Rhampholen brevicadatus

[schegini14]

Hey everyone!

Im new to the forum and to chameleons. I recently purchased a wc 1.3 group of Rhampholen brevicadatus. I'd like to breed them hoping to gain some experience. Im looking for any suggestions to get to this goal.

Thanks
-Sherwin

 

[Stuey!]

well if your new to chameleons i would wait till you are more experianced. learn all you can until they are full grown and if you really feel like you want to breed them and feel like you can, then go ahead. I have not owned that kind of chameleon i am new aswell and i own a male veiled.

 

[kinyonga]

If they are full grown the females may already be gravid. They can retain sperm.

Here is a site with good information on them...
http://www.chameleonnews.com/brevcare.html

Please be aware that if startled or upset, they may play dead...and they do it so well that you might throw them out thinking that they are dead.

 

[schegini14]

I came across the article, before I purchased the group. That article is my care sheet bible. There is really nothing much in the article about breeding but putting them in a 1.2 or 1.3

 

[kinyonga]

This one has some breeding information...
http://adcham.com/html/taxonomy/species/r-brevicaudatus.html

 

[Heika]

Hi, welcome to the forums. I keep r. brevs. Are yours WC or CB? How old are they? If they are WC, you can expect eggs any time. They produce easily.. overwhelmingly. Just keep a close eye on your ladies. Before they lay, they will be wide. After they lay, they will suddenly be thin. Other signs to look for are females with dirt on their head, or a female pacing a bit... especially along the back wall of the tank. They seem to prefer back walls and corners, or by plant root systems. A lot of times, your females will choose "THE" egg spot and a few of them will lay there. Sometimes, you will catch a female in the act. Mine tend to lay in the late morning or early afternoon. After you have dug up the eggs, they can be placed in a tupperware container with a couple, three holes punched in the top, filled with perlite or vermiculite. Mix the substrate with some water and then bury the eggs on their sides about halfway up the egg. The eggs incubate well at room temperature and should hatch in 75-85 days.

Once you have babies, you have some choices to make on baby containers. I use very small aquariums with layered substrates like the adult cages and live plants. I believe roo uses Kritter Keepers with reptile carpet and plastic plants, and Mike from FLChams uses tupperwares lined with paper towels and vines. I switched to my baby cage methods mainly because I was having problems keeping the humidity up.. it works for me, but something else may work better for you. Mine are fed pinhead crix, fruit flies, springtails, sow bugs, tiny roach nymphs, tiny walking sticks. Insects are lightly dusted with calcium every day, and vitamins once a week. I move mine to larger tanks when they are a month old.

I have never had mine play dead.. at least, not in a way where I actually thought they were dead and might have thrown them away. This is a funny and entertaining species. The tanks are better than TV!

Good luck to ya,

Heika

 

[kinyonga]

I have a friend who removed what he thought was a dead brev from the cage. When he looked for the body to dispose of it a few minutes later it was gone.

I also startled one when I bumped the cage one evening. It fell to the ground and lay there looking like a curled up dead leaf...no eyes moving, no signs of breathing. I picked it up and looked at it from all sides...no eyes moving and no signs of breathing. I put it on the floor of the cage and came back 30 min. later only to find that it was fine! Now I never dispose of a body that looks dead until I know it is!

Thieli (sp?) also play dead very well. You would swear that the stiff little body with the leg splayed was dead...and had been that way for ages!

 

[schegini14]

Kinyonga- Thanks for all the help with the links and the info.

Heika- They are wc. I dont really know the age of them but if it is by size. I have one female that is two and half times larger than my male. The other two females are just a tad bit bigger than the male. I'll try to post some pics up later.

Thanks
Sherwin

 

[jleahl]

I'm relatively new to chams myself. I have 2.1 cb R. brevicaudatas, app. 4 1/2 months of age. The female is significantly larger than the females (about 2", as opposed to 1.5"). She is fatter, but I can't tell if she's gravid yet. She is also much less colorful than the males, but much more active. I do enjoy these guys! I have the three of them in a planted ten gallon tank w/screen top, with a bark background with lots of driftwood and twigs. I put in a dish of vermiculite, hoping Yolanda would take a hint as to where to lay; we'll see!

Probably one of the most time-consuming things I do each day is try to locate all three of them. They are very good at blending in! Good luck with your little guys; there are several folks (Roo, Hieka, Will, Kinyonga, Jerm) on here who keep/breed brevs and can offer lots of advice.

 

[schegini14]

The largest female just laid a clutch for the previous owner. Im a bit worried because she hasnt eaten yet. Should i be worried?

 

[schegini14]

here are some photos

Three Females

Male and Female

Sorry for the blurry pics.