4 to 6 Month Veiled Female Not Eating After Laying Eggs

Angrymushrooms

New Member
I have a female veiled chameleon I purchased from a Petsmart. I don't know her exact age -this is her first time laying eggs so I can assume between four and six months. I've owned her for about a month and a half. I recently had noticed that she lost her appetite and one morning she had fallen in her cage. I was alarmed so I took her to the vet. I conveniently work at Banfield Pet Hospital and we have an exotic doctor at my location. She had a weak grip and I have been feeding her with her calcium intake in mind but she was reported as having a very small amount of calcium deficiency. So I was prescribed some liquid calcium.

Shortly after that visit I felt around her belly and could feel eggs. She had a quite a large amount of them so I soon figured out that this was what caused the deficiency. She did not eat for almost 2 weeks and then finally used the laying bin I had put in her cage. It took her all day to dig her hole to her liking. When she laid her eggs she began covering them up but suddenly turned around and laid another. It was late so she fell asleep in the hole and didn't finish covering them up until morning. Since then she has been moving about but not eating. It has been about 5 days and she still is not eating.

She is drinking. I'm still giving her daily dose of calcium. She is staying at the top of her cage. I've gotten her to eat a few wax worms when she opens her mouth to swallow the calcium. But after the second one she protested with a decided hiss that she didn't want any more. She has crickets, meal worms, and wax worms. I bought her some silk worms and horn worms but I got them before I knew she was getting ready to lay eggs and therfore was not going to eat. They got too large for her so I have to order some new ones and ask for them to be small and try again.

She has a 2' X 4' screen cage. I made foam background panels for the sides and back of the cage to help trap some of the humidity. She has an automatic mister and some moss at the bottom of the cage to keep the cage from drying up after misting. She has UVB, UVA, basking, daylight, and heat.

Is this normal for her to refuse to eat after laying eggs? I've made sure she's well hydrated. I'm thinking about trying to feed her outside - she gets very animated about hunting when I put her in her favorite plant outside but I can't keep her out too long because I live in Arizona and it's 105 outside.
 
She laid 30 eggs and is now very thin. I don't feel anything like what I felt before when she had all of her eggs. She isn't full grown. She's still a juvenile.
I agree I might have to take her in to the vets again but her vet isn't in until Wednesday so I'm trying to get some other ideas in the meantime.
 
I would try to get an x-ray before Wednesday to see if she has more eggs. Thirty would be a small clutch even for a young veiled. If the regular vet can't read the x-ray post it here.
 
I'll call them tomorrow to see if I can get her in. There is a good chance the other doctors will tell me to wait because they aren't comfortable handling the exotics. But maybe they will entertain the idea because I work there. They are very strict about ensuring that they are able to be responsible for the care and welfare of every animal they see so because the other doctors aren't even familiar with chameleons they will probably decline even an X Ray visit. They would do it to any client to ensure the pets safety by making sure it is in experienced hands.
In case I haveto wait, what should I do for her in the meantime? I have some chronological pictures below of before laying to now.
 

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I'm in a predicament now. Her doctor is out for the week. She is worse. She is still standing and climbing to the top of the cage but despite the water I've been giving her she still has sunken eyes. Her ribs are sticking out at a funny angle.

When she was first brought to the vet it was because she had fallen in her cage and I was afraid she might have been hurt. I was told she only had a mild calcium deficiency. Now I'm wondering if she cracked her ribs and it just wasn't easy to tell because she was full of eggs.

Unfortunately she moved before I was able to take a picture of her before but she basically has bumps along the middle of her body and it's sticking out in ridges along the bottom half of her torso.
 

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I'm so sad. I can't stand to see her looking like this. It's breaking my heart. I spend time with her every day to try to get her to eat. I don't know if she is still drinking on her own because I'm at work most of the day ago I have been taking the time to keep giving her liquid calcium through dropper and I've been giving her some water the same way. I'm convinced she's probably no longer drinking on her own accord.
 
Yes but the only vet that can see her scheduled their time off for this week. The other vets aren't able to see exotic animals because they don't specialize in them.
 
I agree that she needs to see a vet ASAP. That poor girl is VERY sick and needs immediate medical attention. Without it she is likely to not survive much longer. If her usual vet is not available get her to a different vet TODAY!!

Good luck, I she everything turns out ok.
 
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