Question about females

[IMperfection]

I've read before that if you get a female cham that it will lay eggs or die...I've done some research on all that and one place said that was a rumor and that doesn't happen and the cham will live just normally. I was just wondering from the owners out there whether it is true or not, so I will be prepared for what is to come in the next month. Thanx all of you for everything, everyday I read I get more excited about bringing my new companion home.

 

[PardalisGirl]

Not a rumor.........

The death of female chameleons due to the inability to lay eggs is not a rumor or a myth. It happens frequently. If you get a female chameleon you must pay special attention to her nutritional needs and provide a suitable container and nesting material for her to dig and lay her eggs. Fertile or non-fertile. Females do sometimes reabsorb non-fertile eggs within their body. In my personal experience and in the observation of other keeper's experiences, this does not happen very often. So, if you get a female you need to be prepared for the eventual egg situation.

 

[summoner12]

Females need a place to lay eggs. If you provide something the female feels is a good place to lay eggs... she will lay them and live on.

Oh and everything PardalisGirl said! haha

 

[kinyonga]

While some female chameleons...like veileds or panthers do die from eggbinding its usually from poor husbandry or from physical reasons. THE PART ABOUT HAVING TO MATE THEM WHEN SEXUALLY MATURE OR THEY WILL DIE EGGBOUND IS A MYTH! I have a 4+ year old and a 6+ year old veiled right now that have never been mated and never laid an egg. I have had lots of others that have lived to be this old and never laid an egg...so its not a "freak" event.

Some species don't lay/produce eggs unless they are mated...like Senegals for example. These also don't have to be mated to live.

Generally the ones that die eggbound (or from not laying their eggs) die from keepers not providing a proper place for the female to lay the eggs, from over-feeding the females once they are old enough to produce eggs, from feeding them improperly (not gutloading insects, not feeding the insects a nutritious diet, not supplementing properly), not providing sufficient UVB (that does not pass through glass or plastic), not providing appropriate heat so that good digestion can take place or from physical reasons such as misformed eggs, fused eggs, reproductive tract abnonormalities. (This previous list is not all-inclusive. I may have missed things.)

Here are some sites that have good information on chameleons that you might like to read...
http://www.adcham.com/
http://www.chameleonnews.com/
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/uvinviv.htm

Hope this helps!

 

[littleliz]

this is interesting! I have never heard of female veileds NOT laying eggs? So please tell me..... do they ever go through the motions of being gravid?

 

[Ashley]

So the same is true about veiled and panthers? How often will they lay infertile clutches? I have a female panther but I am waiting on a fertile clutch at the moment, but after that. How weary should I be of her laying just to lay.

 

[kinyonga]

littleliz said..."this is interesting! I have never heard of female veileds NOT laying eggs? So please tell me..... do they ever go through the motions of being gravid?"...the odd one seems to show mating colors and the odd one actually looks like it might be producing eggs but then it doesn't. Diet and temperature seem to control the egg production.

Ashley said..."So the same is true about veiled and panthers?"...assuming you are referring to the part about laying eggs or dying....in both panthers and veileds they should not die laying eggs if the husbandry is right and there is no physical reason preventing it.

I cannot (so far at least) stop panthers from laying clutches but the size of the clutch is never more than 20 or so.

Ashley said...."How often will they lay infertile clutches? I have a female panther but I am waiting on a fertile clutch at the moment, but after that. How weary should I be of her laying just to lay"...panthers can lay 1 to 5 clutches a year of 10 to 40 or so eggs per clutch. The size of the clutch depends on the amount fed to the chameleon. If you mate a female panther chameleon the first clutch she lays after the mating can be completely fertile or contain some fertile eggs and some infertile...depending on where she is in the cycle when you mate her. The next clutch will likely be partly fertile...likely the next one after that will be infertile if you don't mate her. Sometimes the babies from retained sperm are not as healthy as the babies from "fresh" sperm too.