chameleon won't dig in container

[sarahhamberr]

my chameleon has been digging lately, i know she's ready to lay her eggs, i have anout 3 inches of eco earth on the bottom of the tank, and i read on here that i can put a contaner about 1 foot deep in her tank and fill it with dirt, which i filled with the same eco earth that's on the bottom of the tank. she won't dig in the container, she continues to dig holes along the corner of the tank, how do i get her to dig in the container, seeing as the bottom of my tank isn't deep enough for a hole. i really don't want her to become egg bound.. help please?

 

[thephotoprincess]

i'm not sure what eco earth is? Is it moist? It needs to be moist enough to hold a tunnel. She will dig a deep tunnel, lay the eggs and cover them. If the dirt in the laying bin is not moist enough she wont want to use it.

I use moist sand which works really well. You may want to try that or some combination of sand and dirt.

 

[kinyonga]

Are you sure she's digging a hole to lay eggs in or just pawing at the ground trying to get out of the cage?

 

[Hoj]

I find that sometimes digging a hole for the female may help. Often mine will use the hole I dug. Also I have found different females to like different laying mediums from soil and sand to varying mixtures if both. I also pack the bottom layer of my bins quite hard with just soil. It seems to trigger them to stop digging and lay. JMO

 

[sarahhamberr]

i put a bucket of of really moist soil about 16 inches deep in her cage, but she's still digging around the edges and won't touch the bucket, idk why she is doing this. i don't want her to become egg-bound

 

[sarahhamberr]

she could be pawing at the ground to get out, i'm not 100% sure. but my best guess is cause she wants to lay, she's dug in a few spots, but it's only a few inches of soil, which isn't deep enough to lay in

 

[mcanham]

Put a few sticks leading into the bucket, place some foliage to conceal it and give her some space. Did you breed her or are these infertile? If you breed her, how long since copulation? It's tempting to check on them all the time but give her some space and relax, she instinctually knows what to do. Is she eating and drinking? What is her physical appearance like?