young gravid female?

[Tree gem]

This is my first post:
I have a young ambilobe panther female. She is maybe six months at best. I bought her to eventually breed with my male. Lately she has been displaying some gravid coloration. I never really noticed her displaying receptive colors prior to this gravid coloration and i never really looked too closely because I thought she was too young to do so. I will post some pictures eventually to confirm she is gravid. She has not been bred and just recently started the gravid display. I'm wondering is it possible to put the male in with her now as she just barely started looking gravid? I am hoping the male may still be able to breed her and fertilize any possible eggs. I'm a little bummed out as i don't want to waste her health on an infertile clutch and she seems a little young and small to be laying eggs already.
I am very thankful for this awesome forum and hope a couple of you chameleon gurus can steer me in the right direction. thanks

 

[Tree gem]

Young Gravid Female

I'm also wondering, do they constantly display gravid coloration when they are in this mode? It is winter now where I am and I am also wondering if she could be showing gravid coloration out of stress toward the overall cooler temps this time of year.....

 

[NHenn]

Welcome to the forums. Some pictures will help.

As for introducing the male to the female, do not do that as she is way to young! It could kill her is she isn't big enough to carry a fertile clutch. As for a possible infertile clutch, at 6 months she could start to lay infertiles yes, but infertile clutchs will not be as hard on her body as a fertile clutch would be.

Make sure she has a laying bin in her cage now as well. I would check out these two links for some additional help and information on laying bins.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/laying-bin-set-up-educational-video-77225/

https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/jannb/345-egg-laying-laying-bin.html

 

[junglefries]

Recommendation: for the next 8 months, watch her food intake and temperatures. don't allow too much of either. this will help limit egg production and get her safely to a breeding age of at least 14 months.

 

[TreeTopChameleons]

For what its worth, there's no such thing as "wasting a clutch". It is much better for a chameleon to lay an infertile clutch at that age than a fertile one. Not to mention if you put her with a large male, he could physically damage her as well.

Let her pass this infertile clutch, and as was already suggested, check your basking temp and reduce as necessary, as well as limit the food intake. This has proven effective to in some cases completely stop the cycles of infertile clutches.

My guess was either you or a previous owner had temps too high, and too much food offered, as 6 months max age is fairly uncommon for a first clutch of eggs.

That being said, it's still very young and very resilient, make the changes and I'm sure she will still live a long happy life.