Rainbow Jackson's Chameleon claim to be female .

[lijun120331]

The seller said it was female, but it had three horns. What do you think?

 

[Parkjw]

I think she is beautiful female jacksonii.

jacksonii jacksonii female have to three horn

 

[leedragon]

Female.

 

[lijun120331]

 

[Mendez]

To give you a three in a row confirmation, I agree with @leedragon and @Parkjw. You have a female Trioceros jacksonii jacksonii. Females of this subspecies can have between one and three horns. When they have three horns, the upper horns (above the eyes) are noticeably thinner than the rostral (nose) horn. And the horns will be significantly thinner/smaller than a male of the same subspecies; however, comparing males and females is only useful if you have the opposite sex. But yes, you have a female.

Jackson's chameleons are notorious for having "surprise" babies. Females can retain sperm from males. And what happens is that the seller usually houses males and females together. Then, once the female is in the new owner's care, the female drops a load of babies one day seemingly out of nowhere. And since they don't lay eggs, you have to be ready for the babies to arrive at any time.

I'm not expert on identifying the early stages of pregnancy in jacksonii. So I'll have to defer you to other members. @JacksJill, @Kaizen, and @leedragon, do you think this female is gravid?

 

[JacksJill]

I agree with all above she's female. I rely on the tail base thickness in adults. It's not as obvious as it is in panthers but it is a tell.

I don't know of anyway to tell gravid from just carrying infertile slugs. Their body shape changes whether they are carrying either, In females with an uncertain history you just have to expect babies.

Looking at her pictures she doesn't look very well hydrated to me. Have you gone over husbandry with anyone?

 

[Lindasjackson]

She sure is beautiful! Welcome to the forum!