Egg bound looking for some expert advise

[Hoj]

I currently have a female cham that was mated about 35 days ago. She is looking like she really need to get these eggs out.
I have had no experience with this as of yet and am trying to get some info/advise about the use of oxytocin.
My regular vet is not available on the weekend but there is a clinic next to my store, with a vet willing to do some research but has no real experience with reptiles.
I am curious as to dosage amount, dilution, frequency of the injections, best injection location and if it should be used in conjunction with a shot of calcium glubonate, with the same questions about the calcium injections.
She still seems well but I know she is getting overdue and would prefer not to wait to long.

 

[Rottsko]

hey hoj,
i don't have any experience w/ oxytocin on chams but i had one of my females lay 43 days after mating. she just kept wandering her cage and even though her laying bin was there, she just waited a long time. i kept messing w/ her laying bin bc something about it she didn't like. i changed substrates, moisture level, position in the cage, etc. i didn't notice any signs of struggle during this time and i did start to worry but i felt like mother nature was going to take over and eventually get her to lay and she did. if she didn't lay on that day, i was going to take her to the vet and get her a dose of oxytocin.

 

[laurie]

Hi Hoj, I have checked my info and here is what I know. Annie and Lenny first mated on 2/9/13 she laid the first clutch on 4/3/13.

On the second clutch I started to panic and went to the vet for oxyotin. She had 2 shots one on 7/14 and one 0n 7/15. The link below tells you what happened. I was told that possibly, I gave her oxyitoc to soon and that explained why she laid across several days. She was nor ready yet. She looked like a balloon and not happy at all, but I may not responded well. If you want the directions for oxytocin I can look them up for you. Only you can assess her condition. If you have health concerns, that is another matter, mine was just fat and did not move hardly at all. She did however keep eating.


https://www.chameleonforums.com/female-just-so-confused-114794/

 

[ataraxia]

Laurie brought up a good point. Even though some females will eat till the day they lay. Most will go off of food when its about time. If she is still eating id venture to say she isnt ready to lay. Some just take longer for whatever reason to lay.

 

[bradley]

All I can say is do not stop oxcytocin if the first lot doesnt work. Mine took three lots of it every other day to get her to lay her eggs.

 

[Dr O]

Hi hoj-

I have been using oxytocin more in the past two years on chameleons than my entire career combined. The results are extremely variable as you may expect, and some of you also may know that arginine vasotocin seems to be a better drug but is not readily available.

Since I feel that any of my females have an adequate supply of calcium already from their husbandry, I never give injectable calcium but have always given Neocalglucon orally with the injection as a little extra oral boost. And I have swung towards the high-end of the dose of 20 international units per kilogram as I rarely had any results with lower doses. I do not dilute, and typically give the injection in the muscles of the forearm. I would estimate that about two thirds of my females will respond to the injection. However, in general it can be a messy experience. Maybe two or three times it stimulated a female to dig a quick nest and deposit the entire clutch but that has been the exception. More typically, they dribble out two or three eggs, and that's it until another injection and again that's it. Those cases often wind up being frustrating and I think the worst thing that can be done is to give it too early. That has resulted in a sick, miserable looking female that is naturally not ready to pass but now I have caused her some contractions.

Generally I am now only using it if I have had a female that has laid one or two eggs (just dropped in the cage), but after a few days she still isn't passing the rest. Those seem to be the safest cases to give the oxytocin bump to along with oral calcium. More often than not, they may just want some more privacy or even a specific nesting cage. I have taken some of these females and rather then use oxytocin, completely enclose their cage or put them in a different cage and that seems to make them happy and stimulate the nesting behavior.