First Egg Laying Issues

Andrew1283

Chameleon Enthusiast
This likely comes up often but my 1 year old female veieled is attempting to lay her first clutch of infertile eggs. I had a lay bin in her cage for the past 7 months and she has only explored it once or twice. Vines hung into the lay bin so she had access. The lay bin was a black plastic flower pot measuring 10” x 10”. The pot was adequately drained with a mixture of organic potting soil and play sand at 50/50. Holes in the bottom were covered in light sponge to allow water to escape but no soil or sand. She didn’t like it. She has been pacing her cage for about a month now and I know she has a belly full of eggs. She’s eating great but she’s uncomfortable. The only time she stops being anxious is when I hold her, which I rarely do. I saw her clawing at the plastic tray at the bottom of her cage so I decided to dump the soil/sand into a mound on the floor of her cage. She immediately started boring a tunnel into it and I can barely see her tail anymore. I really hope this works and she’s Ok.
 

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Dump the soil/sand in a very large trash can, one that she can’t get out of and put her in there and leave her alone for a few hours and see if she starts digging. May sure to pack the sand/soil down and I dig a hole with a spoon for them. You want to make sure you can dig a tunnel and it not collapse on her.

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I’m so nervous. I hear her still digging in there. I’ll watch for a tunnel collapse. I sprayed the mound a few more times for moisture but didn’t wet it
k just leave it for now. You do not want to disturb her. Next time you want a wash tub for the laybin. Some females will not use pots at all.

Like in this image... one of these tubs... they take up more room on the floor but females will normally respond better to them.
 

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When she's finished tamping th hole down and has returned to the branches make sure you make some food and water available to her. You should dig up the eggs and count them. I assume she wasn't mated? Spending on the size elf the clutch you may want to control her diet and temperatures to prevent large clutches.
 
OK so things changed a bit. I woke up this morning and her little face was once again sticking out of the hole. She had some dirt on her face and I didn’t see her moving. I actually started tearing up fearing she was dead. Then I used my flashlight and saw some eye movement. How long should it take her to push out her eggs? Overnight seems pretty long. I could take her to a vet to have the eggs removed if she’s having trouble. I thought she would push them out and return to the safety of the plants.
 
I think if privacy were the issue she would have abandoned the hole completely. My female veiled has spent up to 18 hrs actually backed into the hole laying the eggs, then another 24 covering it. I don’t see a need to panic at this point. Also keep in mind that she is in the coldest part of her viv and receiving no heat from her lights, on top of that she is digging in cold and wet dirt so that’s also leaching heat from her. All this factors added up will make her more sluggish than normal.
 
I found this post from Brody so I’m a little relieved, knowing it’s her first laying and she’s in the coolest part of her enclosure. I’ll be monitoring her from a safe distance to make sure she’s OK. Ugh this is so stressful!
 
I found this post from Brody so I’m a little relieved, knowing it’s her first laying and she’s in the coolest part of her enclosure. I’ll be monitoring her from a safe distance to make sure she’s OK. Ugh this is so stressful!
I bet! Chams are very stressful lol. Mine gives me alot of anxiety hahaha. Just remember to breathe & you have alot of support & help here! 💗
 
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