Female veiled laying eggs...Now what?

[patrickfraser]

My unbred female has been digging all day in her laying bin. It has been in there a couple of weeks and it seems like she "discovered" it today and started digging this morning. I put a sheet up over the front for privacy when I saw her digging. ALL day she has been digging and I just looked in and she has made the turn and is now butt down in the hole. It is getting to be time for lights out and she's still in the hole.
Do I just turn off the lights? I don't want to upset her and cause possible egg retention. Just worried "first timers" syndrome.

 

[jannb]

You might leave the lights on just a little longer. She may sleep in the hole and finish in the morning. My girls have done that before.

 

[patrickfraser]

I'll leave them on until it gets dark outside. Then it's lights out and fingers crossed that everything works out right. Will she exit and cover the hole when she's finished? When should the eggs be removed? Any special after care?

 

[jannb]

She will cover the hole and return to her branch. Give her a nice long warm misting and she should drink for awhile. Offer her some food dusted heavy with calcium without D3. I give a drop or two of liquid calcium every day for 3 to 4 days. If you don’t have liquid calcium, then heavily dust her feeders with plain calcium for 3 to 4 days after she’s laid eggs. I feed very well the first fews days after laying and then after 3 or 4 days I put The female back on her regular feeding and supplement schedule.

Dig up the eggs when you finish her aftercare and see how many she laid. If it was a large clutch you will want to start feeding less and drop her basking temps to low 80's.

 

[patrickfraser]

I just peeked in and it looks like she's covering the hole back up. She is a DIRTY girl. I'll leave the lights on until she leaves the laying bin. Is she "done" for now? How often will she lay? Should the laying bin be in at all times or just at laying times. I was worried about ingestion and possible impaction from the topsoil. How would you know if she had retained any eggs?

 

[jannb]

I would give her a nice warm LONG misting as soon as she's finished to get most of the dirt off. I would also give her a couple of well dusted feeders. It's very important that she eat after laying. You might find my egg laying/laying bin blog helpful. I'm attaching it and the Female veiled link.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/jannb/345-egg-laying-laying-bin.html
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/2007/12/keeping-female-veiled.html

 

[patrickfraser]

ARGH! It looks like she's digging again.

 

[jannb]

ARGH! It looks like she's digging again.

Sometimes they dig test holes until they get one that they like. Most important thing......give her privacy or she could abandon the hole and become egg bound.

 

[patrickfraser]

Should I turn the lights off? It is dark outside now and she's still digging.

 

[jannb]

A little late but I would have turned off the light and allowed her to rest. How's she doing this morning? If you can peek without her seeing you.

 

[patrickfraser]

I turned the lights out last night after 9 and she was still digging. She never left the hole and just must have slept there. I turned on the lights this morning and she is back to digging. I did see her turning around to be butt down and noticed that it looks like she's quite a bit thinner and her skin seems very "wrinkly". Must have dumped some eggs, but maybe she's not sure it's all. I need her to finish so I can mist and feed her. I have to go to work soon. She must be quite famished and exhausted after this ordeal. It must be very stressful, as well.

 

[patrickfraser]

I have dug up the eggs and there were 44. They are like little squishy jelly beans. Here is a pic of pre and post washed.

 

[BocaJan]

If she had been with a male you never would have done a wash, but put them in damp vermiculite with very little handling. I remove mine from the dirt/sand with a plastic spoon and gently put them into rows in the vermiculite without cleaning them off. Put the top on the plastic shoe box with 2 thumbtack holes in the lid and tuck them away in a closet where the temps remain about 75 and forget about them for 6 months, check on them, then check on them about every week until they start to window. (A little wet spot on top of the egg) This means they will begin to pip soon so watch for babies.

However, yours are infertile and will not hatch.