Things You'll Need
- 1-gallon bucket
- Potting soil
- Incubation medium
- Incubator
Instructions
Observe the female Ambilobe panther chameleon. The female will change colors based on her receptiveness to breeding. When she is ready to breed, which occurs about once per month, she will become an orange-beige color.
Introduce the male Ambilobe panther chameleon to the female's cage instead of moving her to his cage, in order to lessen the stress on her. Unless breeding, panther chameleons should be kept separate from each other as they can become stressed very easily.
Keep the two chameleons together for two to three days. They may be observed breeding more than once during this time, and each breeding attempt can last up to 40 minutes. When breeding has been successful, the female will darken her colors and her stripes will become more prominent. At this point, the male can be removed.
Fill a 1-gallon bucket 3/4 full of potting soil, and place it upright in the female's cage. The female will dig out an area inside the bucket to lay her eggs. She should be observed during the gestation period, which can last from 14 to 33 days. The eggs should be removed once they are laid and incubated in a separate cage, since the female will eat the babies once they hatch.
Place the eggs in moistened incubation medium such as potting soil or vermiculite, and incubate them at 68 to 74 F. A female can lay up to 35 eggs, and they can take as long as eight or nine months to hatch. Higher temperatures will make the eggs hatch earlier, but could lead to the baby chameleons developing too quickly and being too small when they hatch.
When the eggs hatch, the baby chameleons should be walking around on their own. At this point they can be placed in their own cages with plenty of small sticks to climb. Three to four baby chameleons can be put in the same cage, but they should be separated once they are about four inches long. Baby chameleons require very small food such as baby crickets or flightless fruit flies and can be fed about four times per week.