Growth chart for veiled (or any other cham)

[broderp]

I know veiled chameleons get to 18-24" when adult.

I am looking for a growth chart that will allow me to bench mark his growth against the standards.

EXAMPLE:

VEILED CHAMELEONS
Newborn - 3/4" to 1"
1-3 months - 2' to 4"
3-6 months - 4" to 7"
ETC....


Does one exist? If not maybe a someone with experinece or a breeder could step in and make a list for the masses. Maybe even a sticky.

This could probably help answer the question "How old is my cham" I see here a lot. In fact, I'm going to measure my cham tonight and maybe post afew pictures and ask that exact same question! I'm thinking that for a 10 month old boy, he's tiny. Now if there was a growth chart...

 

[fluxlizard]

A growth chart would be slightly hard to interpret because with lizards, and especially with veileds, growth rate depends a *lot* on husbandry. Warmer temperatures, more food = much much faster growth than room temperature or low basking temps with food rationing.

To give you an idea of mine- this is link to couple of pics that I posted originally a couple of years ago or so, when I was selling a group of veileds here on the forums at 5-6 weeks old. They didn't all sell, so I reposted with a new pic at 9 weeks.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/veiled-chameleon-growth-chart-23892/index2.html#post1094360

FWIW- most of mine are young adult size (12+ inches) by 4-5 months. They would breed and successfully reproduce at that age if allowed to (not a good idea- better to wait perhaps for long term health of the female until she is at least a year old).

 

[Trace]

I don't measure my chameleons so much but I do take weekly weights of all of them. This gives me an early warning if perhaps something is wrong and can address any medical issues before they become significant. It’s pretty cool to see the quick growth in babies from egg to juvenile. I also take an incredible amount of photos of my clan so I can always compare when a photo was taken vs. when I took the weight if I need to.

Here is growth in Trioceros cristatus.

I have worked with many live bearing species and it’s interesting to note how much an adult female’s weight will change over the course of a year depending on her cycle and if she is gravid or non-gravid. Because I had weights going back several years for each specimen I could loosely predict when she was going to become receptive (there were other seasonal triggers as well) and compare her to previous pregnancies. Once adult, the males’ weight remains constant.

Here is adult weights of the Trioceros goetzei.

Unfortunately these charts don’t help with the more commonly kept species but I think they are interesting none the less.

Cheers,
Trace

 

[DirtyDubbz]

Great charts

 

[broderp]

Second that. Awesome chart. Weight can also be an idicator of growth.

I wish I had done that with my cham when I first got him.

 

[fluxlizard]

I'm impressed. Well done!