5+ yr old female veiled chameleon that has never layed egges

Leesa

New Member
i sure hope i'm doing this right. i have honestly never been on a blog or forum before. i have a question i was hoping someone had some experience with. i have a female veiled chameleon i have had for around 5 yrs now. (i figured she is female b/c does not have those spurs on her feet, is very agressive, is fairly small and doesn't change that many different colors). she has been pretty healthy over the 5 yrs i have had her w/ the exception of a few scares. she eats 2 crickets every day. i dust the crickets occationally w/ calcium and the other dust 1/2 and 1/2. she has always had a huge moist sand bucket in her cage but has never layed eggs. i have worried abt her becoming egg bound but now i'm wondering what the heck is wrong w/ her as she really is fine and has never ever layed a single egg. anyone have any knowledge on this? thank you
 
she has always had a huge moist sand bucket in her cage but has never layed eggs. i have worried abt her becoming egg bound but now i'm wondering what the heck is wrong w/ her as she really is fine and has never ever layed a single egg. anyone have any knowledge on this? thank you

First, you are doing nothing wrong, she's OK, and frankly, I'd be thanking the chamkeeper gods that she hasn't put you through all the infertile egglaying worries! Some females who have never been overfed, oversupplemented, or their growth rate pushed when a juvenile just don't produce infertile clutches. I've heard somewhere speculation that a female who never even sees a mature male cham may not get that hormonal switch to start producing eggs triggered. Don't know if that is true or not. She might be from a particular genetic strain that happens to be less productive. She might have some sort of congenital trait that is blocking her egg cycling. She might be more sensitive to UV exposure, a certain temp cycle, or lack of it. Maybe she's just too stubborn and mean to be a good mom :p. There may not be a clear reason and I'm no expert!

Bottom line, she's been fine for 5 years under your care so you are doing something right! Enjoy your little surly girl.
 
oh yes, and i will chk her basking temps but i would say depending where she sits next to basking light from 86 to 95 maybe??? but that is just a guess. she is in a very very large screened cage so she has many different temps.
 
temps and pics

don't think my thermometer is working right. says her basking temp is 85 max. trying to upload some pics.

and thanks a whole lot carlton. you really helped to ease my worry abt this issue i have been wondering abt for years now.
 

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i just love her!

my first chameleon. doubt my family will ever let me have another after she goes, they hate her. so, how long do these little girls live anyways? like i said, i have already had her for 5+ yrs. she was not full grown when i got her.
 
still trying

Gorgeous lady u have there! And 85 basking temp is fine for a female. The lower heat and smaller diet u feed her is most likely why she's never produced eggs. from wat ive researched that's exactly wat u want to do witg a female.. i wasn't sure wat u ment when u described ur dustings? wat are u using? I cant argur to much it shes over 5 ;) that's very good indicator shes been well cared for. :)
 
dust

i dust her crickets every now and then w/ 1/2 rep-cal phosphorus-free calcium w/ vit.d 3 and 1/2 rep-cal herptivite w/ veta carotene multivitamins.
 
i dust her crickets every now and then w/ 1/2 rep-cal phosphorus-free calcium w/ vit.d 3 and 1/2 rep-cal herptivite w/ veta carotene multivitamins.

Oooo that is not Wats usually recommended but again I can not argue with something that's worked.. nor do i have the background on the matter to tell u anythings wrong.
Now Im in no way saying change ur ways but usual recommended schedual is dust every feeding with plain calcium NO d3 and D3 twice a month and a multivit containing beta carotene 2 times a month.. that's just a base recommendation most give around here.
 
Wow!

That's a stunning girl you've got there! She looks healthy and happy and if you have managed to keep her going for 5 years and no eggs then you're doing a great job!

Your supplement schedule differs from the recommended one by this site but don't change a thing, you're doing great and her bones look great.

Gold star for you :)
 
5+ Years is a great amount of time for a female! Most keepers can't keep them for more than 3-4 years for various reasons (including egg laying.) I've heard of one keeper having a female veiled for 8 years, and a few other keepers have them for 6+ years.
 
She's a gorgeous little lady. Consider yourself lucky that you haven't had to worry with egg laying and egg laying problems. 5 1/2 years is a nice long life for a female. One of our member has had females live to 6 and maybe 7. I say enjoy every single moment that you have with her. Thank you for sharing her pictures and story with us.
 
thank you all

sad to hear she doesn't have all that much time left though. but proud to have kept my first rescue lizard so long. i feed the crickets mostly kale and some carrots and other fruit. maybe that makes up for some of the supplements.

thanks again for all your advice and knowledge,

lisa simons
 
one more thing

i only tried handling her first 2 years off and on rarely. since then i knew she doesn't like it, doesn't even like my hand in her cage, although she will eat crickets off my hand. perhaps just leaving her alone and enjoying her from a distance has helped extend her life. i always wash my hands really well too before feeding her. but i think you all are right, i just need to thank God for making her a strange non egg producing female reptile.
 
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