I have a veiled chameleon whos almost 1 year old now. I now know that females will have infertile eggs. At the time when she was digging and at the bottom of the cage I didnt know about that or to have a lay bin for her. It was probubly the 2nd week of May maybe earlier if im remembering right. I had wood chips and saw her eat one with a cricket and thought that was why I didnt see any poo in the cage as much.(removed the substrate now tho) took her to a vet and she did something with her stomach to make her poo. I got some xrays done and the vet showed me she had eggs. The vet told me by the look of them the eggs werent hard enough and gave me a liquid calcium to give her. Does this sound right? Im not sure if this vet has dealt with many chameleons. Now that I know what she was doing before was looking for a spot to lay it doesnt seem right that her eggs wouldnt be ready to lay now. She is still eating, eyes open, and has a strong grip and ive put a pot with moist top soil in the enclosure. I dont think shes been in it at all tho. I tried a sand a dirt mix she went down to it a flicked her tounge but i think she was eating it because i found some poo that was pretty much all sand. Should I switch back to the damp sand? The soil i have is dirt based but looks kinda chunky i dont know if its good enough for her. How long she will hold onto the eggs. Will she look for another spot to lay again when the eggs are fully calcified? A local reptile store had someone whos had chameleons he said she would look again for a spot to dig. The vet told me if she doesnt lay in the next week that I should give her the shot to get her to want to lay again. Does this work usually? Ive read people saying it can cause more problems. I cant seem to find any herpatologists in my area i live in Daytona Beach, FL. Any help would be appreciated, I dont wanna wait too long and loose her.
Female Veiled Egg Help
- Thread starter deraj21
- Start date
laurie
Retired Moderator
Hello, welcome to the forum. A couple of things would really help us, when did you take her to the vet? It helps to have a time frame. Could you post a couple pictures of her? Then we can better estimate where she might be in the laying cycle.
I first took her to the vet maybe 3 weeks ago not 100% sure tho. Ill try to get some pics on here tomorrow when i get off work. I know shes already started her cycle to lay. I didnt know at the time that they would lay eggs but i remember her at the bottom of the cage and scratching at the screen. That was before i had taken her to the vet. I didnt have a lay bin in the cage at that time tho. Ive put one in there now but im thinking of switching the top/potting soil i have with the play sand/dirt mix. Ive been giving her the liquid calcium now for about 2 weeks. The vet said if she doesnt lay by saturday that i should bring her in and she wants to try the oxitocin shot. I dont know if i should do this or just give her a little more time im scared i dont want to wait too long as people told me it doesnt take long for them to get bad quick. The vet told me that the eggs werent calcified yet by the look of the xray and gave me the calcium.
If the clutch was due to be laid the second week of May then I doubt that the oxytocin would work now. If she should have laid a clutch then, chances are that she would have been eggbound by now...but she doesn't sound like she is.
Were the "eggs" round or oval in the x-rays?
What supplements specifically have you been using and how often for each? What do you gutload/feed the insects with? I assume you use a UVB light (and the light from it does not pass through glass or plastic)? Can you post a photo or two of her please?
Were the "eggs" round or oval in the x-rays?
What supplements specifically have you been using and how often for each? What do you gutload/feed the insects with? I assume you use a UVB light (and the light from it does not pass through glass or plastic)? Can you post a photo or two of her please?
Thanks for the reply. Im not sure when it was i first noticed her acting weird. It had to be around that time. Maybe im just thinking it was that long ago. Sorry i really cant remember exactly. The eggs i saw in the xray looked more oval shaped but they used the smaller xray i think because you could only see a few eggs in the pic. She told me if she didnt lay by tomorrow then i need to get her in for a shot but im not sure if i should give her a few more days? i came home from work today and peeked in she was down towards the pot so i didnt want to disturb her. I feed her reptical vit and calcium but im using the liquid calcium the vet gave me now. The crickets ive been giving flukrs. I would usually give her 2 or 3 dusted every 5 days or so. The light i was using was the reptisun 5.0 for but someone i talked with online told me to get the 10.0 because light can have an effect on her laying so ive got that for uv now. The cage is screen so the light will go through. ill try to get a photo on here tonight i just need to find my camera cord to upload it.
If the eggs are oval, then she should be getting close to laying them...however, there is no way to be sure when it should happen....so I can only say that hopefully the vet is right.
Sitting low in the cage sometimes means that a chameleon is past due...but again, not always.
You said..."I feed her reptical vit and calcium but im using the liquid calcium the vet gave me now"...are you sure its reptI not reptO? Is it just calcium or calcium with D3 or does it also have vitamins/minerals in it?? How often do you dust with it?
I feed my crickets, etc. a wide assortment of greens (dandelions, collards, kale, endive, escarole, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, zucchini, etc.). Its easier for me to control the vitamin A, calcium and phos....and D3 then.
You said..."The light i was using was the reptisun 5.0 for but someone i talked with online told me to get the 10.0 because light can have an effect on her laying"...I've always used the 5.0...but my lids are a normal screen (not the dark type like some of the cages.)
I hope she will lay her eggs for you soon and that she's not eggbound.
Sitting low in the cage sometimes means that a chameleon is past due...but again, not always.
You said..."I feed her reptical vit and calcium but im using the liquid calcium the vet gave me now"...are you sure its reptI not reptO? Is it just calcium or calcium with D3 or does it also have vitamins/minerals in it?? How often do you dust with it?
I feed my crickets, etc. a wide assortment of greens (dandelions, collards, kale, endive, escarole, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, zucchini, etc.). Its easier for me to control the vitamin A, calcium and phos....and D3 then.
You said..."The light i was using was the reptisun 5.0 for but someone i talked with online told me to get the 10.0 because light can have an effect on her laying"...I've always used the 5.0...but my lids are a normal screen (not the dark type like some of the cages.)
I hope she will lay her eggs for you soon and that she's not eggbound.
Ya they looked to be more oval shape. I just thought since she was looking and scratching around she was ready to lay but i didnt know they would get eggs then. The first xrays i got they looked kinda transparent then the most recent ones looked more white. She doesnt really sit low in the cage shes acually way up top by the top of the cage or middle when i see her. Sorry the supplement im using is Rep-cal i think the calcium has d3 the other is just vitamins same brand tho. I dont get why she isnt looking to try to lay but is still eating and drinking because I remember her not interested in food and scratching before when I didnt know what she was doing. Ill try loading my crickets with some stuff you suggested too. I really hope she will be ok this is my first cham I wish i knew about them having eggs sooner.
She is either way too fat or full of eggs. Does she ever turn almost black in the background color?
You said..."The first xrays i got they looked kinda transparent then the most recent ones looked more white."...were they round or oval in the first x-rays?
If she should have laid eggs a few weeks ago and couldn't then the retained eggs could be stuck inside her and too big to lay by now. If the vet has dealt with veiled females that have had eggs show up in x-rays before then the vet should be able to judge the size of the eggs in yours and hopefully know if they are small enough that they can be passed/laid or not.
If they are too big to be laid, then spaying is likely the only alternative.
BTW...when a female digs to lay eggs you should not let her see you watching her while she is digging. It can push her towards eggbinding.
You said..."The first xrays i got they looked kinda transparent then the most recent ones looked more white."...were they round or oval in the first x-rays?
If she should have laid eggs a few weeks ago and couldn't then the retained eggs could be stuck inside her and too big to lay by now. If the vet has dealt with veiled females that have had eggs show up in x-rays before then the vet should be able to judge the size of the eggs in yours and hopefully know if they are small enough that they can be passed/laid or not.
If they are too big to be laid, then spaying is likely the only alternative.
BTW...when a female digs to lay eggs you should not let her see you watching her while she is digging. It can push her towards eggbinding.
laurie
Retired Moderator
I think I would do as the vet says and take her back. The vet could very well be correct that she needs a shot. But you need to take her in so the vet can decide how to proceed. She really does look like she should lay any day, or is maybe past when she should have laid. Let us know how it goes. Good luck to you both.
Hey shes never really black completely she sometimes gets black on her side tho. I talked to the vet today im scheduled to bring her in monday. I asked her about the shape she said ya they are oval she also said they are kinda big. Dont really know if that ment she wouldnt lay or if they are just bigger than ones shes seen before? I hope she doesnt mean they are too big to pass. Im going to ask her more about that when I get there. What if the vet tries to give her the shot with them being big. Should I not do it? What size are the eggs usually? The eggs were the same shape in both xrays just the most recent ones looked like they had white splotches on them more than the first. I couldnt really tell how big they were in the xray because it was a small photo and i only saw 1 or 2 in the pic. Ive kept the cage covered with a dark green sheet most of the time. She hasnt tried to dig anymore since I saw her before and didnt know what she was doing.
