1st eggs

[kmgcantswim]

so yesterday when i came home i found a egg on the bottom of my vield chameleons cage and shes never laid eggs before but i knew it was gunna happen eventually. so i put a tuperware filled with dirt at the bottom of her cage and she been in it all morning digging but im scared maybe its not deep enough or something. if anyone has any suggestions i would greatly appreciate anything

 

[Olimpia]

The tupperware is probably not going to be deep enough. It should be at least 12" deep and at least 7-8" wide, so you may need a larger container.

However, if you don't have anything else handy you can clean out the kitchen trashcan, fill it with 12" of dirt and leave her in there. She'll probably get right to work in there and won't be able to climb out when she's done, probably in the morning. So you don't have to worry about it not fitting in the cage, you can just put her back when you see she's done.

When she's done make sure to give her lots of water and provide food. She'll be hungry and thirsty! And then add more calcium to her food for the next few days to make up for the eggs.

 

[kmgcantswim]

thanks for the help. i found a home depot bucket and filled it with dirt about half way and put it in her cage and i stuck her ladder in the bucket so she can climb out im hopping that will work and ill be more prepared for the next time

 

[kmgcantswim]

what kind of dirt is sudjusted? right now the dirt keeps falling on her and almost burying her

 

[Olimpia]

It should be organic soil with nothing in it or washed play sand, but it needs to be moist. She needs to be able to dig a tunnel, so it should be moist enough to where it holds a tunnel, but not be wet.

 

[kinyonga]

BTW...don't let her see you watching her when she's digging. It will likely make her abandon the hole and can lead to eggbinding.

 

[kmgcantswim]

so how long dose it normally take for her to lay eggs cause shes been digging for 3 days and i found the egg on the floor on monday.

 

[Olimpia]

Usually a day or two. Does she have the bigger laying bin in there now? She needs one in there immediately or you're going to have to run to the vet.

 

[kmgcantswim]

i have a home depot bucket in her cage filled about half way with play sand and her ladder is in there so she can get out. and what i thought was weird was when her lights go out at night she climbs out and goes to sleep then vi find her in there digging away in the morning. is this normal?

and thank you so much for the help

 

[Olimpia]

Ok, I would probably just fill it up all the way. They really will dig all the way to the bottom of the 12" of soil/sand, if it's not deep enough she may not like it. It could also help if you start a tunnel in there for her already, she may take advantage of it and use it, which will take less time for her to lay the eggs. If she's not digging now, I wouldn't disturb her if she's working on her tunnel though.

 

[kmgcantswim]

its more than half way full about a good foot deep. shes been digging all day but not very deep. if shes still no where tonight ill dig a hole on the side when she comes out to sleep

 

[lindawaz]

its more than half way full about a good foot deep. shes been digging all day but not very deep. if shes still no where tonight ill dig a hole on the side when she comes out to sleep

If she is digging leave her there. Interrupting her could cause issues with her continuing or laying.

 

[kinyonga]

Is the dirt slightly moist so it will hold a tunnel?

 

[kmgcantswim]

thanks everyone for all the help i really appreciate it. she is finally done now i dug up all the eggs and there were 72 of them i was surprised but she is also much smaller now

 

[kinyonga]

That's a lot of eggs. You may want to try to cut down the size of the clutches by feeding her well for a couple of days and then cutting back on her food until she is definitely producing eggs again...
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/2007/12/keeping-female-veiled.html