Having issues with laying

ohyoko

New Member
Hello! Early December 2018 we got our first chameleon, so as of now we have had her for about two months. They told us she was approximately 6-7 months old and she was housed with a male who she was aggressive towards, i.e. would take his food. They gave her 7 large crickets a day and let us know due to her size she was either fat or gravid. Immediately we set up a lay bin after talking with our local reptarium (they breed there), 5 gallon bucket with the recommended soil and moss (I cant remember what it was called) and set up her enclosure. Here is the filled out form:
Chameleon Info:

-Your Chameleon: Female, veiled, age slightly unsure approx. 8 months been with us two
-Handling: We do not hardly handle her, we have a few times but she changes colors and stresses out
-Feeding: We feed her every day and sometimes every other day mainly crickets, hornworm occasionally and both are housed in a tank where we give them calcium supplements, veggies, etc. We also dust her food with calcium and Reptivitamin
-Supplements: We use Repti calcium and Zoo Med reptivitamin
-Watering: She has a dripper set up that we turn on in increments throughout the day, we use a mister and mist the cage 3-4 a day for 2 min. She does drink frequently
-Fecal Description: It looks normal, dark portion with white portion as well and happens frequently
-History: She is from Petsmart

Cage Info:
- Type:
Her cage is a Zoo med reptibreeze we got the chameleon kit with mesh screen. We are currently about to upgrade to a taller, homemade enclosure.
-Lighting: I cannot remember which bulbs we got her, but we did not use the ones that came with the kit. We have a heat lamp and a UVB lamp, both in dome structures. She has a timer set to her lights that goes off at 8:30 am and off at 8 pm
-Temp: We have a thermometer that is a few inches under the basking spot that stays at about 85-90 F during the day and about 72-75 F at night
-Humidity: the humidity measure device sits at the bottom of her cage and stays around 85%, we mist very often and have a plant as well
-Plants: We do have a live plant in her cage that she sometimes nibbles on but I do not remember what it is called, I remember I did look it up before to make sure it was okay to put in with her
-Placement: Her cage is located in a corner of our bedroom where we seldom are. She is about 5 feet high, so a little lower than my height (5`5) and we do not have a ceiling fan in our room
-Location: We are in South Texas

Current Problem: When we got her we believed her to be gravid. We placed a laying bin in her cage but she never went into it. She is extremely active moving all over her cage all the time and almost always vibrant green. After having the lay bin in for a the first month we took it out to allow her more space to roam up and down. Now she has started to spot yellow on her and I have heard this is a receptive color. I placed her laying bin back in her cage and also covered the sides of the cage so that she has no distractions or stressers. I am just really worried about egg binding as of now we have had her for two months and she hasnt laid anything and today she got yellow colors. I just want to get an opinion on what could be going/ why she hasnt laid/ is it possible for her to have not been gravid when we got her and she was just a chunky gal? I am going to upload pictures of when we got her vs. how she is now. Please help!
 
DC4D38B7-2B26-4349-A627-9D2725BB0117.jpeg The day we got her this is what she looked like 7AA5D4D1-CA22-4358-81C5-96300D893BFD.jpeg a few days ago I noticed a bump on her side 7AA5D4D1-CA22-4358-81C5-96300D893BFD.jpeg 0BBC1B2F-C0F8-41D0-99D9-CF49A31909ED.jpeg an up close to make sure she is a girl E15A09DB-D9BE-4A36-8C34-15B3121E7458.jpeg from behind DBA84B4C-4B63-48F8-8E97-73AD09A89A35.jpeg her new yellow colors today
 
Cant hurt to take her for a vet check up to confirm she is gravid.

Are you dusting calcium with D3? Without D3 she will not be able to process and use the calcium for her bones or eggs. The coil UVB isn't going to benefit her much in terms of her naturally producing D3. You'll need to upgrade the UVB light to a linear T5HO or T8 for long term health.
 
Cant hurt to take her for a vet check up to confirm she is gravid.

Are you dusting calcium with D3? Without D3 she will not be able to process and use the calcium for her bones or eggs. The coil UVB isn't going to benefit her much in terms of her naturally producing D3. You'll need to upgrade the UVB light to a linear T5HO or T8 for long term health.
okay thank you, i just found a great vet in my area I`m going to make her an appointment. Any advice on ways to transport her there with out stressing her out too much? I know that the vitamin dust we use has d3 in it, but not sure how much so i will have to get that. Is there a specific brand for the UVB? thanks again
 
okay thank you, i just found a great vet in my area I`m going to make her an appointment. Any advice on ways to transport her there with out stressing her out too much? I know that the vitamin dust we use has d3 in it, but not sure how much so i will have to get that. Is there a specific brand for the UVB? thanks again

Transport her in a cardboard box with a hand towel in the bottom and a stick or branch for her to hold onto. The darkness in the box will cause her to go to sleep so there is virtually no stress involved.

There are three main supplements you need. Plain calcium with NO D3 for daily use, calcium with D3 is used twice per month and a multivitamin is used twice per month. It is crucial you do not supplement D3 more than twice per month with most brands of supplement since the chameleon can essentially over dose on D3.

Arcadia brand T5HO UVB bulbs are my personal recommendation. Lightyourreptiles.com has a great selection of fixtures and kits.

The reason we recommend switching to a linear style bulb is due to how the UVB light is spread throughout the cage. Coil bulbs focus the UVB in one small area so the chameleon has to be directly under the light to get any beneficial UVB from it. Linear bulbs extend across the whole width of the enclosure so the chameleon doesnt have to be in one spot to get the UVB it needs.
 
Transport her in a cardboard box with a hand towel in the bottom and a stick or branch for her to hold onto. The darkness in the box will cause her to go to sleep so there is virtually no stress involved.

There are three main supplements you need. Plain calcium with NO D3 for daily use, calcium with D3 is used twice per month and a multivitamin is used twice per month. It is crucial you do not supplement D3 more than twice per month with most brands of supplement since the chameleon can essentially over dose on D3.

Arcadia brand T5HO UVB bulbs are my personal recommendation. Lightyourreptiles.com has a great selection of fixtures and kits.

The reason we recommend switching to a linear style bulb is due to how the UVB light is spread throughout the cage. Coil bulbs focus the UVB in one small area so the chameleon has to be directly under the light to get any beneficial UVB from it. Linear bulbs extend across the whole width of the enclosure so the chameleon doesnt have to be in one spot to get the UVB it needs.
okay thank you
 
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