Female Veiled with MBD

[Tyaeda]

I went to my local reptile store where they had a rescued veiled up for adoption. She got MBD at a young age. It's been caught, and is no longer progressing, but it is evident. Both of her front legs have a slight curve to them, however she is able to climb with ease. Unfortunately this MBD has stunted her growth. Shes close to a year old, but only the size of a 4-5 month old. My main concern would be with egg laying. Since she's so small, won't she have a harder time with eggs once they eventually come?

 

[Olimpia]

It's hard to say, but it's a concern. If you keep her like Kinyongia suggests, with lowered temps and reduced food intake she may not lay eggs at all, or have pretty small clutches that wouldn't be as tough (my panther female would lay clutches of 10 eggs on this strategy). If she were mine I would certainly do everything possible to keep her from producing eggs as long as possible, to give her own body time to heal and normalize.

Your call!

 

[Tyaeda]

She's in good hands as is, but I feel bad for her. She doesn't like to be on display one bit, but is pretty docile when it comes to handling. I even saw a couple people look right into her cage and couldn't find her. Makes her chances of being adopted decrease quite a bit.... didn't help that most of the walk in customers are asking questions like "do they bite?".

I've never owned a female, which is what is preventing me and my husband from getting her. The worker at the store has a Mellers, and he's contemplated adopting her, but he's never owned a female chameleon either.

If I had more experience, and knew more about preventing egg development I would definitely get her out of her situation. I want to get her in an appropriate sized screened cage. She's very timid, and is showing signs of stress, probably from the pet store environment. She's been at the store for a few months now.

Adopting her is not out of the question, but it's not something I can just take on with total confidence.

 

[jannb]

There's no guarantee you can keep her from laying but you can certainly try and you could most defiantly provide her with a kind and loving home. A few links to educate you a bit on females. Little girls are so sweet and deserve a good home too.

General veiled care: https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...ng-veiled-panther-chameleons.html#comment1721

Female veiled care: http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/2007/12/keeping-female-veiled.html

Egg laying and the laying bin: https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/jannb/345-egg-laying-laying-bin.html

Laying bin video: https://www.chameleonforums.com/laying-bin-set-up-educational-video-77225/

 

[laurie]

She would be a lot better off with you than in the store. If she hates being on display, you could make her more comfortable right away. I would love to see you take her, but you are the one who would need to care for her. Her care would not be a lot different than any other female, except for her small size.

 

[Tyaeda]

The shifts I'm on right now for work are 12 hours long, and they alternate between days and nights. But, I just applied for an internal posting that's straight day shift, only 8 - 10 hours a day. I have a good chance, and if I get it, I'll be able to devote more time to my pets, and my home.

I really appreciate all the awesome info, and the confidence boost.

The store owner's wife bred a bunch of cute little translucents. She has experience with female egg laying. I have time to get her setup in something suitable.

She's about 4-5 inches from nose to vent - might not grow much more. She's about 7 months old I think. They said it was hard to tell because of the MBD. She was a rescue - they didn't do this to her btw. I was just wondering if a medium sized screen cage would be more suitable? I have a 2x2x4 that I'm going to mount onto a laundry sink, which gives extra height. I was going to put a panther in there, and get something smaller for the little lady.

I was also thinking it would probably be better to give her her own room upstairs in my house. Low traffic, can close it off to the cats, and I'll have enough room to have everything she needs in there with her.