Differences?

[Chachi]

I have 4 chams, all in good health, current w their vet and strong (but sometimes picky) eaters. I have 3 females and 1 male, currently. My male has big strong legs, plump eyes and a lean, beautiful muscularity to him. But my girls...mmmm. I try everything. I gutload, I vary the content, I have tons of stuff for them to climb on, I keep a very close watch and yet they still aren't as...perfect. they are all 3 rounder and their back legs aren't developed nicely. Their eyes aren't puffed up ideal. I work at keeping them healthy so if something happens (and it has) they are strong enough to weather almost any storm. My question to you that have been doing this longer than me, is this normal or is my husbandry off? I take care of them within the requirements and constraints of their type and personal limitations but is there some special stuff to do for females besides the right light, temp, air quality etc.

 

[carol5208]

Do you have laying bins for all of them? Do you house them together? How old are they?? I don't keep females but I know enough about them from being on here for over 6 yrs. Pics??

 

[Chachi]

Cita: Veiled cham, 3 1/2 yrs, had to have surgical procedure for being egg bound on her 3rd lay. Never bred. She is a rescue and had severe mbd when I liberated her from Petco.(I gave a brief description in a different place in the forum) Her cage is specially built to accomodate her limitations.I try so hard to buff her up. She is thin, has a belly, but is in perfect health pic #093007
Hera: panther cham, 16 months. Her cage is large w a laying area. Picture #104210 Great cham. Meets me at her door in the am #142827. Her dirt is half sand and I keep it moist.
Zero: panther cham.6months old. She was supposed to be a male. She isn't. Picture#102533. Her cage is picture #74014 I'm in the process of making her cage just like Hera's. I got her for Christmas. She was so cold, I thought she was dead. I ran w her across the house and held her to the light. She opened 1 eye. She is mean, by nature and tries to bite anyone but me. She eats real good. But when she is finished she colors up and tries to bite her cup. I think she might have had something happen to her brain when she got so cold on her trip to me.

 

[cyberlocc]

How deep is your laying bin? I assume that is a laying bin? I dont think that is deep enough.

 

[Chachi]

It's a 6 inch tub. Do you think I should get deeper tubs?

 

[Nicholasdeaan]

They look healthy to me. But yes, the layibg bin should 10" deep. Make sure you aren't over feeding the females and that you're keeping their temps slightly cooler than a male panthers. This helps to reduce clutch sizes and the frequency of them laying them.

My panther does some weird things from time to time. Like licking my hand or random things when he's out and about of his cage. Sounds normal to me!

 

[Chachi]

I just looked at the photo better. I should have taken the towel off.

They look healthy to me. But yes, the layibg bin should 10" deep. Make sure you aren't over feeding the females and that you're keeping their temps slightly cooler than a male panthers. This helps to reduce clutch sizes and the frequency of them laying them.

My panther does some weird things from time to time. Like licking my hand or random things when he's out and about of his cage. Sounds normal to me!

My male is a jackson

 

[cyberlocc]

I just looked at the photo better. I should have taken the towel off.

My male is a jackson

Ya we couldn't really tell how deep it was. regardless they need like at least 8-9 inches deep of dirt (more is better). If that tub is 6 inches deep from the pic you have about 4 inches, that is no where near enough.

 

[Nicholasdeaan]

I just looked at the photo better. I should have taken the towel off.

My male is a jackson

Ahhh. I would still definitely make the laying bins at least 10 inches deep and 12 inches long. You're Jackson looks like a happy little fellow. I just sold mine recently I wish I could have kept him. They are very docile and fun to work with. Do you mind me asking what his supplement schedule is?

 

[Chachi]

I do the d3+cal every other Friday, I do vitamins on the opposite Fridays. Then I also have calcium in a shaker, I put crickets and anything else in a cup, shake a couple shakes into the cup and shake them up a little. I hand feed them in a cup for the most part but they prefer my fingers. I use medium crickets. He is big enough to give large crickets but I get more calcium with more crickets and he will only eat 2 or 3 large crickets so, I give him medium so he gets more calcium. He eats 4 or 5 times a week but I offer everyday. I get him super worms for extra and meal worms. He does not care for roaches. He will eat horn worms but only if they are first. I change my gutload every week. Mix 3 vegetables, a green of some kind and I crunch multi grain cheerios over the mixture.

 

[Chachi]

How deep is your laying bin? I assume that is a laying bin? I dont think that is deep enough.

I'll change it. The container store ha plenty different sizes. I can get the same size only deeper. Hera is a year old, I better get on it this weekend. Thanks, guys.

 

[Chachi]

They look healthy to me. But yes, the layibg bin should 10" deep. Make sure you aren't over feeding the females and that you're keeping their temps slightly cooler than a male panthers. This helps to reduce clutch sizes and the frequency of them laying them.

My panther does some weird things from time to time. Like licking my hand or random things when he's out and about of his cage. Sounds normal to me!

My panther, Hera, licks me everytime she crawls into my hand! Haha. I have trouble keeping my cage cool in the summer. We don't have ac. We have a swamp cooler but it's downright cold so I try not to use it too much, it's blowing kinda hard and cold. So thats the reason my veiled laid 50 eggs for her last time!

 

[Nicholasdeaan]

I'll change it. The container store ha plenty different sizes. I can get the same size only deeper. Hera is a year old, I better get on it this weekend. Thanks, guys.

Could I suggest something different? D3 every other week for him is a tad to much. I would just do once a month for D3 and once a month for multivitamin. With each a week apart. I had success with this. Being that they're montane speicies, they metabolize food and supplements slower. So less is more with these guys. As long as you have good UVB lighting and such, D3 once a month and Multi once a month works. They'll make up the rest from feeders and utilizing their UVB source. I used plain calcium every feeding, and fed mine every other day. Some people say not to use plain calcium every feeding. I did, with no problems. I will say though, for Jackson's, dust your feeders real lightly. Better to under do it than over do it. I fed mine 4-5 large crickets with other mixed feeders as well. So you're on the right track. I'd ditch mealworms, they're garbage. There are a few other ways to go about the supplementing. Caresheets for Jacksons are provided on here as well if you want to see other options. Always welcome to pm me on here.

The container store rocks! I love that place.

 

[Nicholasdeaan]

My panther, Hera, licks me everytime she crawls into my hand! Haha. I have trouble keeping my cage cool in the summer. We don't have ac. We have a swamp cooler but it's downright cold so I try not to use it too much, it's blowing kinda hard and cold. So thats the reason my veiled laid 50 eggs for her last time!

Most likely. It's very hard on their bodies though....It reduces their life span as well. I would definitely start to cut back feeding and look over your basking temps. 50 eggs is a lot.