Chameleon Egg-Laying

[MDetroit571]

Hey! I have a 7 month old female veiled who is ready to drop some eggs, but I am a little concerned. I noticed she was ready to lay eggs when she would go to the bottom of her cage and start scratching. I can also feel the eggs in her stomach when I rub the area and i can kinda see them.

I immediately added a 5 gallon Lowes bucket with non-fertilized organic top soil that is lightly moistened with a little plant in it to help her feel more comfortable, but she refuses to go in it. She is still going to the bottom of her cage and just scratching the floor/corner of the screen. It's been 24 hours now.

I wrapped a towel around her the top of her cage so that she has privacy, but so that air flow can still get through. She is still eating regularly and is still just as territorial and active as before so I know she is not sick. Her eyes are perfectly round and she is not lethargic. Her last urate was white and healthy, and her eyes aren't sunken in either. I have given her a bit extra calcium without D3 on her crickets and hornworms recently just to make sure she has enough for this clutch, because I've been anticipating it for the past month or so now.

I am very worried that she wont lay her eggs in the bucket and she may become egg-bound. Any recommendations? This will be her first clutch of eggs and they are infertile.

 

[kinyonga]

Try digging a hole in the bucket for her and showing it to her.
That doesn't look like topsoil it looks like peat moss or something. I would try washed playsand. Can it even hold a tunnel?
How long has she been scratching at the bottom of the cage?

Is this the same chameleon with the eye issue? How's the eye now?

 

[MDetroit571]

Try digging a hole in the bucket for her and showing it to her.
That doesn't look like topsoil it looks like peat moss or something. I would try washed playsand. Can it even hold a tunnel?
How long has she been scratching at the bottom of the cage?

Is this the same chameleon with the eye issue? How's the eye now?

The eye has been totally great! I changed her lighting that same week and she has never had a problem since. I had a vet appt with her about a month after that post just to confirm she was okay, and the herp vet said she was in great health.

The bag I got for the soil specifically said top soil, but it was beside the peat moss at Lowes so it may be peat moss. It is damp enough so that when I squeeze it in my palm it clumps, but it doesnt drip water. I will try digging in it a little and showing her. If not, I will get sand tomorrow.

I noticed her digging at the bottom of her cage about 2-3 days ago. She has been very anxious moving around her cage a lot recently. Her original decor is a potted hibiscus tree that I removed so I have room for the laying bin. Could the change in her habitat be stressing her out? I have never seen her digging in her hibiscus plant, which is why I got the laying bin.

 

[MDetroit571]

The eye has been totally great! I changed her lighting that same week and she has never had a problem since. I had a vet appt with her about a month after that post just to confirm she was okay, and the herp vet said she was in great health.

The bag I got for the soil specifically said top soil, but it was beside the peat moss at Lowes so it may be peat moss. It is damp enough so that when I squeeze it in my palm it clumps, but it doesnt drip water. I will try digging in it a little and showing her. If not, I will get sand tomorrow.

I noticed her digging at the bottom of her cage about 2-3 days ago. She has been very anxious moving around her cage a lot recently. Her original decor is a potted hibiscus tree that I removed so I have room for the laying bin. Could the change in her habitat be stressing her out? I have never seen her digging in her hibiscus plant, which is why I got the laying bin.

This is her typical plant she loves

 

[kinyonga]

The cage changes could bother her.
The restlessness could be her looking for a place to lay the eggs.

Peat moss type textures are hard to dig a hole in I think.

Glad the eye is better.

 

[MDetroit571]

Should I just wait a few days and see what happens? How long does it usually take for them to drop their first clutch?

I dug and hole in the dirt and she watched me the entire time, but I dont know if she will do it still or not

 

[kinyonga]

Here's the way it should go...she should dig a hole...she may dig several test holes first but she should settle on one and dig it until she's happy with it...it may take several days.
She should then turn around butt down in the hole....usually in the evening and lay all her eggs....this can take an hour or she may even take all night.
When she's done laying she should fill in the hole and tamp it down and return to her branches, hungry, thirsty, tired and thinner.

If it doesn't go this way or she becomes lethargic, sleeps during the day, sits low in the cage, phantom lays, etc then she may be heading towards egg binding.

I can't tell you whether to wait or not.