[3][4] F. labordi is the only chameleon confirmed to typically–but not always–have a one-year life cycle with adults dying after having bred (they are semelparous),[5][6] although there are indications that this often also is the case for some other related species, for example F. antimena, F. campani and F.

[7] The shortest lifespan after hatching in F. labordi is found in certain populations living in the most arid regions of the species' range.

[5][6] In such populations, they live for only about 4 to 5 months after hatching, making it the shortest lifespan ever recorded for a tetrapod vertebrate.

[6] They take longer to reach maturity after hatching and some females may breed twice in a wet season (they are not strictly semelparous).

When instead kept in captivity and prevented from partaking in the strenuous competition for mating rights, males show similar lifespans as females, sometimes also exceeding one year after hatching.