Eating sand ??!!
- Thread starter jcarty3
- Start date
Glad you have provided her with a place to dig!
Veiled females quite often eat the sand.
It depends on the sand as to whether it will cause an impaction or not. (I've never used the exo-terra one...so I don't know about it. This one has never caused any problems in mine...
http://www.homedepot.ca/webapp/wcs/...ode+matchall&recN=128756&N=0&Ntk=P_PartNumber
Veiled females quite often eat the sand.
It depends on the sand as to whether it will cause an impaction or not. (I've never used the exo-terra one...so I don't know about it. This one has never caused any problems in mine...
http://www.homedepot.ca/webapp/wcs/...ode+matchall&recN=128756&N=0&Ntk=P_PartNumber
dreamforthedead
New Member
My cham did that for a couple of days, if she's only eating tiny bits i wouldn't worry to much. Just keep an eye on her. By the way are you in newcastle in the U.k?
"They reach sexual maturity within four to five months, at 8 to 12 inches long"...
http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/ReptilesAmphibians/Facts/FactSheets/Veiledchameleon.cfm
"Veiled can reach sexual maturity very early, some authors report as early 3 1/2 months"...
http://www.kingsnake.com/rockymountain/RMHPages/RMHCarpets.htm
You'll have to scan down a long way to page 20 for this quote...
"Female veiled chameleons generally reach sexual maturity anywhere from 4 1/2 to 5 months but, the occasional female may become ready as early as 3 1/2 months "....
http://www.albertareptilesociety.org/bulletin/taras.2004.1.pdf
If you leave the sand out and you don't recognize the often subtle indications that the female needs to lay eggs you risk her becoming eggbound.
Handling a female...moving her back and forth from the egglaying bin to the cage also increases the risk of eggbinding (stress) and if it hasn't happened to you yet I would say you are lucky....
See page 1668...
http://www.ivis.org/proceedings/navc/2006/SAE/603.pdf?LA=1
Also...laying clutches of more than 2 or 3 dozen will more than likely increase the risk that a female will die young.
Overfeeding a female veiled (which contributes to larger clutches) can also push the chameleon towards MBD and eggbinding...
"Excessive feeding and lack of calcium, and lack of a suitable egg laying site are all thought to contribute to eggbinding in veiled chameleons".
If your female is eating the sand while the container is in the cage, there is nothing to prevent her from eating it when she is moved to an egglaying bin IMHO.
http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/ReptilesAmphibians/Facts/FactSheets/Veiledchameleon.cfm
"Veiled can reach sexual maturity very early, some authors report as early 3 1/2 months"...
http://www.kingsnake.com/rockymountain/RMHPages/RMHCarpets.htm
You'll have to scan down a long way to page 20 for this quote...
"Female veiled chameleons generally reach sexual maturity anywhere from 4 1/2 to 5 months but, the occasional female may become ready as early as 3 1/2 months "....
http://www.albertareptilesociety.org/bulletin/taras.2004.1.pdf
If you leave the sand out and you don't recognize the often subtle indications that the female needs to lay eggs you risk her becoming eggbound.
Handling a female...moving her back and forth from the egglaying bin to the cage also increases the risk of eggbinding (stress) and if it hasn't happened to you yet I would say you are lucky....
See page 1668...
http://www.ivis.org/proceedings/navc/2006/SAE/603.pdf?LA=1
Also...laying clutches of more than 2 or 3 dozen will more than likely increase the risk that a female will die young.
Overfeeding a female veiled (which contributes to larger clutches) can also push the chameleon towards MBD and eggbinding...
"Excessive feeding and lack of calcium, and lack of a suitable egg laying site are all thought to contribute to eggbinding in veiled chameleons".
If your female is eating the sand while the container is in the cage, there is nothing to prevent her from eating it when she is moved to an egglaying bin IMHO.
If I've "been lucky", I've "been lucky" nine times, (three times in the past week), none of my females look any worst for it.
To me eating sand (if indeed that was what she was doing) is a sign that either she was looking for food and ate some sand or she is in need of more calcium.
A female that is interested in egg laying has different set of symptoms. Whilst you may be correct that a female may lay eggs at 3.5 months I think that more the exception than the rule and more likely around six months.
IMHO...it doesn't matter if its the exception or the rule....if they can lay them that early then the place for them to dig should be there so they won't end up egg bound. Its better to have it there and it not be needed than to not have one there and the chameleon die eggbound because the owner didn't realize that the female needed to lay eggs.
How many years have you been keeping chameleons? How old do your females usually live to be? Have you had experience with other lizards?
How many years have you been keeping chameleons? How old do your females usually live to be? Have you had experience with other lizards?
Texas Panther Man
New Member
I advocate a laying bin Im not going to argue that point. But I wouldnt worry about that cham laying unless 1. shes shown receptive colors first 2. shes now showing signs of non-receptive gravid coloration and a thickening of the body in general. If the female has never been bred and has not shown any change in overall coloration from her normal resting colors why worry about her becoming egg bound? Ive never seen a female lay without flashing those tell-tale signs first. Jmp exp.
hi i dont know why but this thread i made hasnt been giving me notifications that pll commented so this is a while after i posted this dont know if ppl will still comment but she does still eat sand and poos out sand balls
she wasnt eating for a few days but then eat 3 crickits thankfully but now has gone to eating next to nothing apart from somw watermelon now and again
she is showing receptive colours or what i belive to be receptive colours
bright green with patches of orange on her and green dots on her
everytime i open the cage she comes over to try and get out which she has never done before and also climbs around the top mesh part of her cage to get out
i have a laying bin but she shows no signs of wanting to lay in it
she may go down on it once in a while but just eats the sand
she does look fat all the time but no egg bumps could she be impacted off the sand as she has never pooed properly in a while just sand
and if she is impacted is there anyway to get her unimpacted
pleeassssseeeee???????
she wasnt eating for a few days but then eat 3 crickits thankfully but now has gone to eating next to nothing apart from somw watermelon now and again
she is showing receptive colours or what i belive to be receptive colours
bright green with patches of orange on her and green dots on her
everytime i open the cage she comes over to try and get out which she has never done before and also climbs around the top mesh part of her cage to get out
i have a laying bin but she shows no signs of wanting to lay in it
she may go down on it once in a while but just eats the sand
she does look fat all the time but no egg bumps could she be impacted off the sand as she has never pooed properly in a while just sand
and if she is impacted is there anyway to get her unimpacted
pleeassssseeeee???????
jdog1027
Avid Member
I had a female successfull breed and layed healthy eggs at 5 months. She didn't have a very long life though. She laid 2 or 3 more clutches and expired. As far as dropping what I called duds (infertile eggs), I never had that happen until at least 12 months. I'm not saying it couldn't happen sooner, but a 4 month old female probablly doesn't need an egg laying bin yet. But never say never. I have a female that is about 6 or 7 months old and is looking quite full of eggs. I posted pics on a thread the other day and had plenty of feedback on the fact she looks gravid. Typically egg laying occurs 21-27 days after mating. This female of mine has been swollen for almost 2 months now and has been offered an egg laying cage, but was content just staying on her branches- never stepped foot into the sand. If she has eggs I think she would have ran into egg binding problems by 2 months time. But back to the point, I doubt an egg laying bin is needed yet. She starts pacing the bottom of her cage, throw one in there.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/weird-color-scheme-45617/
https://www.chameleonforums.com/weird-color-scheme-45617/
jcarty3...if she is pooping out sand or feces then she is not impacted.
jdog1027...the point I keep trying to make with having the container of sand in the cage once a female is about 5 months old and leaving it in the cage from then on is that you won't miss the often very subtle indications that a female is carrying eggs and needs a place to dig.
Its fine to say that the chameleon shouldn't have to lay eggs unless she has shown receptive colors first, followed by non-receptive/gravid coloration and a thickening of the body in general, roaming around the cage, etc. but newbies often miss all of this and the chameleon ends up eggbound...or if they do happen to catch some of these signs they move the female back and forth, back and forth to the larger egglaying container and "interrupt" her desire/window of time to lay eggs to the point where she will become eggbound. By putting an opaque container of washed play sand that is big enough and deep enough for the female to use in the cage and leaving it there, the female will tell you when she is ready...and then when she is intent on the digging you can move her once to the big container and leave her there until she lays the eggs. I also can not stress enough that when the female is digging, etc. do not let her see you watching her.
I also use the 65 litre rubbermaid container with a part of the lid cut away and screened over because the lid can be put on to prevent escapes and a light can be put over the top to provide heat and light....and the female can be left there for several days and fed and watered in there too. The fact that the container is opaque just makes it a little more cave/hole-like.
Whether you want to argue about whether "my" method is necessary or not is up to you...the whole thing is that it makes it as simple as possible for newbies who are more likely to end up with reproduction issues in the first place.
jdog1027...the point I keep trying to make with having the container of sand in the cage once a female is about 5 months old and leaving it in the cage from then on is that you won't miss the often very subtle indications that a female is carrying eggs and needs a place to dig.
Its fine to say that the chameleon shouldn't have to lay eggs unless she has shown receptive colors first, followed by non-receptive/gravid coloration and a thickening of the body in general, roaming around the cage, etc. but newbies often miss all of this and the chameleon ends up eggbound...or if they do happen to catch some of these signs they move the female back and forth, back and forth to the larger egglaying container and "interrupt" her desire/window of time to lay eggs to the point where she will become eggbound. By putting an opaque container of washed play sand that is big enough and deep enough for the female to use in the cage and leaving it there, the female will tell you when she is ready...and then when she is intent on the digging you can move her once to the big container and leave her there until she lays the eggs. I also can not stress enough that when the female is digging, etc. do not let her see you watching her.
I also use the 65 litre rubbermaid container with a part of the lid cut away and screened over because the lid can be put on to prevent escapes and a light can be put over the top to provide heat and light....and the female can be left there for several days and fed and watered in there too. The fact that the container is opaque just makes it a little more cave/hole-like.
Whether you want to argue about whether "my" method is necessary or not is up to you...the whole thing is that it makes it as simple as possible for newbies who are more likely to end up with reproduction issues in the first place.
i have another question,
is it possible that a female cham goes through the receptive colour process which mine is doing but then goes on to not lay any egggs and not become gravid as she is too young
so basically is it possible that she can get receptive coloration but still not be sexualy mature enough for her body to produce eggs ????
is it possible that a female cham goes through the receptive colour process which mine is doing but then goes on to not lay any egggs and not become gravid as she is too young
so basically is it possible that she can get receptive coloration but still not be sexualy mature enough for her body to produce eggs ????
