Do you still think my cham is a male?

[Sinfulintent]

Interesting thread to read... Barely a spur on his back feet, could just be a crease.. and he doesnt have very much coloring which would leave me to believe he is a she... But at the same time s/he does have a heck of a buldge lol, kind of hard to tell... Definetely say get a good close pic of those back feet. And maybe get him/her nice and fired up.

 

[UglyHero]

It's a male, he has Tarsal spurs, evident in more than one picture. If you put a laying bin in there I promise you it will be a waste of time.

 

[broderp]

The whole point of male/female in the animal world is passing on one's genes in an effort to improve the species. It is not until you look at complex social animals that one gets into the transgender debate. I suppose it is possible for a less complex animal like a reptile to be hermaphroditic, snails are I think and so are some worms. It even happens very rarely in humans. I would bet that a hermaphroditic chameleon would not survive very long (although in captivity, survival chances may be better) but this is a debate for a whole other topic!!! But I still go with female.

Very true, but this doesn't take into account ppor breeders who breed for profit and could care less about the species. You breed a poor quaility male with a poor quaility female, you get poor quaility.

I also didn't mean hermaphroditic-ism (if thats a word ) in the truest form.

I was thinking along the lines of a genitc trait, such as spurs or colors being resessed when they should be dominant.

 

[ridgebax1]

Very true, but this doesn't take into account ppor breeders who breed for profit and could care less about the species. You breed a poor quaility male with a poor quaility female, you get poor quaility.

I also didn't mean hermaphroditic-ism (if thats a word ) in the truest form.

I was thinking along the lines of a genitc trait, such as spurs or colors being resessed when they should be dominant.

I suppose that could happen. I am not exactly sure what the purpose of the tarsal spur is in the chameleon. Other than identifying the chameleon as a male, does it serve another purpose? Do they use them when vying for a female? Roosters have a spur that they use in fighting. It certainly could be possible, we all have tails as an embryo but it usually gets absorbed as the embryo grows and develops. Some times there are problems with development and things do not go as they should so I guess it could happen in a chameleon too.

 

[broderp]

I suppose that could happen. I am not exactly sure what the purpose of the tarsal spur is in the chameleon. Other than identifying the chameleon as a male, does it serve another purpose? Do they use them when vying for a female? Roosters have a spur that they use in fighting. It certainly could be possible, we all have tails as an embryo but it usually gets absorbed as the embryo grows and develops. Some times there are problems with development and things do not go as they should so I guess it could happen in a chameleon too.

Maybe spurs are a residual digit or claw, a remnant from prehistric chams that were 10 ft long and weighted 400lbs.

Chickens have teeth and long muti-vertebra tails when developing, but like you said, they are absorbed as they develope. By the time they are hatched these are gone.

Maybe it's just and odd resessive gene kind of thing? Either way I hope he/she is healthy.

 

[Dave Bolamperti]

Good looking Cham, my guess is that's a male . Males usually have taller casques . Veiled's are great chameleons ,I have 5 myself. Fun to watch good eaters & drinkers aggressive .

 

[zsazsa85]

Males have spuds on the back of their hind feet. He is definitely a male! He is beautiful by the way

Thank you for the compliment!

 

[zsazsa85]

Good looking Cham, my guess is that's a male . Males usually have taller casques . Veiled's are great chameleons ,I have 5 myself. Fun to watch good eaters & drinkers aggressive .

Thank you for your compliment too!

 

[zsazsa85]

Either way I hope he/she is healthy.

Unfortunately he/she hasn't pooped for about a week now so something is wrong...

 

[zsazsa85]

So just close the case: she. As a matter of fact, she is full of eggs....
Thank you everyone!