Female Chameleon in labour! help!

[HarleyGirl]

My female panther is gravid and trying to lay her clutch. She is very wide in the belly area. She began digging yesterday but has not laid the eggs yet. I have provided for her a bucket with vermiculite in it. There is also a pathos plant in the cage but she did not dig in the pathos pot at all. The other bucket with vermiculite is what she chose for her digging location. I just replaced the bucket with fresh vermiculite today, so that maybe it's easier to move around. The other one was sitting for a while, so I was worried that maybe it was not easy enough for her to dig b/c maybe it was too moist. She basically began the day yesterday digging, then stopped. Today she went in the bucket again to dig, then sort of kept digging in a circular direction, once she got lower in the container. The bucket is 9 or 10" tall. Last time she laid eggs (not fertile b/c she had not mated) she went in the bucket and laid them right away. That was about a year and a few months ago. This time, she looks wider and seems to stop digging later in the evening and climbs back up to the top of the cage to go to bed. She is now a year and a half. Strangely, her colour is really good and her grip is pretty strong.
I have given her electrolytes (i.e.poly-tonine A) in her water to rehydrate her but she only drank a little of it. She is sleeping now but what if she does not lay the eggs again tomorrow? how long is it before it's really serious? is there anything i can do?

 

[HarleyGirl]

pics to add to it...

i can't seem to upload pics. how do i get pics on here?

 

[ChameleonZ]

you need to host photos on something like photobucket.com then use those tags to post them. example: [/IMG](direct link to hosted photo)

 

[HarleyGirl]

oh ok. there's no other way? that sucks

 

[AncientCritters]

First thing I would do is get rid of the vermiculite I would put sand or a sand soil mix. It needs to be something that she can dig down into and have the tunnel for her to get down in and lay those eggs.

 

[HarleyGirl]

First thing I would do is get rid of the vermiculite I would put sand or a sand soil mix. It needs to be something that she can dig down into and have the tunnel for her to get down in and lay those eggs.

thanks. what kind of sand? can i get it at any garden place? she seemed fine with the vermiculite last time, why would it be different this time?
i cannot see your photo.

 

[kinyonga]

Are you letting her see you watching her when she is digging? This can make her abandon the hole.

You should only feed and water her when she is not digging and is up in the branches.

 

[HarleyGirl]

Are you letting her see you watching her when she is digging? This can make her abandon the hole.

You should only feed and water her when she is not digging and is up in the branches.

yes, that's why i tried watering her tonight, b/c she was done digging and going to go to sleep. she only saw me check up on her this morning, but throughout the day we let her have her own privacy. i just checked up on her again later in the day to see if she was laying eggs yet.

 

[HarleyGirl]

here are the pics..
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y282/AnimatedHarleyGirl/Peach/DSC03762.jpg?t=1222402930
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y282/AnimatedHarleyGirl/Peach/DSC03761.jpg?t=1222402841

 

[HarleyGirl]

I had a huge scare this morning..

so this morning, i thought she was going to die b/c she was on the cage floor sideways. As it turns out, it seems she had to sleep that way b/c I guess her weight is too heavy for her. She got up and started walking back up her branch this morning and now she is near the bucket but not going in to dig. How long can they wait before she can die from not releasing her clutch?
I was told by a vet that she is able to choose not to release them yet. Her colour is very peachy and her grip is still pretty good. she is slow walking b/c she is bottom heavy. Other than that she seems okay. Is it okay to put any crickets in her cage? i don't want to aggitate her even more but i'm not sure if she will even feed at all.
Should i go to the vet? i called an emergency line at a clinic in Guelph but he said to watch her for another day and only bring her in if she becomes lethargic.

 

[HarleyGirl]

so my main concern is...should i just leave her be?
i am waiting now but i checked up on her and she is on the rim of the container she can dig in. she hasn't really moved from that spot for a while.

 

[BocaJan]

Mine did about the same thing. Try not to stress, she is ready when ready. If you have replaced the vermiculite with sand and wet it so that you can squeeze it and it holds it shape, then your bucket is ready for her. Poke your finger into the sand so she can see a hole. She may or may not choose to use that hole to start her own, but she will poke her nose it in. She may fill in the hole and then go to another place....who knows, they are hard to predict when it comes to digging holes.

Good luck and be patient. I know it is hard because I had an awful time.

 

[HarleyGirl]

Mine did about the same thing. Try not to stress, she is ready when ready. If you have replaced the vermiculite with sand and wet it so that you can squeeze it and it holds it shape, then your bucket is ready for her. Poke your finger into the sand so she can see a hole. She may or may not choose to use that hole to start her own, but she will poke her nose it in. She may fill in the hole and then go to another place....who knows, they are hard to predict when it comes to digging holes.

Good luck and be patient. I know it is hard because I had an awful time.

thanks for the response. what type of sand do you recommend?

 

[lanceman]

just use regular play sand u can find it at homedepot or hardware type stores even toys r us sumtimes. I like to mix cocunut fiber in with mine it makes for a very stable tunnel u can find that at just about any gardening section.

 

[BocaJan]

I bought a bag of sandbox sand.

 

[ChameleonsTree]

Personally i prefer playsand for their digging and i use one of those orange buckets from homedepot so they can dig down a good 12-14 inches <damp sand of course>

 

[kinyonga]

Is she still sitting down low in her cage? Still inactive? Has she dug at all today? Are her eyes open all the time?
How wide/long is the container?

What clinic did you talk to in Guelph?

I'm worried that she is becoming eggbound.

Don't leave any uneaten insects in the cage they may bite her or eat the eggs when/if they get laid.

I hope she is not seeing you watching her when she digs!

 

[HarleyGirl]

Is she still sitting down low in her cage? Still inactive? Has she dug at all today? Are her eyes open all the time?
How wide/long is the container?

What clinic did you talk to in Guelph?

I'm worried that she is becoming eggbound.

Don't leave any uneaten insects in the cage they may bite her or eat the eggs when/if they get laid.

I hope she is not seeing you watching her when she digs!

No she wasn't sitting low in her cage. She went up to the top quite often; whenever she stopped digging. She dug most of the day, then stopped. Her eyes are open all the time. The container is about 12" in diameter and about 10" tall. The clinic in Guelph is the Ontario Veterinary College. I was told they have vets who specialize in exotics there, so I asked them for some help. There are no uneaten insects in the cage. She did not see me watching her. I only checked on her a few times throughout the day. Other than that, she was all alone.
The good news is........she is now laying the eggs!!! I am not sure if she is done yet. What temp. do you all suggest for panther eggs in the incubator? I have a hova-bator.

 

[HarleyGirl]

She laid 27 eggs!!!!!!!!!!

 

[kinyonga]

Congratulations on the eggs! Good number!

There is information on incubating them in this site...
http://www.adcham.com/html/taxonomy/species/fpardalis.html

The OVC in Guelph does have exotics vets. I have been there many times.