Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am in the process of trying to have my cams to breed, I show the female the male and she flips. How long do they usually take before they are receptive?
I am showing him to her every second day.
The female is 10 mos and the male is 11 (aprox)

Try the other way around, show her to him.
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Lex and Cecily sittin in a tree.

When it comes to breeding them, what I do is show the female to
the male by holding her within his sight outside of his cage so
that if he behaves aggressively towards her, he can't get at her.
If she shows that she is receptive (shown by any or all of these
behaviors...moves slowly away from him, remains calm, hunches
down close to the branch, doesn't hiss or gape at him, doesn't
lunge at him, etc.) not non-receptive (shown by any or all of
the following...hissing, gaping, swaying back and forth,
darkening the colors, etc.) and he acts as though he recognizes
that she is a female (is brightly colored, body laterally
flattened, head bobbing) and doesn't behave aggressively towards
her (shown by any or all of the following...laterally compressed
body, tail coiling and uncoiling, one front paw held up close to
the body, rocking back and forth, hissing, lunging, bright colors,
etc.) then I put the FEMALE IN WITH THE MALE. So to recap it
sort of...when the two of them are behaving receptively to each
other, I put the two together IN THE MALE'S CAGE...but if either
is acting aggressively/non-receptively to the other, I put the
female back in her cage and try again in a FEW DAYS. I continue
to watch them for a few minutes to make sure that they are
behaving properly to each other when they are together....and
if they are, I leave them alone but check back
periodically to make sure all is well. When the female turns dark
or starts to show aggression towards the male, she should be
removed from the male's cage. At that
point she is no longer receptive...and hopefully gravid
(pregnant).

Sound familiar?

I showed the femail the male lastnight and he puffed up, not agressive but puffed, is that another sign of agression? She opened her mouth and walked away so I will try again another day.

The male should take on his bright colors and may flatten his
body vertically as part of the courting/mating process.
For a person who is new to chameleon keeping, the differences
between aggression and courting are sometimes hard to
distinguish....but generally when he's being aggressive,the male
will hold one of his "hands" up close to his body and I haven't
seen that in a male who is courting/interested in the female.
Generally, in aggression, the male will also curl his tail up
and uncurl it too. Usually in aggression, the gular pouch (area
under his chin)will be puffed out and he may tilt/lean slightly
sideways.

I have often seen a male react towards a female as though he is
seeing a male when he first sees the female....but he usually
calms down. Its like he's saying..."oh...enemy/rival in MY
territory...better get him out of here" and then he looks more
closely and realizes "oh...its a girl...better go and mate with
her". If the male doesn't calm down, then (as you rightly
decided) I wouldn't put the female in with him...you
risk a fight.

If the female is showing her non-receptive behavior/coloration
then the male could react to her in an aggressive manner
realizing that she is not going to want him near her, but
really what he should do is just not go near her. Some veiled
males seem to allow their hormones to dominate their brains
and will try to mate in spite of the females messages that she's
not interested/available.

You said "I showed the femail the male lastnight and he puffed
up, not agressive but puffed, is that anoter sign of aggression?"
...I think what you were seeing in this situation is a male who
recognizes that the female isn't receptive and it may be more of
a defence thing than an aggression. It would/could become
agression though if they were put together or remained in each
other's site.

Your female may already be carrying infertile eggs and may have
to lay them before she becomes receptive to the male.

I have seen some veiled females who are already carrying eggs
that will still mate with a male but they show no non-receptive
behaviour when they see a male in those cases.

Your female is still a bit younger than what I mate them at.
I always wait until they are at least a
year of age to make sure that their bones are completely done
growing before the production of fertile eggs starts taking up
calcium that should go to the bone development. After all, I
would think you would want to make sure your female has the best
chance possible of staying healthy and living a good long life!

I have had several females live to be over 6 years old. Right now
I have one that is over 6 and several that are over 4 years old
keeping them the way I do. I'm more interested in having them
for a long time than I am in them producing lots of babies
though.

There's a lot to learn when you are keeping a chameleon, eh??
They are sure not the easiest lizard to keep and understand!
Hope this has helped a little!

so let me get this straight, show the male the femail, if HE gets mad then no go, obviously if she gets mad then no go. I have been showing the femail to the male all along and she wont have any of it. I have a thing in her cage to lay so she doesnt have a laying problem unless she still has to lay. Then male puffs when I showed her ot him when I did the oppasit but he never did that b4 he used to go for her and she would freak but she was fine when I showed her him. hmmmmm
lol
It has been mighty hot in my house and I haven thad to use the heater in there cage, I been misting them alot and I am wondering how that will affercth them,
also!!!
I have to go away for 2 days, and I cant fing a sitter to feed them. Will they suffer If I leave a fountain in there cage that will rotate water in moving motion and over feed them b4 I leave? I really need sone help with this issue!! what would you recomend, I leave thurs night and will be back sun night
over feed or bring on a 10 hour trip both ways?????

I answered your questions concerning going away for a few days
on the other forum you posted on.

You said..."so let me get this straight, show the male the
femail, if HE gets mad then no go, obviously if she gets mad
then no go"....you got it!

You said..."I have been showing the femail to the male all
along and she wont have any of it"...so that means that she is
not receptive.

You said...."I have a thing in her cage to lay so she doesnt
have a laying problem unless she still has to lay". I'm glad to
hear that you have a place for her to lay her eggs in the cage.
Its still no guarantee that she isn't having a problem though.
If she doesn't like that place to lay her eggs, she might hold
the eggs inside her looking for a place she does like. Even
though you have provided her a place to lay the eggs, she could
also not lay if the eggs are too big, fused, or she has some
internal deformity/problem that is making it impossible for her
to lay the eggs.

You said..."Then male puffs when I showed her ot him
when I did the oppasit but he never did that b4 he
used to go for her and she would freak but she was fine
when I showed her him. hmmmmm lol". I'm not sure I understand
what you mean by this. Maybe you could reword it and ask again?

You said... "I been misting them alot and I am wondering how
that will affercth them, also!!!" Extra misting is fine as long
as you give the cage a chance to dry out in between mistings and
during the night. With some lizards, extra misting or imitating a
rainy season affects their mating but I have never found it to
make a difference with veileds. Don't know quite what you were
meaning by asking how it would affect them.