Reptile & Amphibian Forums

How long daylightnighttime, and should I adjust photoperiod prior to breeding or to encourage receptiveness in females?

The photoperiod is not as critical for chams I don't think (am I correct breeders?). Once veileds reach maturity they start to cycle anyway. They do not have a single breeding season. Sometimes to stop a female from cycling too often we cut back on food and cool them instead. Most of us use a 12 hour daylight cycle all year. The chams react to light from windows in addition to the cage lights anyway.

Like Carlton said, the light durations don't necessarily make a huge difference in a female becoming receptive. Once they are to a certain age or size, it seems they just become receptive. I haven't noticed much difference in the breeding activity winter to summer. I typically keep my lights going on and off similar to the sun coming up and down. It ends up being somewhere from 10-13 hours of light a day all year. If I have my lights going off after the sun goes down and it gets dark outside, it seems the chameleons have already gone to sleep. I think they pay more attention to the natural light coming in through the windows than they do to their 5.0's and spotlights. In the winter, my lights go off around 6 or 6:30. During the summer, the lights go off at 8PM. They come on when the sun comes up year round. Everything is on timers (if you're not using timers, I'm sorry....). Photoperiod is more important in the advanced species, such as Parsons chameleons and perhaps other montane forms. A short hibernation period or "fasting in the dark" peroid for a few weeks or more will spark their interest in eachother.
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Tyler Stewart
Las Vegas NV
www.BLUEBEASTREPTILE.com