egg laying chamber

[HDTECH01]

Hello i have a female veiled chameleon and i was told that she will lay eggs even if she hasn't been bred and i was told to put an "egg laying chamber" in her cage. what is this chamber made up of how do i construct one? i'v made one before for my leopard geckos but i assume this setup is a "bit" different.
thanks alot!

(ps. i have a pretty good size cage its 3' x 2' x 6' where would i put this chamber at any certian lighting such as higher up in the cage or down low where its not as bright?)

 

[Chase]

You can put like a garbage can filled with sand. Or something big enough to hold at least 10 inches of sand.

 

[VerteX]

You can put like a garbage can filled with sand. Or something big enough to hold at least 10 inches of sand.

Moist sand. I wouldn't prefer it tho.

Please see:
http://www.chameleonsdish.com/habitat/femalecare.htm
http://www.chameleonnews.com/new/?page=article&id=114

I've a schefflera arbicola planted in a 16 inch pot for egg laying purposes in the cage. Since it's there all the time as a cage plant, it provides a nice egg laying area as well.

 

[Sporkthedork]

At what age do females start laying eggs? I'm getting a 9 month old female panther and would like to know if she needs an egg laying chamber. Don't her to be egg bound.

 

[summoner12]

I used a 5 gallon bucket filled to the top with moist top soil. You want to be sure that the dirt you use is organic and free of fertilizer. Placing a plant inside of the bucket or potting planter is a good idea. You just want to make sure that the roots don't take up a lot of space. I did place a fake plant in my bucket but I didn't put anything into my bucket that went below the surface of the dirt. I wanted to provide my female with an easy dig. Digging a hole and hitting roots might cause her to start digging another hole. Make sure that she can't see people passing by her cage. Also putting her cage in a quiet room would help a lot.

 

[summoner12]

At what age do females start laying eggs? I'm getting a 9 month old female panther and would like to know if she needs an egg laying chamber. Don't her to be egg bound.

Nine months is a good age for a female. You might be getting a female who might be ready to lay when you get her. A female will lay at a younger age if she is over fed. You can control her egg laying by food intake. You should ask the seller if she has laid before. Also ask what kind of food and how often she was fed. Take some time to inspect her. See if you can see eggs already in her. They will be about the size of jelly beans. It might be a good idea to just make an egg laying area for her. This way it is all setup for her and you don't disturb her later by moving things around in her cage.

 

[Sporkthedork]

Nine months is a good age for a female. You might be getting a female who might be ready to lay when you get her. A female will lay at a younger age if she is over fed. You can control her egg laying by food intake. You should ask the seller if she has laid before. Also ask what kind of food and how often she was fed. Take some time to inspect her. See if you can see eggs already in her. They will be about the size of jelly beans. It might be a good idea to just make an egg laying area for her. This way it is all setup for her and you don't disturb her later by moving things around in her cage.

Thanks! She has been feeding on large crickets and the seller said she hasn't laid yet. The seller's website says they don't promote overfeeding so I'm sure that's why she hasn't been laying eggs despite her age. When I get her on Tuedsday she will (hopefully) start a diet of silk worms and phoenix worms. I'm not big on crickets, so those two worms will (hopefully) be her staple.

 

[roguekiller23231]

Thanks! She has been feeding on large crickets and the seller said she hasn't laid yet. The seller's website says they don't promote overfeeding so I'm sure that's why she hasn't been laying eggs despite her age. When I get her on Tuedsday she will (hopefully) start a diet of silk worms and phoenix worms. I'm not big on crickets, so those two worms will (hopefully) be her staple.

these worms are quite fattening, you should feed them only as a treet once in a while, and use crickets or mealworms as a constant food scource.

 

[ChromaChameleons]

I've never known silkworms to be fattening...

Regarding egg laying . Your female may not neccessarily produce infertile clutches, but its best to be prepared.

My experience is with Panthers, but I assume veileds are similar.

Panther females can breed as early as 7 months of age. You would want to avoid that , of course, so that your female can first attain her adult size and then produce eggs , at a time when the resources are not robbing her growth.

Overfeeding, visual contact with a male, long daytime hours, higher temps can cause a female to produce an infertile clutch.

Signs that a female is gravid are unmistakable. Gravid colouration and distended belly are sure signs.

I personally have 1 potted plant and another shallow pot with soil/sand mix in each females cage. The shallow pot is only there as a visual indicator that the female is looking for a digging site. She may possibly begin to roam around her cage more, descend to the bottom, scratch around the soil in the pot, stop eating for several days. Any or all of these signs are cues that she is ready to lay eggs.

At this time you can remove her to a bucket with at least 10 inches of dirt . Give her light, and seclusion. Having a plant in the middle is helpful. Start a few holes for her . It is so much easier to locate eggs when she has used a hole you started, than to guess where she may have buried them. She will then do the rest.

 

[Sporkthedork]

I've never known silkworms to be fattening...

Regarding egg laying . Your female may not neccessarily produce infertile clutches, but its best to be prepared.

My experience is with Panthers, but I assume veileds are similar.

Panther females can breed as early as 7 months of age. You would want to avoid that , of course, so that your female can first attain her adult size and then produce eggs , at a time when the resources are not robbing her growth.

Overfeeding, visual contact with a male, long daytime hours, higher temps can cause a female to produce an infertile clutch.

Signs that a female is gravid are unmistakable. Gravid colouration and distended belly are sure signs.

I personally have 1 potted plant and another shallow pot with soil/sand mix in each females cage. The shallow pot is only there as a visual indicator that the female is looking for a digging site. She may possibly begin to roam around her cage more, descend to the bottom, scratch around the soil in the pot, stop eating for several days. Any or all of these signs are cues that she is ready to lay eggs.

At this time you can remove her to a bucket with at least 10 inches of dirt . Give her light, and seclusion. Having a plant in the middle is helpful. Start a few holes for her . It is so much easier to locate eggs when she has used a hole you started, than to guess where she may have buried them. She will then do the rest.

Oh yeah I was thinking of doing that. I'm going to keep the egg laying chamber in her cage though. Her cage will be at a corner in the back yard so she'll be secluded by two walls and her overgrown ficus. I think I have to buy her a smaller ficus cause it's way too big for her cage. I don't think it should reach the roof of her cage. Also I'm going to wait till she is 1 years old to breed her. I don't have a male yet for her, but my friend does and I'm considering buying one soon. Either way though, both males are still young so I'll have to wait. If I can wait 3 years for my female snakes to mature I can definitely wait till she reaches 1 year old.

 

[summoner12]

these worms are quite fattening, you should feed them only as a treet once in a while, and use crickets or mealworms as a constant food scource.

Silkworms are a great staple food. Mealworms are not to be fed as a constant food. Crickets, Silkworms and Dubia are a good staple food. You should dust your crickets and maybe the dubia as well.

Here are some links you can follow:

Link 1

Link 2

Link 3

Supplement