Female Carpet Chameleon Question

[Harry]

Hey guys, I am thinking about buying a carpet chameleon but cannot decide if I should get a male or female. I love the colors on females but am concerned she could become egg bound and die if she does not mate. Does that happen often? Thank you in advance.

 

[Miss Lily]

Well, the whole thing about dieing eggbound if not mated is a myth. Poor husbandry, diet and failure to provide a laying bin are more likely to cause problems for the chameleon. I was going to buy a female Carpet, but was told that the beautiful colours they show are only present when receptive or gravid. As I wasn't going to get a pair then I would never have seen those gorgeous black gravid colours that I wanted to see. I opted for a male in the end and he is always displaying different colours - he's like a firework, bless him! The blues, greens, black, yellow, white and turqoise are just amazing! I was told that males show more colour most of the time and females, like I said above, only show their best colours when gravid.

 

[Harry]

Thank you for the reply Lily! I didn't know that. I'm now leaning towards a male. Yours is really beautiful by the way.

But would I have any problems with a female that never mates? Or a female who has already mated before? I just wanna be clear on that.

 

[Miss Lily]

I have had two female Veileds, both of whom were never mated. They do lay infertile eggs even if never mated, but as long as they are healthy and have a laying bin then they will usually use it and lay without any problems. However, if you bougth an adult female and there was a chance that she had been in with a male, then she may well lay a fertile clutch as females can retain sperm and lay 2 - 3 clutches from one mating. I know this is true for female Veileds and Panthers, but again I have no experience with female Carpets. I have no experience of female Carpets though. Carpets are quite shy compared to other species, and mine certainly has an attitude - he actually bit me today. I thought a male would be just plain green but he s anything but at times! His best colour display is when he is angry like in my avatar pic! He also displays those colours if I put my hand in his viv to offer him food.

 

[Harry]

I have had two female Veileds, both of whom were never mated. They do lay infertile eggs even if never mated, but as long as they are healthy and have a laying bin then they will usually use it and lay without any problems. However, if you bougth an adult female and there was a chance that she had been in with a male, then she may well lay a fertile clutch as females can retain sperm and lay 2 - 3 clutches from one mating. I know this is true for female Veileds and Panthers, but again I have no experience with female Carpets. I have no experience of female Carpets though. Carpets are quite shy compared to other species, and mine certainly has an attitude - he actually bit me today. I thought a male would be just plain green but he s anything but at times! His best colour display is when he is angry like in my avatar pic! He also displays those colours if I put my hand in his viv to offer him food.

I'm replying really late but thank you for the info Lily! I think I will be going with a male