameleons]

I have a pair of Nosy's doing the same thing right now as I type this. The male is very aggressive and the female has responded aggressively as well in reaction to his behavior (but she is ready to breed). But, I'm keeping an eye on them as I type this to be sure it doesn't get too rough.

 

[umbongochams]

i have a female veiled and she is almost 5 months old. can anyone give me some advice as to the best thing to use for when she lays her eggs, obviously i dont want her to become eggbound. also at what age approx will she lay eggs if providied with the correct environment.

 

[Tygerr]

They are able to produce eggs, even without mating, from the age of about 5-6 months (some keepers have reported earlier ages). So it is important that you monitor your chameleon for any changes in colouring, weight or eating habits. If she does produce a clutch, she will need somewhere appropriate to lay the eggs, otherwise she may become eggbound and die.
Dave Weldon has posted pics of his egg laying bin - do a search for it on the forums.

If possible however, you want to try and prevent them from developing any eggs at all (at least until you're ready to actually mate them and have them breed - and you wouldn't want to do that until the female cham is fully developed at about a year old).

It is thought that overfeeding can trigger them to develop eggs whether they have been mated or not (leading to the production of infertile clutches). It is possible that warmer temperatures might trigger this too.

Kinyonga often mentions that she has been able to successfully prevent her Veiled and Panther females from producing any infertile clutches by controlling their food intake and basking temps.
As to what exactly constitutes enough food, and what constitutes too much, that differs for each cham (based on different levels of activity, ambient temperatures, calorie count of feeders used, etc). It may take some experience before you work out how much to feed.

My first female is 13 months old now, and hasn't produced any eggs. She has a voracious appetite, but I try to feed her sparingly, though regularly (she eats more frequently than my male did at her age).

 

[kinyonga]

umbongochams said..."i have a female veiled and she is almost 5 months old. can anyone give me some advice as to the best thing to use for when she lays her eggs, obviously i dont want her to become eggbound"....for all egglaying female chameleons I keep a small container of washed playsand in the cage so that they have a place to dig to show you that they are getting ready to lay the eggs. By small I mean that the container should be at least big enough (when empty) for the female to fit into with several inches to spare on all sides of her including above and below her. The container should be filled about 2/3 full of washed playsand that has been moistened enough to hold a tunnel.

Once they start digging in this small container, then you can move them to a large egglaying site and leave them there undisturbed as much as possible for several days if need be. They can be watered while in the large container/egglaying bin. You can feed them here as well as long as the uneaten insects are removed so that they won't chew on the chameleon or her eggs.

Do not let the female see you watching her when she is digging. It will make her abandon the hole. If she does this often enough it can lead to eggbinding.

You also asked..."also at what age approx will she lay eggs if providied with the correct environment"...they can lay eggs anytime from about 5 or 6 months of age on...depending on the feeding schedule, temperatures, etc. Overfeeding them can/will cause them to lay bigger clutches and these ones can have reproductive/egg laying problems too.

 

[umbongochams]

thanks very much guys!!! all your help is brilliant thatnks alot!!!!

 

[AFH]

nicxcham "thanx 4 advice im still worried they both haye each other she tries to go the other way but he chases her aggressively do you think he just wants to breed i dont want them to come to any harm"

It may take a few times of introducing them before you get the desired results. I read a post with a Meller's owner that had to do it 9 times before they actually mated.

First, make sure you are introducing the female into the male's cage. When he sees her, he should fire up and do a little head bobbing thing at her. Usually, he'll be on the approach, but it shouldn't be too aggressive (no lunging or gaping). If she's receptive, she'll turn and walk away and let him catch her.

I tried to mate a couple of my veileds this weekend. My male freaked out and lunged at her trying to bite her. I guess he didn't recognize her as a female. I got her out quickly. I'll try again later this month.

 

[Libren470]

Need some advice on breeding, please.

So i have two veiled chameleons one male and female from the same line (brother & sister). There only about 4 months old but are already trying to figure out the way of mating. They are both extremely healthy for there age and have vibrant colors. They are both housed within the same enclosure and eat at least 15 crickets each. Im sure within the next two months theyll learn the proper way to mate. But my issue is that several times if not more daily one or the other will try and mate and the opposite chameleon will have no interest and they will begin to fight. Its like there into each other, just not at the right times of the day lol. The male does show times of being territorial and will puff out with many bright colors and sometimes even snap at the female, but nothing to a dangerous extent. If anyone else is having identical problems please share your experiences with me. Thanx

 

[kinyonga]

Your female is awfully young to be mated. IMHO they should be separated until she is done growing herself...if she becomes gravid before that you are putting calcium demands on her to make fertile eggs before she is full grown and you could end up with her having bone/health issues.

When trying to mate them, I show the female to the male by holding her outside the male's cage. That way they can see each other without being able to attack each other. I watch their reactions. If they both behave calmly then the female can be placed in the male's cage...but I continue watching them. If the male flattens his body, raises one hand up under his chin, coils and uncoils his tail, hisses and gapes (in other words, shows signs of aggression) then he doesn't recognize the female as being ready to mate and the female should be returned to her cage. If the female, puffs up, rocks back and forth, turns dark in the background color, hisses, gapes, etc. then she is non-receptive/gravid....and should be put back in her own cage.