quikksilver8...you said..."Hi I'm still trying to figure out what to do with my female"...what do you mean by this?
You said..."how long after you notice they are gravid will they lay their eggs"...if the female was mated and its the first time...it could be quicker than the normal 30 days depending on where she is in her cycle, If you are meaning that she never was mated but only started showing the colors...its even harder to say how long it will be.
You said..."I noticed with her is she will only eat if i hand feed her. Its like she cant shoot her tongue verry far any more"...that could be due to dehyration as the breeder said or it could be due to a mineral imbalance/MBD...or maybe even due to an injury. You said that she also trembles...you aren't referring to the jerky back and forth movements they make when walking on a branch and they see you watching them are you? Does she show any signs of MBD...crooked casque, what looks like an extra elbow above the real elbow, flexible jaw, inability to lift her body off the branch when walking along, etc.?
You said..."She is fat and showing colors"...if she is VERY fat, then she may have trouble laying her eggs if she is carrying a huge clutch and lacking calcium.
You said..."I have an egg laying container at the bottom of her cage"...has she shown any interest in it? How long do you think she has been gravid?
You said..."I gut load all her crickets (when she accepts them)"...what do you gutload them with?
You said..."dust them with either herptivite or repti cal calcium with d3"...does she have a UVB light or get exposure to sunlight? (Neither should pass through glass or plastic.) Exposure to UVB allows the chameleon to produce vitamin D3 so that it can use the calcium in its system. If your chameleon is only under UVB lights (gets no direct sun) then it may need some phos.-free calcium/D3 powder dusted on the insects a couple of times a month. D3 from supplements can build up in the system, so caution is advised. D3 from UVB should be okay if the proper light is used and the chameleon can move out of the light.
I dust my insects with a phosphorous-free calcium powder at most feedings. Most feeder insects have a poor ratio of calcium to phos. so this helps to make up for it.
I use vitamin powder with a beta carotene source of vitamin A twice a month on the insects before I feed them to my chameleon. Beta carotene won't build up in the system like preformed vitamin A will. Its possible that not all species of chameleon can convert beta carotene to preformed vitamin A...so some people use a little preformed once in a while. Excess preformed vitamin A will prevent the D3 from doing its job and can lead to MBD.
Appropriate temperatures allow for good digestion...thus play a part in nutrient absorption.
You said..."Se only eats about 1 cricket a day so i alternate the dusting"...iif that's all she is eating, I would dust the crickets with a phos.-free calcium powder every time.
You said..."why has she been drinking from the bubble stump all this time and now that she is gravid suddenly stopped"...can't tell you why...but I can tell you that its difficult to keep things like fountains and bubble stumps bacteria free...so I never use them.
Hopefully your chameleon will start digging soon and lay the eggs without a problem. Its advised that you don't let her see you watching her when she is digging or she may abandon the hole. If this happens repeatedly, she could become eggbound. She may dig the same hole more than one time or she may dig several test holes before she choses one to lay the eggs in. Let her finish filling the hole in and return to the branches before you dig up the eggs.
