Help! with B. Transvaalense breeding behavior

[showjet95]

Ok so my male goes after my female almost immediately after placing them both outside in the sun but, he is so aggressive towards her its scary. He will literally chase her down and bite her on the tail or legs but he doesnt try and copulate with her, its almost like he thinks shes another male and hes chasing her away and once she flees the scene hes content.
Theyve been kept in the same enclosure with no problems whatsoever but as soon as theyre outside this behavior starts. Any help from any fellow Brady keepers would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[JoeG]

Sounds like territorial behavior. Maybe in their enclosure boundaries are already established & when out of the normal surrounding they have to be re-established.No experience to offer but very interested in your progress , I have a pair I keep seperated & have not put together yet. Good luck with the mating & keep us posted. Maybe someone who has worked with these guys can chime in..

 

[chameleonneeds]

Maybe you should just keep them seperately and see how it turns out in a couple months? Even thought they say you can keep some together...I would keep them seperate...

I have seen on 2 ocasions where a male and female came into contact...the female was not happy with his presence but he was always about a foot behind her.
The other times they were always apart...if I once put a male next to a female and she displayed gravid colours but the male was content on still doing it...they are persistent with it...

 

[showjet95]

well they seem to be very hardy little chameleons, and very sure of themselves. Im not exactly sure if bradypodion show gravid colors different from normal colors? Also, I dont think she would be gravid because I think Jared kept them seperate. Im gonna try and post a video on here to show their interaction.

 

[showjet95]

lets see if this works.

[vimeo]25109414[/vimeo]

 

[Motherlode Chameleon]

That was aggresive I would seperate them.

 

[showjet95]

youre tellin me! Im gonna upload another longer video that shows his behavior better. How am I ever gonna get these 2 to breed if he acts like this.
btw, theyve been seperated since this occured.

 

[showjet95]

http://youtu.be/Q5VRxNmzM7Y

 

[adamkwas]

Wow! They're so neat! I want some Bradys so bad .

 

[laurie]

http://youtu.be/Q5VRxNmzM7Y

That is awful. Why did you keep subjecting that female to attacks? That male wants to kill. Did he draw blood? If so don't forget to put neosporin on the areas where he broke her skin. It would need to be a good while before they were ever in the same area if they were mine. Another question, is this behavior something that is happening outside? Maybe the male is not comfortable in his new surrounding and the female is just something he can attack.

 

[showjet95]

Laurie, read the first post I had been keeping them together in an exo terra glass terrarium since I got them and the male was never aggressive towards her. This only happens when I put them both outside, doesnt matter where, it just triggers this behavior in him. He did head bob and fail at a mating attempt a couple of times in the exo terra , he got to her and then just gave up without trying to copulate.
He didnt draw blood with her, it was more just bluffs but I wasnt 100% positive if bradys are just very aggressive breeders like some other species are. Thats the only reason I let that happen but I would keep a very close eye on them. After this I have had them in seperate cages, and the female doesnt seem stressed at all. She has been eating ever since, even that same day. Same with the male.
I just wish someone would chime in here that actually has some experience with these guys as far as their breeding behavior and gimme some 411

 

[laurie]

Sorry, I didn't mean to sound awful. I just felt so sorry for that little girl. I don't know a lot of locals other than Jared (usa) but I would see what Benny has to say. I know he and several of the other European group keeps transvaalense. It is good you have them and not me - I would have freaked. I can get some names for you if you don't know who to talk too.

 

[showjet95]

I pm'd benny (eisentrauti)? but havent received a response yet. It did worry me alot when I saw how aggressive he was towards her but like I said, I thought it might be how bradys are when they breed, I wasnt sure, I wasnt gonna just let her keep getting hammered like that over and over tho. Those videos were on seperate days. I hope I just didnt get a bad apple (the male) because I would love to be able to breed them.

 

[laurie]

I pm'd benny (eisentrauti)? but havent received a response yet. It did worry me alot when I saw how aggressive he was towards her but like I said, I thought it might be how bradys are when they breed, I wasnt sure, I wasnt gonna just let her keep getting hammered like that over and over tho. Those videos were on seperate days. I hope I just didnt get a bad apple (the male) because I would love to be able to breed them.

And now we know why I did not have the guts to purchase them.

 

[chameleonneeds]

Yeah that is real aggressive behavior he is displaying to the female. I think seperating them for a while might change him.
Has he ever seen one of your other chameleons, and how did he react?

I noticed that with the bradypodions I saw (Pumilum) unreceptive/gravid females where a very dark green colour with white stripes, receptive and young females are lime green with bright white stripes and maybe some yellow. So there was definetely a difference between receptive and unreceptive.

 

[laurie]

I am guessing benny is off on vacation. Let me see if I can find out who else has them.

 

[Chris Anderson]

The male seems to be trying to fight an intruder off his territory rather than recognizing her as a female to mate with. You might consider showing him his reflection in the mirror and see if he responds similarly to his reflection. Maybe he doesn't know what a male actually looks like?

How long has he been in this outdoor cage when that video was taken? Perhaps he's either trying to establish the cage as his territory since it is new to him (in which case I'd recommend trying to introduce the female to his cage after he's had a few weeks to feel confident in his cage) or perhaps he is just super territorial (in which case you might try introducing him to her cage for breeding).

I never kept mine outdoors and didn't encounter this type of issue. You might contact Linda Davison. Hers recently bred for her and she may be able to tell you if she noticed any aggressiveness from the male during the process.

Chris

 

[showjet95]

Well the female is usually a mottled combination of yellowish with some pink and lavender mixed in so I never see any stripes or major color changes in her except when shes dark to bask.
That screen cage was just a small extra cage I had outside with nothing in it so I put them both in at the same time and thats what happened.
I have shown him his reflection and he couldnt care less. I also have a video of him when I first got them with him doing some major head bobbing to her and going over to her but never actually trying to mate but I cant get that video to upload for some reason.
When I have them both in the exo terra together (inside) they are completely fine, no aggressive behavior but he is in his best colors whenever hes with her, when hes in his cage by himself hes not as flamboyantly colored for the most part.

 

[mickeyratfink]

Certainly looks like he is defending his territory (or claim it as his)

I always introduce males into the females environment. I feel the males seem more territorial than the females, and this way it throws them off guard. Plus if she was receptive, I would have thought he would have other thoughts on his mind rather than fighting!!

 

[Cainschams]

Neat vids. Hahahahahahaha!!! I laughed hard when he bit you I dont really have anything to add. I saw a video of Lindas mating and her male was super aggressive too. Sorry I cant give more info. I just import them I havent had much experience with them