Reptile & Amphibian Forums

In three weeks and after two moves I will finally be able to get my first chameleon. Since this would be my first, I was planning on getting a male so I would not have to worry about egg-bound females. Do you agree that this is the best decision? I ask because I found a home-needing chameleon on Petfinder.com, but female.
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~Melissa
0.1 Hedgehog (Kaimah)
0.1 Feline (Whiskers)
0.1 Beagle (Belle)

Females can die eggbound, but I had a female that would just dig and lay them when she was ready. We never bred her and kept her only as a pet. But other breeders have told me that they have had bad luck when not bred.

If you decide not to adopt a female, you can contact me about possibly adopting a panther.

Take care.
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Farrah & Vincent
Email: Screameleons@yahoo.com
Phone: (571) 437-0642
Website: http://www.Screameleons.com

Screameleons, I just wanna say that you're chameleons look INCREDIBLE, you must really know what your doing. If I ever decide to buy a Panther then I'll definetly buy from you.

Females are not necessarily bad, but I'd want to know a lot about her health first. If she's up for adoption try to find out why, her age, what kind of shape she's in, and if she has laid eggs before. Often females who have a known history of laying eggs on their own just continue to do it regularly if given the correct care. But, if you've never had a cham there is a lot to learn and be ready to take on, such as providing a egg laying setup that is just like one's she's used to (they can be fussy, and why not?). It's a matter of more education to set her up correctly, rather than being automatically a bad decision. If you knew some cham-savvy person or vet who could look her over in person that would help a lot. But, if she's really in dire need she will more likely get what she needs in a caring person's hands who is willing to learn than staying at an animal shelter.

I read that females often die after their 5th or 6th clutch. Is this true? Seems it would lead to a very short life span.
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~Melissa
0.1 Hedgehog (Kaimah)
0.1 Feline (Whiskers)
0.1 Beagle (Belle)

That would be very hard to say for sure. So much depends on their overall health and care. Most chams have fairly short lives anyway, but again it depends on care, wc or cbb, heredity, luck. I would not say that is a given age.