Hi, I have what I believe and have been told what’s a female Veiled chameleon. I have her in a large Screen terrarium T5 UVB bulb and heat lamp. Feed her crickets daily, drip her multiple times a day. Use a fogger at night for humidity since I live in Wyoming and it’s fairly dry climate here. I’ve noticed a color change the past few days. She seems brighter (which seemed to be normal right after she would shed) but she hasn’t shed in awhile. Also has a lot black dots and stripes on her now as well. I’m not sure on age we have owned her since April of this year. So atleast 7 months old. I’ll leave pictures of her so you guys & ladies can see what I’m talking about. Thank you in advance. Also please don’t mind the dead plant she’s sitting on I have plenty of alive plants in her terrarium, this one is just attached to the screen so a little difficult to remove at the moment! Thank you
Veiled Chameleon Color Change
- Thread starter oggcaleb
- Start date
Gloriawood
Chameleon Enthusiast
I believe your girl is gravid. She’s looking for a handsome boy to fertilize her eggs. They will lay eggs even if they don’t mate. Do you have a lay bin set up?
I was wondering that. Thank you. Yes I do I’m hoping it’s good enough I don’t want her to become egg bound.
Gloriawood
Chameleon Enthusiast
I do not know much about females so I’m gonna tag in a more experienced keeper to chat with you. I do know some things can affect egg laying, so if you don’t mind answering these couple questions, they will help out in making sure your girl has a successful lay.
What are your temps and humidity?
What supplements are you using and how often?
How much and what are you feeding your girl?
Describe your lay bin (size and what substrate have you filled it with)
@MissSkittles would you care to chime in here?
What are your temps and humidity?
What supplements are you using and how often?
How much and what are you feeding your girl?
Describe your lay bin (size and what substrate have you filled it with)
@MissSkittles would you care to chime in here?
elizaann2
Chameleon Enthusiast
Hello and warmest welcomes! You appear to have a beautiful girl so is all dressed up and looking for a boyfriend 
Along with the questions that @Gloriawood asked above will you also:
- Share a photo of your entire enclosure including the lights on the top
- Tell me what UVB your baby girl is getting?
Along with the questions that @Gloriawood asked above will you also:
- Share a photo of your entire enclosure including the lights on the top
- Tell me what UVB your baby girl is getting?
Hi, thank you both for the reply’s. So humidity and temp. I try to keep her basking stick sitting around 80 degrees F. Humidity is slightly challenging here in Wyoming. I assume it prolly sits around 40% give or take. I have a thermometer that reads humidity levels and I can’t leave it inside the terrarium or it’ll get ruined and it reads slightly under 40% outside the terrarium and so I add a little bit for inside the terrarium. I give her in between 7-10 medium to large sized crickets daily. Coat them Calcium without D3 daily as well. Try to give her a vitamins mixture with D3 every two weeks but she probably gets that a little less than that. I spray her terrarium twice a day and drip her throughout the day. Also run a fogger at night. All I know about her uvb is that it is a T5 bulb and the one I purchased said it was for Rainforest type reptiles. Thank you guys. And can you guys give me an approximate time period for how long it’ll take her to wanna start to lay from this stage? Thank you
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Oh and lay bin i believe is 13x5x5 I filled it with play sand! Also poked holes in the bottom of the bin so it drains and doesn’t hold too much water!Hello and warmest welcomes! You appear to have a beautiful girl so is all dressed up and looking for a boyfriend
Along with the questions that @Gloriawood asked above will you also:
- Share a photo of your entire enclosure including the lights on the top
- Tell me what UVB your baby girl is getting?
Hello again I’m beginning to become slightly worried. Still hasn’t laid eggs. Her appetite has changed the last couple days. Any pointers on what to do at this point? Im concerned for her to become egg boundHello and warmest welcomes! You appear to have a beautiful girl so is all dressed up and looking for a boyfriend
Along with the questions that @Gloriawood asked above will you also:
- Share a photo of your entire enclosure including the lights on the top
- Tell me what UVB your baby girl is getting?
elizaann2
Chameleon Enthusiast
See my answers below in bold:
So humidity and temp. I try to keep her basking stick sitting around 80 degrees F. Beautiful. Don't let it get any warmer than 80. What are her ambient temps in her enclosure?
Humidity is slightly challenging here in Wyoming. I assume it prolly sits around 40% give or take. I have a thermometer that reads humidity levels and I can’t leave it inside the terrarium or it’ll get ruined and it reads slightly under 40% outside the terrarium and so I add a little bit for inside the terrarium. I would strongly recommend getting something you can place inside your enclosure. The temps and humidity levels can be DRASTICALLY different from the environment in the room she is in. Is she in a screen, hybrid, or glass enclosure? Humidity is equally as important as the temps to be honest. To high during the day with high temps and she can develop a respiratory infection, mold and all sorts of yuckies can grow in your enclosure including bacterias, too low and they can get dehydrated and have discomfort in their eyes and the like. I use these Govee hygrometer sensors in my enclosures. They are super accurate and you can check the temps/humidity levels on your phone which is nice for when you are out. I give her in between 7-10 medium to large sized crickets daily. Coat them Calcium without D3 daily as well. Try to give her a vitamins mixture with D3 every two weeks but she probably gets that a little less than that. Because she is starting to show her receptive colors you will need to scale back on how much she eats. I feed my girl 3 small feeders Monday, Wednesday, Friday and then Saturday she gets like 2 treat bugs cuz she is a little extra like that. The supplements are SUPER important as well. If she is not getting the right multivitamins like preformed vitamin A, she will devleop eye issues, not enough D3 and her body cannot use the calcium in her body to form strong bones. Make sure you give her the multivitamin on the 1st and 15th each month. I have to actually mark it in my calendar so I remember. Maybe something like that will help you as well. I spray her terrarium twice a day and drip her throughout the day. Perfect! Also run a fogger at night. Perfect! Make sure your ambient temps are below 68 degrees each night so your girl does not develop a respiratory infection All I know about her uvb is that it is a T5 bulb and the one I purchased said it was for Rainforest type reptiles. Can you share a picture of the bulb or the box it came in? You need a T5HO 5.0 Reptisun or 6% Arcadia, not all UVB lights are the same unfortunately so we'll need to make sure you have the right one. Thank you guys. And can you guys give me an approximate time period for how long it’ll take her to wanna start to lay from this stage? Ugh this is the hard part, we don't know how long the whole process takes, its different for every girl. Once the eggs are fully formed though she will lay them in approximately 30 days. However, since it varies from cham to cham, we dont know how long the receptive period takes, how long it takes to form eggs etc. You'll just have to monitor her closely and watch her behaviors and let that guide you. Thank you
So humidity and temp. I try to keep her basking stick sitting around 80 degrees F. Beautiful. Don't let it get any warmer than 80. What are her ambient temps in her enclosure?
Humidity is slightly challenging here in Wyoming. I assume it prolly sits around 40% give or take. I have a thermometer that reads humidity levels and I can’t leave it inside the terrarium or it’ll get ruined and it reads slightly under 40% outside the terrarium and so I add a little bit for inside the terrarium. I would strongly recommend getting something you can place inside your enclosure. The temps and humidity levels can be DRASTICALLY different from the environment in the room she is in. Is she in a screen, hybrid, or glass enclosure? Humidity is equally as important as the temps to be honest. To high during the day with high temps and she can develop a respiratory infection, mold and all sorts of yuckies can grow in your enclosure including bacterias, too low and they can get dehydrated and have discomfort in their eyes and the like. I use these Govee hygrometer sensors in my enclosures. They are super accurate and you can check the temps/humidity levels on your phone which is nice for when you are out. I give her in between 7-10 medium to large sized crickets daily. Coat them Calcium without D3 daily as well. Try to give her a vitamins mixture with D3 every two weeks but she probably gets that a little less than that. Because she is starting to show her receptive colors you will need to scale back on how much she eats. I feed my girl 3 small feeders Monday, Wednesday, Friday and then Saturday she gets like 2 treat bugs cuz she is a little extra like that. The supplements are SUPER important as well. If she is not getting the right multivitamins like preformed vitamin A, she will devleop eye issues, not enough D3 and her body cannot use the calcium in her body to form strong bones. Make sure you give her the multivitamin on the 1st and 15th each month. I have to actually mark it in my calendar so I remember. Maybe something like that will help you as well. I spray her terrarium twice a day and drip her throughout the day. Perfect! Also run a fogger at night. Perfect! Make sure your ambient temps are below 68 degrees each night so your girl does not develop a respiratory infection All I know about her uvb is that it is a T5 bulb and the one I purchased said it was for Rainforest type reptiles. Can you share a picture of the bulb or the box it came in? You need a T5HO 5.0 Reptisun or 6% Arcadia, not all UVB lights are the same unfortunately so we'll need to make sure you have the right one. Thank you guys. And can you guys give me an approximate time period for how long it’ll take her to wanna start to lay from this stage? Ugh this is the hard part, we don't know how long the whole process takes, its different for every girl. Once the eggs are fully formed though she will lay them in approximately 30 days. However, since it varies from cham to cham, we dont know how long the receptive period takes, how long it takes to form eggs etc. You'll just have to monitor her closely and watch her behaviors and let that guide you. Thank you
elizaann2
Chameleon Enthusiast
There should be words on the UVB light itself. Can you share a pic of that?
elizaann2
Chameleon Enthusiast
Perfect!! Make sure you add some sticks in the lay bin that lead down to it so she can easily get in and out of her lay bin.
elizaann2
Chameleon Enthusiast
Not now, but after your girl lays her eggs lets go over changes in her enclosure, unfortunately the fake plants are an impaction risk and veileds tend to eat their plants in their enclosure so you'll need to be extra careful with what is in her enclosure.
elizaann2
Chameleon Enthusiast
Share a picture of her if you will. It can be normal for our girls to eat less when they get closer to laying their eggs. Signs that something is wrong are, closed eyes, hanging out at the bottom of her enclosure, dark colors, sunken eyes. If you see any of those at any point she will need a vet asap. I'm guessing she is just getting close to laying her eggs though.
You should see her wander around her enclosure, even on the bottom/ground of her enclosure. She will be looking for a place to lay her precious eggs. Once you see her down on ground exploring, cover her enclosure with a sheet so she feels secure and has privacy to lay her eggs. Once she starts the whole process should take about 8 hours or so, she will dig a hole (she may dig test holes too so don't let that panic you) and stick her but down in the hole and lay the eggs. Once that is done she will bury them again so well you'll have no idea she had done anything at all. Your signs that she is done is she will be up by her basking branch with dirt all over her body and face looking like a little skinny thing. Give her extra misting sessions so she has plenty of drinking opportunites and feed her daily with calcium for about a week to replenish the nutrients she used making the eggs.
If you respond on here again and I'm not getting back to you then just tag me and I shoudl be able to see it. You'll use the @ sign and my user name right after, it should pull up my name once you start typing and click on it.
Please let me know what other questions you have, this is a stressful time and I do want to be there to support you and answer any questions or concerns.
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@elizaann2 thank you for responding and willing to help. So sticks from outside are they okay? Do I need to wash them with soap or anything to make sure they are clean? I do have a vine that leads to her lay bin but now I’m worried that may not be enough. I will try and post a picture of her tomorrow morning. Her lights are off currently and don’t wanna wake her up. When it comes to her beginning to lay I know you don’t want to interrupt them . When is a good time to put the sheet over? I just want to make sure I don’t spook her and her not lay. Also when it comes to lights and misting and dripping do I wanna adjust her lights still while she’s laying? Like turning them on and off or just leave them alone until she is finished up? I assume misting and dripping is probably not okay while she’s laying. Thanks again!
elizaann2
Chameleon Enthusiast
Yes you can use sticks from outside. Don’t use anything from a tree that produces sap or has a strong smell to it. Wash them in your tub with soap and hot water and scrub scrub scrub! Let them dry in the sun and then you should be able to use them in her enclosure. I would have at least two leading into her lay bin.
I personally put the sheet in my girls enclosure anytime I see her exploring the bottom of her enclosure in her lay bin. You’ll put it on often obviously but that way at least she feels secure. I check the enclosure at the end of the night for signs that she did any digging and either remove the sheet if she wasn’t digging or keep it on if it looks like she isn’t done yet.
Keep her schedule the same when she is laying her eggs no need to worry about that
@elizaann2 thank you very much. I will post a picture tomorrow of her and tag you in it and see what you think!Yes you can use sticks from outside. Don’t use anything from a tree that produces sap or has a strong smell to it. Wash them in your tub with soap and hot water and scrub scrub scrub! Let them dry in the sun and then you should be able to use them in her enclosure. I would have at least two leading into her lay bin.
I personally put the sheet in my girls enclosure anytime I see her exploring the bottom of her enclosure in her lay bin. You’ll put it on often obviously but that way at least she feels secure. I check the enclosure at the end of the night for signs that she did any digging and either remove the sheet if she wasn’t digging or keep it on if it looks like she isn’t done yet.
Keep her schedule the same when she is laying her eggs no need to worry about that
ThomasKBrown
New Member
Hi @oggcaleb, I've been following your updates and it sounds like you're doing a great job caring for your chameleon. About your concern for her laying eggs and the potential changes in her behavior, it's quite common for female chameleons to alter their eating habits as they get closer to laying eggs. You're doing the right thing by observing her closely.
@ThomasKBrown thank you very much. I thought I was prepared but now it’s kind of seeming like I wasn’t. Very stressful
@ThomasKBrown @elizaann2 here are some photos of her I snagged this morning. She’s been hanging on the screen which is unusual but I’ve seen her doing it the last few days. Currently I’m working on getting some sticks ready to throw in. Thank you both for the reply’s and helping me out I really appreciate
it!
