Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Is there a typical ration of males to females in a panther chameleon clutch. I have a group of young Nosy Be hatchlings that appear to be predominently if not entirely female! A previous clutch sired by the same male (different female) resulted in about 50% each sex. I am curious to know if it is entirely random, may be effected by temperature during incubation, or if a clutch is typically more one or the other. I dont intend to breed often enough to eventually have my own stats, so I am interested in your experiences.

thank you

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SandraChameleon@gmail.com
BC Canada

Generally it is thought that chameleons' sex is not determined by the incubation temperature....however, there are a few who think it could be and some that don't...

http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=17127544
"I conclude that the veiled chameleon has genetic sex determination (GSD) and that anecdotal accounts of temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD) for this species, and other chameleons are likely to reflect reporting or statistical bias."

http://adcham.com/html/taxonomy/spec...hamaeleon.html
"Necas (1999) reports that at a constant temperature of 28ºC (83ºF) all hatchlings were female. According to M. Persson (unpublished observation) incubation at 27 to 29ºC (81 to 84ºF) produced 38 female hatchling and only 2 males. The present writer found that the ratio of males to females was about 50/50 when incubated at 72-74ºF. The possibility of temperature-dependent sexual differentiation remains a tantalizing, albeit as yet unproven, possibility as this phenomenon has yet to be conclusively demonstrated among the Chamaeleonidae."

Thank you for that info. I found it strange that the first of two clutches sired by the same male had 50-50 ratio, and this second one is overwhelmingly female. The termperature for the 50-50 clutch was a bit inconsistant and a bit low. The second clutch was more carefully controlled and warmer. As males seem to find new homes more easily, I was hoping there might be a magic way of tipping the scales in that direction. Not that I plan to breed again anytime soon.

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SandraChameleon@gmail.com
BC Canada

Turns out I was just wrong. As if offended by my thinking they were girlies, a bunch just started showing colouration of males and had a growth spurt. So now the clutch m/f ratio looks to be about equal.

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SandraChameleon@gmail.com
BC Canada