Chameleon laid eggs on the floor of the cage

[ivythechammy]

Hello All,

I posted a couple of days ago because my female veiled stopped eating. You folks said it was because she's gravid, and you folks were right!

I had a laying bin in the enclosure, and I put a few branches in there for her to get in and out as you guys suggested.

(See original post: https://www.chameleonforums.com/thr...ped-eating-for-two-weeks.174361/#post-1557426)

I have been covering her enclosure to give her some privacy. Everything remained the same as of 2 hours ago. She was still not eating and she was still very weak.

When I came back to check on her, I found her on the floor of the cage, and there was a pile of eggs next to her. I didn't have an chance to take a good look, but there were about 10 eggs or so. I was shocked by this, and quickly evacuated the premise to give her some privacy. Due to this new development, I have a few more questions:

1. Now the eggs are out of her system, should I be expecting to see some improvement to her health? Or laying eggs on the floor indicate her imminent demise?

2. She was kept together with a male chameleon in the pet store in November, is it possible that these eggs are fertile?

Thanks a lot!

 

[kinyonga]

You asked..."Now the eggs are out of her system, should I be expecting to see some improvement to her health? Or laying eggs on the floor indicate her imminent demise?"... This depends partly on if she laid all the eggs or not and why she dropped them instead of digging s hole and burying them. Is she showing any signs of improevmnt....sitting back up in the branches and eating and drinking?

"She was kept together with a male chameleon in the pet store in November, is it possible that these eggs are fertile?"...they quite likely are fertile. If they are dried out now though they won't be any good. They would have needed to be put in an incubating container right away.

 

[ivythechammy]

You asked..."Now the eggs are out of her system, should I be expecting to see some improvement to her health? Or laying eggs on the floor indicate her imminent demise?"... This depends partly on if she laid all the eggs or not and why she dropped them instead of digging s hole and burying them. Is she showing any signs of improevmnt....sitting back up in the branches and eating and drinking?

"She was kept together with a male chameleon in the pet store in November, is it possible that these eggs are fertile?"...they quite likely are fertile. If they are dried out now though they won't be any good. They would have needed to be put in an incubating container right away.

Thanks for the quick reply. As of now, she is still lying on the floor next to her eggs. I would rather not disturb her for a while in case she is still in the process of laying eggs. I will keep you updated if I anything changes.

According to my research, she could spend the next few hours (even 12 hours) next to her eggs. Should I leave her alone until she decides to relocate? My concern is that the eggs are just sitting on the floor and desiccating in the air.

I think by the time I put in the laying bin, she was already too weak. She could barely support herself on the branch; I'd be really shocked if she could spend hours digging a tunnel.

 

[kinyonga]

You said..."According to my research, she could spend the next few hours (even 12 hours) next to her eggs. Should I leave her alone until she decides to relocate? My concern is that the eggs are just sitting on the floor and desiccating in the air"...I've never heard of a chameleon spending time next to her eggs. They dig an hole until they are satisfied with it...turn around butt down in it and lay the eggs...which can take several hours....then they fill the hole in and tamp it down and return to the trees.

If the eggs are just laying beside her you could very quickly remove them and try incubating them. That way you'd also know if she's laying more (because if you take all them away now and there's more she obviously laid more).

I think from the sound of it you will be lucky if she survives. Sorry to tell you that.

 

[ivythechammy]

You said..."According to my research, she could spend the next few hours (even 12 hours) next to her eggs. Should I leave her alone until she decides to relocate? My concern is that the eggs are just sitting on the floor and desiccating in the air"...I've never heard of a chameleon spending time next to her eggs. They dig an hole until they are satisfied with it...turn around butt down in it and lay the eggs...which can take several hours....then they fill the hole in and tamp it down and return to the trees.

If the eggs are just laying beside her you could very quickly remove them and try incubating them. That way you'd also know if she's laying more (because if you take all them away now and there's more she obviously laid more).

I think from the sound of it you will be lucky if she survives. Sorry to tell you that.

Thanks for the advise. I have already come to term with the fact that she may not survive the ordeal. But after what I just saw, it gave me new hope. Not sure if it is well founded, but at least I know she is not egg bound. I also want to believe that if she has the strength to push those eggs out, maybe there is more life in her than I expected.

I have always been very reluctant to be close to my chameleon. She is very shy, and she freaks out when I am too close to her, even during feeding time.

I would like to remove the eggs like you said, but I also don't want to cause her to flee and leave eggs unlaid inside her. I will give her a couple more hours before I intrude into her vivarium.

 

[kinyonga]

Good luck.

 

[ivythechammy]

Quick update.

I removed some of the eggs from the enclosure, and I counted 26. A couple more eggs came out of her as I was picking them up. I will check on her again later tonight.

Question: Do these look like they are fertile? They look both yellowish and whitish depending on the lighting.

 

[Persnickety Parson's]

Too soon to tell, you need to incubate them in order to see if they are fertile or not.

 

[kinyonga]

They look like they could be fertile to me. I hope she lays them all.
I figure she had at least 50 in her from her size...that's a lot for her.

 

[ivythechammy]

Update:

As of this morning, she laid a total of 34 eggs. I think she is done for now; I saw her attempting to bury the eggs. I’ll incubate the eggs and upload pictures in a week.
I think she will be able to make it based on her energy level.

 

[Deejay]

How exciting. Best of luck.

 

[kinyonga]

Hope she makes it!

 

[PabloTheCham]

if you don't know what to do with the eggs, you could make an omelette... ???

 

[salty dog]

.......YOU NEED TO LEAVE YOUR CHAMELEON ALONE SO SHE CAN LAY HER EGGS CORRECTLY......YOUR LUCKY SHE DID NOT DIE!!! no excuses... I don't care

 

[PabloTheCham]

.......YOU NEED TO LEAVE YOUR CHAMELEON ALONE SO SHE CAN LAY HER EGGS CORRECTLY......YOUR LUCKY SHE DID NOT DIE!!! no excuses... I don't care

well... it's not too late for that

 

[salty dog]

She is still alive.....I'm referring to next time!!

 

[kinyonga]

How's she doing now? How are you incubating the eggs?

 

[ivythechammy]

How's she doing now? How are you incubating the eggs?

She is looking a lot better! A lot more physically active, and now she’s able to climb around without any problem. She is still not eating, but she’s been drinking tons of water.

I kept the eggs in a clear plastic shoe box. The substrate is coco coir (the only thing I have on hand). I’m leaving the eggs in the laundry room, which is constantly 75F ish. The light does gets turned on and off occasionally, would that be a problem?

I counted a total of 37 eggs. Is it normal to have an odd number of eggs? (Assuming she has two ovaries like humans)

 

[kinyonga]

In nature the eggs are buried in the ground and thus....in the dark at all times...I always keep my eggs in the darkness too. For years I have incubated the eggs in coarse vermiculite that is barely moist. That doesn't mean coir won't work...I just don't have any experience with it.

To cut down the number of eggs in the next clutch feed her well for a couple of days and then cut down on the amount you're feeding her and keep the basking temperatures in the low 80's to slow her metabolism down.

 

[Persnickety Parson's]

She is looking a lot better! A lot more physically active, and now she’s able to climb around without any problem. She is still not eating, but she’s been drinking tons of water.

I kept the eggs in a clear plastic shoe box. The substrate is coco coir (the only thing I have on hand). I’m leaving the eggs in the laundry room, which is constantly 75F ish. The light does gets turned on and off occasionally, would that be a problem?

I counted a total of 37 eggs. Is it normal to have an odd number of eggs? (Assuming she has two ovaries like humans)View attachment 262882

Nice hornworm enclosure