Females ?

[joer]

Ok I know I ask alot of ?s but I bought a female and the lady there said if I dont find her a male when she wants to breed that she will die? Is this for real.

[Collide]

Y umm sounds like she dident know what she was talking about, U should do some reasherch on female veilds. when she is ready to breed she will start to lay eggs how much do u know about Chams? Ill find some good care sheets if someone else has any lol post them i dont have any off hand...

[carl]

No buddy,I think she said she would lay eggs even without being mated.She will lay infertile eggs,up to three clutches a year.There is a problem females have called eggbound but that can happen if the eggs are fertile or not.You shouldnt have to worry about that till she is 7 months or older.By then with the help of everyone in this forum you will know how to handle it.
Good luck with baby

[Trace]

Hi Joer!

Everyone is correct, females may lay eggs whether they have been bred or not. Now, you can stop or delay this from happening. When she is about 6 months of age, cut back drastically on the amount of food you give her. Give her enough to maintain a good weight, but not enough for her to gain any. It's a hard balance to reach as every chameleon is different. Larger, heavier females will produce larger clutches of eggs every time and this is very unhealthy for them. Keeping them lean, but not hungry, slows down the reproductive rate.

Egg binding (dystocia) can also be prevented by proper husbandry and also providing a decent egg laying chamber for the females. If your little girl turns out to be gravid at some point in her life, you MUST provide her with the proper tools for her to lay those eggs or she will retain them and possibly die.

These are some of the prime reasons I don't recommend female chameleons to the first time buyer. Now, just because I've said that, don't get discouraged with her. Reproduction and eggs are not impossible to deal with if you know it could possibly happen and you are prepared for it.

I like this caresheet and it does touch on some of the reproductive issues you are worried about: http://www.adcham.com/html/taxonomy/species/chcalyptratus.html

Hope this helps.

Trace

[joer]

Thanks alot everyone for all the help.