Egg Laying

[littlekiwi]

Is it in her enclosure?

it is yes. and should i pm you here on the forums?

 

[littlekiwi]

My feedback and any questions will be in red. I’ll also post helpful links and images at the end. Could you add photos of her, her lights, and her full cage, please?

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Veiled female, estimated to be about a year old and has been in my care a year in march.
• Handling - Maybe once a week.
• Feeding - we go between super worms and crickets, crickets are gutloaded from petsmart. 5 crickets every two days, or two supers per day. Superworms shouldn’t be used as staples. She also needs to be kept on a strict feeding schedule since she is an adult female. The one @AmandaS mentioned is perfect! How do you provide water for your crickets? Getting a more varied diet of healthy staples is recommended! You need to provide a varied and nutritious gutload to all of your feeders overnight to a few hours before feeding them off! Please refer to the care images I’m linking below.
• Supplements - I use a vet prescribed calcium and a vitamin with d3 (repti-something) every two weeks, and without d3 every feeding. What are the exact brands of her supplements. Do they contain phosphorus? The schedule is perfect! Does her multivitamin have preformed Vitamin A in it? Do you ever take her outside for natural light? If so, for how long each time (this can change how often D3 is given)?
• Watering - I hand mist three times daily. How often is each session? It should be a minimum of 2-5+ minutes each time. If your humidity allows it, only mist in the morning and late afternoon/night when her cage temps are cooler.
• Fecal Description - White urates, pretty standard brown poop. tested for parasites and she doesn’t have any. How long ago was her last fecal check? Was only one checked, or a series of 3-4+ samples?
• History - MBD history. Does she have proper grip strength?

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Glass enclosure the size of a medium reptibreeze. this is recommended due to her MBD and risk of falling. If her grip strength is back to normal, the recommended minimum cage sizes are either 36“ x 18“ x 36” tall or 2’ x 2’ x 4’ tall, but preferably 4’ x 2’ x 4’ or bigger. If her grip strength is bad, go with a deeper and longer cage size! What are the materials in and dimensions of her lay bin? Does her cage have substrate in the bottom of it?
• Lighting - i use vivarium electronics fixture with a t05 bulb for uvb and a heat light with a 100w bulb. What strength is the fixture (T5 High Output or T8) and the UVB bulb (5.0/6% or 10.0/12% or something else)? How old is her UVB bulb? Does the fixture have a dedicated reflector for the UVB bulb, or is it a shared reflector or no reflector at all? How far away are her UVB and heat bulbs from her basking branch? How often are her lights on? Do you use anything at night? Definitely invest in a Solarmeter 6.5 if you can afford it! It’l help you get precise UVI readings and help you know when her UVB bulb needs to be replaced (when the readings are cut in half).
• Temperature - 90 degree basking, goes down to around 79.3 at the bottom. Her basking temp is way too hot! It should be 78-80*F at the max! Her cage bottom should be around the low 70‘s so she can thermoregulate. How are you measuring these temps? What are her nighttime temps? Chameleons prefer a nighttime temp drop. You need a minimum of one digital thermometer with probe, the probe placed where her casque/top of her back is on her basking branch-measuring 78-80*F there at the max, preferably a digital infrared temp gun to spot check areas, and at least two (preferably three) digital thermometer-hygrometer combos to measure humidity levels and ambient temps, one near the bottom and the other in the middle or near the top of her cage-do both if you get three.
• Humidity - I use a standard gauge from a pet store to measure the humidity and keep it between 50-70%. i have a ventilation system and mist. Those levels are too high! High humidity plus high heat (you have both) equals the possibility of a respiratory infection. Is she showing any signs of an RI? What are her nighttime levels, and how do you measure her humidity? Her daytime levels need to be between 30-50%. Nighttime levels can safely go up to 100%. You can use a fogger/ultra-sonic or cool-mist humidifier at night to help raise the humidity. If you get one, make sure to properly clean it, its tubes, and any other accessories you use thoroughly and often!
• Plants - golden pothos and jade plant. She needs live plants only! Take out all fake plants, fake leaf bunches, and fake vines with leaves on them (fake vines without leaves are fine) ASAP! They cause a risk of impaction, as veileds will try to take a chomp out of anything! Use only chameleon-safe live plants that are properly cleaned off and prepared beforehand! Make sure to cover all of the soil in their pots with rocks too big for her to eat, as well!
• Placement - in my room, not high traffic and no drafts. it is beside a window. Can she see her reflection in either the window or her cage? Is the window energy efficient or does it affect her cage temps when it is hot or cold out?
• Location - louisiana, USA
• Current Problem - was just asking about how to not be nervous during egg laying. didnt ask to be interrogated. vet has a VERY good reputation, especially with iguanas and chameleons. When was the last time she had bloodwork or x-rays done?

Here are the links and images (The Chameleon Academy has the most up-to-date and accurate info, so make sure to read through every module and listen to as many podcasts as you can, if you haven’t already!):
https://www.chameleons.info/en/
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/2007/12/keeping-female-veiled.html
http://www.muchadoaboutchameleons.com/
https://flchams.com/chameleon-safe-plant-list/
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/external-resources/
https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/
https://chameleonacademy.com/veiled-chameleon-care/
https://chameleonacademy.com/plants/

@Gingero recently posted a great video on her YouTube channel, Neptune the Chameleon, about egg laying, as well!

so for my cricket’s water i have gelled water for them and it is fluker’s. her supplement with d3 and without are also flukers, as well as phosphorous free. her bulb is a T5 which i got yesterday so it’s brand new. the other one was around 6 months. it is 12%. her nighttime temp is down in the 70’s, and i just realized her thermometer is far too close to the basking bulb. not sure how that affects humidity if at all. she had a very check up last week with no sign of a respiratory infection so i will be sure to get those humidity levels under control to prevent this. at night i have seen the gauge in the 70% humidity range, which i think is ok to what you said (correct me if wrong). the window is energy efficient and she cannot see her reflection. as for blood work and x rays, we took care of those last visit. all clear

 

[Gingero]

I'd switch to a 6% UVB and raise that 12% above her enclosure ASAP. 12% with an enclosure that small is going to be putting off too much UVB. Here are some videos you might find helpful:

 

[Beman]

i talked to Marianna and she said that as long as she is a fall risk with such stunted growth as she has it might be best to use what i have

And she saw what you have? Because I would be shocked that she would approve of the enclosure.

How do you expect her to get stronger if she can not move around. She is in a tiny cage. Little climbing area. You have her tank so hot she can't get out of the heat. When she does finally lay with the temps your keeping and the amount of food your giving it will be a larger clutch and with her history of MBD this is dangerous.

You have her in a tiny enclosure with too hot temps and a 12% T5 which is far too strong.

Just like she developed MBD from improper husbandry in this cage she can still develop other issues from the the same cage and incorrect husbandry.

Start reading everything in this husbandry program. https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/

 

[ERKleRose]

it is yes. and should i pm you here on the forums?

You can, but I’d recommend PMing someone else, as I‘m just relaying the basics, not an expert on female chams, especially one with MBD

 

[ERKleRose]

so for my cricket’s water i have gelled water for them and it is fluker’s. her supplement with d3 and without are also flukers, as well as phosphorous free. her bulb is a T5 which i got yesterday so it’s brand new. the other one was around 6 months. it is 12%. her nighttime temp is down in the 70’s, and i just realized her thermometer is far too close to the basking bulb. not sure how that affects humidity if at all. she had a very check up last week with no sign of a respiratory infection so i will be sure to get those humidity levels under control to prevent this. at night i have seen the gauge in the 70% humidity range, which i think is ok to what you said (correct me if wrong). the window is energy efficient and she cannot see her reflection. as for blood work and x rays, we took care of those last visit. all clear

Like others said, fix the UVB ASAP! What type of Fluker’s water gel do you use? Plain water crystals from feeder insect sites are cheaper and usually better. You can also use damp paper towel or cotton balls (replace daily if you use either), a wet commercial gutload, fresh gutload ingredients, or blend up kosher gelatin with fresh gutload ingredients and/or commercial gutload in it for cricket hydration (just pour mixture in an ice cube tray afterwards). With the kosher gelatin one, you can freeze what you don’t use and defrost as needed. I would get better quality supplements ASAP, too, Fluker’s aren’t the best. She can also handle a lower temp drop, as well.

 

[littlekiwi]

Like others said, fix the UVB ASAP! What type of Fluker’s water gel do you use? Plain water crystals from feeder insect sites are cheaper and usually better. You can also use damp paper towel or cotton balls (replace daily if you use either), a wet commercial gutload, fresh gutload ingredients, or blend up kosher gelatin with fresh gutload ingredients and/or commercial gutload in it for cricket hydration (just pour mixture in an ice cube tray afterwards). With the kosher gelatin one, you can freeze what you don’t use and defrost as needed. I would get better quality supplements ASAP, too, Fluker’s aren’t the best. She can also handle a lower temp drop, as well.

basking temp has dropped to 80 and the bottom is 73 right now. what’s a good brand? i was told fluker’s was good

 

[ERKleRose]

basking temp has dropped to 80 and the bottom is 73 right now. what’s a good brand? i was told fluker’s was good

Zoo Med, Arcadia, Sticky Tongue Farms, Repashy (chams have shown a sensitivity to some of their products, especially female veileds, and I personally don’t recommend it, but it’s up to you). All of the supplement brands I’ve listed all have different supplementation schedules, so make sure you use the correct schedule with the correct products of whatever you choose

 

[littlekiwi]

just an update. she laid 27 eggs.

 

[Beman]

just an update. she laid 27 eggs.

Did you take a picture so we can see them? Helps to know how well formed they are. 27 is a little more then you want her to be laying. Look at your feeding amounts and temps to put them right so it drops her clutch size. Much easier when they have MBD to have a smaller clutch.

 

[littlekiwi]

Did you take a picture so we can see them? Helps to know how well formed they are. 27 is a little more then you want her to be laying. Look at your feeding amounts and temps to put them right so it drops her clutch size. Much easier when they have MBD to have a smaller clutch.