Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Im looking for information about the breeding activity of Graceful chameleons. Anything. Anyone who's bred these chameleons, any information would be helpful. Thank you.

Mike

I am finding it hard to locate any information as far as breeding goes for the Graceful chameleon for you. This is probably due to the information I am getting: That these chameleons are difficult to breed and not even recommended for experienced keepers. You may be able to find information on other species that are really similiar to the graceful, the senegal and the common chameleon. It sounds like you are doing a lot to change the way you are raising them already! Good luck
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1.0 Chameleo Chameleo Calyptratus
1.0 Leopard Gecko-Matilda
1.1 Furcifer Pardalis (Nosy Be)-Hooloovoo and Popsicle

This isn't the breeding information you're looking for but here goes. I don't know of anybody that has sucessfully bred Graceful Chameleons in capavity. Gracefuls along with Senegal Chameleons are imported by the thousands. There are some importers of Panthers and a few other chamelons that are decent about the process. They take special precautions to insure that their shipment will arrive alive and be and in fair to good condition. This is usually not the case with Gracefuls and Senegals, These disposable chameleons are abused during the entire import process --during capture, at the holding facility, upon arrival, and unfortunately for some even after finding their new owners.

These chams arrive with huge parasite loads and under more stress than they have ever experienced before. The real problem is that they are deprived of water for a few days. They are offered standing water in bowls at the holding facilities and not given water at all during their shipment. This causes kidney (and possibly other internal organ) failure at a later date.

This leaves me to believe that they are very difficult to breed in captivity because so many of them are not in good health and living on borrowed time. These chameleons are not attractive to many sucessful breeders because the wild caught ones are sold so cheaply, they are difficult to breed and have a long incubation period.

I know. Its quite sad. Im working with these chameleons to ensure optimum health and comfortability. Maybe if I can breed them someday, it'd defintely be a great thing to get CB graceful babies out there. Im quite motivated. For now im trying to make them as comfortable as possible, and as healthy as I can.

They seem to be doing pretty good. But we all know it's hard to tell with reptiles. They were in the reptile shop for quite some time housed together and seem seem to have adjusted to their captive condition. ? The pet store had a pretty good setup for them, and I improved on it, AND seperated them. They are also taking goliaths happily. A trip to the vet is next for some fecals.

This site tells a little bit about breeding colors and number of clutches per year...
http://adcham.com/html/taxonomy/species/chgracilis.html

Sorry I can't be of more help.

I'm glad that you are re-thinking this, and you obviously are thinking about what's best for your chams. Great to hear! I believe that someone dedicated to a particular species can change their "history". Why not? I happened with veileds, panthers, jax, and more recently, melleri. Get yours set up and healthy, that's the first step. Gracefuls are beautiful I think. As you get to know them you may realize that much info available for other species may apply to them too. Watch them, get to know their visual language, and you will learn what they do when they are healthy and when something is wrong. Feed them a variety of insects, gutload them well, don't overdose your dusts, and you may end up with nice long term captive gracefuls. I really would treat the female as if she's already gravid. In the wild, most females of breeding age spend much of their life gravid...and she may have been bred at any time during her travels. If you are lucky enough to have a gravid female so much the better. I bet you will know before 6 months have passed. There are great articles on egg bearing chams on the www.chameleonnews.com ezine site. Good luck!

Hey,

Just let you know the gracefuls are doing great. Very active, becoming very docile, and eating well. I think I've perfect their environment. They are seperated and have been, I showed them to each other the other day, and they did not become stressed at all. No white bands on the male, or any signs I've read. They were very inquistive towards each other, and gently trying to get to one another.

Is there anything I should do (besides putting a little more weight on the female) before trying to breed?

Thanks for all your help!
Mike

First, don't rush them or you could lose your female. I would think back...how long have you had them? Not too long if I remember right. How old are they? If the female is not full grown (weren't they juveniles?) I would give her until age 1 to bulk up, make sure her skeletal system is mature, and any possible stress issues from her previous handling are past. She may be physically capable of breeding before age 1 year, but you run the risk of injury, egg binding, or death if she is bred too young. If she doesn't react at all to the male (even excitement coloration), she may not be receptive. If she doesn't want anything to do with him or is already gravid she should show some color change to tell him that she is unavailable. I don't know gracefuls so I can't tell you what this coloration should be, but she'll either ignore him completely or show upset or pissed off coloration to reject him. I don't know if gracefuls show a "I'm ready and interested" color phase...maybe someone else can describe this?