FINALLY!!! Shes been DIGGING for 7 hours!A few questions!!!

[MollyGreen]

its been two months and a really stressful time since she got her gravid coloration, i had begun to doubt that she was gravid at all. Well she stopped eating two days ago..i killed like 15 silkies However, i saw her approach the bottom of the cage at 8 am this morning after i misted her and made her drink a little. A couple hours later, i came in to check on her and couldnt find her, since i have a sheet around the bottom of the cage. My boyfriend had fallen asleep on my bed and i thought he was snoring or something when i walked past my bedroom but it was coming from her cage. She was digging somewhere. I made my boyfriend leave and left her alone. 4 hours later! Shes still making that scratching noise, so we got really excited and quietly snuck a peak. I couldnt find her, i heard her but didnt see her at all so finally i looked under the bottom corner of the sheet and at the back of the cage theres this 8 inch mountain of dirt all over the floor of her cage. She was digging in my hibiscus plant HOW IS SHE GOING TO FILL UP THIS HOLE!!! oh, and Should i turn the lights off tonight? Shes been digging for approximately 7-8 hours and i would normally turn the lights off at 8-9. This is her first clutch. im putting 3$ down that its 24, my boyfriend says 30. We didnt really notice her having a bulge and thats why we thought she not be gravid. oh well!

 

[Cainschams]

Hey I noticed you had some views on your thread but no replies yet so I thought I would help as much as I can. I only have 3 clutches of expereince so I cant help you that much. I know she will want to fill that hole back in!!! They like to button that up as if nothing ever happened. It is really amazing how well they do this too. They need to do the whole process from start to finish to feel that it is complete. Mine which is a female panther starts in morning and ends after 5 to 8 hours. I wait untill she is off the ground and up on her perch to get the container out. i have heard if they are not done by the time the lights go out you can leave them on and they will finish during the night. I would think this would be the best option so they dont stop and then end up not liking that hole in the morning and starting all over again.

I know this isnt much help but it might let you start thinking of some options in case nobody replies which I doubt. I really dont know what to tell you about getting dirt near her to fill in that hole since you shouldnt disturb the process. I cut off the bottom of a plastic trash can (I know plastic and can dont mix but) to be about 12 inches high. I then put my mix in and left 2 or 3 inches at the top to allow her to pile dirt with out spilling over. GOOD LUCK!!

 

[Cainschams]

Thought I would bump this up for you its getting pretty late. How are things going.

 

[kinyonga]

You said..."HOW IS SHE GOING TO FILL UP THIS HOLE!!!"...she will likely use whatever dirt is there and do the best she can.

You said..." oh, and Should i turn the lights off tonight? Shes been digging for approximately 7-8 hours and i would normally turn the lights off at 8-9"...its okay either way.....I usually leave them on if I figure that the female is close to laying/done digging.

You said..."This is her first clutch. im putting 3$ down that its 24, my boyfriend says 30. We didnt really notice her having a bulge and thats why we thought she not be gravid. oh well!"...it will be interesting to see how many she actually lays!

Let her cover the eggs and tamp the area down and return to the trees/branches before you dig the eggs up. Make sure you water her and feed her well too.

Can't remember if the eggs will be fertile or not??

Good luck!

 

[MollyGreen]

SHes covering up the hole, she was resting up about 2 this morning and i checked on her about an hour ago and she looks like shes in the position to cover the eggs up. I'm so proud of her for actually doing it.And on if theyre fertile, its up in the air. She was about 4-5 months when i got her and about 1 month after that she started showing coloration. SHe has a scar on the bottom of her casque and a few claws missing from her right front hand. Shes had this since i got her. The dates show that there is a possibility she might have been "chameleon raped" by another chameleon in her cage. This could also be where she got the battle wounds from. I'm going to incubate them a little and see how it goes. I figure it cant hurt and at least ill get some experience in case i decide to do it years from now.

people always talk about how bad it is to disturb her when shes digging, what about covering up the hole? I mean, i had never dreamed of doing that but i mean what if it were to happen. SHe has already layed the eggs, would it just depress her and make her a victum of post-pardom depression?

 

[MollyGreen]

by 1 month i mean i got her december 4th. And she was showing...around 25 days. The petstore had her for 1-2 days. And there is the possibility of the breeder overnight shipping her which would be one more day. I mean it is a longshot but who knows. I am sorta hoping theyre not because i still need more experience with an adult chameleon bfore any hatchling. But, i wouldnt have the heart to throw away eggs that are fertile. I may even dig them a pet grave if they die."here lies Mollys 1st clutch"

 

[MollyGreen]

29 eggs everyone im so glad its not more than that. SHe hasnt been able to climb all the way up. Her front feet look swollen and the right one she doesnt hang on the the branches with, its twitching too. Is this normal?

 

[Brad Ramsey]

You must feel very relieved.
I know this was stressful for you ... especially not having her that long and being a first time owner.
I assume you have read Lynda Horgan's (Kinyonga) article on my site concerning the keeping of female veileds.
If not ...you should check it out. Only a little over a week with our female here and these are the methods I am practicing. I would like to get this girl past 1 year old without producing any eggs.
Again, I am happy she laid ... watch those legs and feet, I'm going to guess they're just a little overworked.

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

-Brad

 

[MollyGreen]

the sad thing is that at least 5 are white and hard which means that they are fertile.

 

[kinyonga]

Glad she got through the process all right!

Why is it sad that 5 are fertile?

 

[Julirs]

Why is that sad?

 

[MollyGreen]

Our cham is only five to six months and she was probably housed with brother and sister chameleons. Chameleon rape

 

[Trace]

Her front feet look swollen and the right one she doesnt hang on the the branches with, its twitching too. Is this normal?

Congrats on the eggs!

Sadly the symptoms you describe are classic signs of MBD. She probably developed it from early egg creation on her young body. (too much calcium went to the eggs and not her bones) I think she should see a vet - either to confirm or disprove my thoughts.

Good luck.
Trace

 

[MollyGreen]

Shes okay today, i think she was just really tired. She spent 26 hours digging. When i first got her i took her to the vet and he said she was good to go. I may get her checked again if it looks like that again. Thanks for the help everyone!