SunflowerSupreme
Member
Since I've been planning my Bioactive vivarium (main thread here) I've been thinking more recently about how I'm going to deal with the fact that my chameleon is a female and as such will need specific habitat requirements (a laying bin for one). I have yet to see a post specifically about having a female in a bioactive home, so I'm going to make one. I'm sure its been done, and I'd like to borrow some people's expertise.
I was looking at Raising Kitty The Veiled Chameleon's post about raising females (here), and it has a lot of advice that I've not heard before, and the suggestion that you can stop her from laying eggs if you care for her properly? Obviously if that's good for her I would love to do it, because I want her to have a long, happy life.
Olimpia of Much Ado About Chameleons has been very helpful while I've been researching, and she said that Mystique (my cham) can lay her eggs right in the substrate (I'm using one premade by NEherp). On her post about females (here) she says that the laying bin should be opaque, so I will make sure that the layer where I keep the soil isn't see through (I'm probably using a large plastic box which I'm going to cut to fit in the cabinet). And that it should be 12" deep. I'm more than willing to do that if its what's best, but I wasn't sure if the larger ground area (she suggests 12" width and length) means it doesn't need to be as deep? I'm putting microfauna in the soil - isopods and springtails - those won't affect her will it? And will having a leaf litter layer on top of the soil make a difference/will she dig past it?
Also some people suggest lowering the temperature when you realize she's gravid, but not everyone says that, so I wondered what would be best?
Anything other tips anyone wants to share? I know this will help me and I hope it helps others!!!
I was looking at Raising Kitty The Veiled Chameleon's post about raising females (here), and it has a lot of advice that I've not heard before, and the suggestion that you can stop her from laying eggs if you care for her properly? Obviously if that's good for her I would love to do it, because I want her to have a long, happy life.
Olimpia of Much Ado About Chameleons has been very helpful while I've been researching, and she said that Mystique (my cham) can lay her eggs right in the substrate (I'm using one premade by NEherp). On her post about females (here) she says that the laying bin should be opaque, so I will make sure that the layer where I keep the soil isn't see through (I'm probably using a large plastic box which I'm going to cut to fit in the cabinet). And that it should be 12" deep. I'm more than willing to do that if its what's best, but I wasn't sure if the larger ground area (she suggests 12" width and length) means it doesn't need to be as deep? I'm putting microfauna in the soil - isopods and springtails - those won't affect her will it? And will having a leaf litter layer on top of the soil make a difference/will she dig past it?
Also some people suggest lowering the temperature when you realize she's gravid, but not everyone says that, so I wondered what would be best?
Anything other tips anyone wants to share? I know this will help me and I hope it helps others!!!
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