help please

A

artemis2000

New Member
we have just got a new female veiled and for the first 2 weeks she was her normal green colour, for the last 2 days she has gone a very dark almost purple in colour , this happened just after we put in a hibiscus which she has been munching on. she is about 10 months old now.
any advise would be greatly appreciated
thanks
glen
 
How old is your new veiled? It is possible for a female to lay infertile eggs at a very early age. You need to put a laying bin in for her. Also and this is just a wild shot, did you clean and repot the plant prior to it going in her cage? If she is eating the leaves you want to make sure they are pesticide free. It there any chance she was with a male prior to your getting her? Also tell us about her set up and supplements.
 
thanks guys

she was with 28 others including males i got here about 3 weeks ago .when the pet store got her she was 4.5 months old. she was with 28 others and when we got her 3 weeks ago she was the only one left and is now about 10 months old. as for the hibiscis , i washed the plant off and put it in plain soil. after i put it in she started munching on it along with romaine lettuce etc.
she has a laying bin but all she does is lick the sand.i dont think this is very good for her is it? i have a pic and will try to post it.as for suppliments she gets rep-cal 2 times a week and exo-terra multi vitamins once a week.
thanks again for all the help
glen

pic 1 is when we first got her.
pic 2 is her as of 3 days ago
 
Dark background colors indicate non-receptive/gravid...so its likely she is producing eggs.

The biggest concern with licking the sand is whether or not it will pass through her or cause an impaction. The problem is that you need to leave an egglaying container in the cage for her.
 
hi again

i think i got the photos.
1- when we got her.
2- now and after shedding
i am not sure if this is normal or not.
she is still eating fine and everything
thanks guys IMG_0435.jpg

IMG_0437.jpg
 
looks egg bound.......is she moving about the bottom of the enclosure?? or at the bottom of the hibiscus pot?

Edit: just saw the pic again, is that lettuce for feeding???....... is this your only chameleon? maybe not egg boud at all, now im thinking impacted with lettuce she cant digest!! in other words, chameleons dont eat lettuce!!! take it out. Insect diet only.
 
She definitely looks like she has eggs, she looks very plump and lumpy. You should try a 50/50 mix of coconut husk fiber and play sand to see if she will use that. Once she goes off food leave her alone completely and maybe cover her cage up with a sheet so she can't see you. Put a little peep hole so you can check to make sure she is alright but do not disturb her. It sounds very likely she was bred while at the petstore (they sound like a bunch of bumbling idiots) so you can try incubating the eggs once she lays, if they do not mold or shrivel up they are fertile and should take around 8 months to hatch if incubated properly.
 
Killjoy said:
looks egg bound.......is she moving about the bottom of the enclosure?? or at the bottom of the hibiscus pot?

Edit: just saw the pic again, is that lettuce for feeding???....... is this your only chameleon? maybe not egg boud at all, now im thinking impacted with lettuce she cant digest!!
Click to expand...

I didn't think lettuce could make her impacted, after all veiled do eat a lot of greens. Do not feed too much lettuce though, it can cause kidney issues. and no iceburg, it have virtually no nutrients whatsoever. Here is a blog that one of the members has that will tell you all the nutrition facts of different safe foods and what is good to feed them and what is not: https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/nutritional-information/ and here is another with random useful information: https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/useful-info/
 
it definately LOOKS like eggs, cause impaction of that size would have other symptoms. i noticed this chameleon is new to you and im not sure if your diet is consisting of any insects at all or just veggies. :confused: you want her to have a predominantly insectivore diet. though greens will not harm her in moderation, certainly too much will impact, just my experience.
Every one on this forum has their own experiences and knowledge that is all valuable. and should all be considered.
10 months of age does put her in the the egg bearing time frame. definately get a bin ready, and as justjumpit621 suggested, cover it up and do not disturb her. good luck:)
 
thanks guys

her diet is 8 large crickets every day supplemented with rep cal 2 times a week and exo terra multi vitamins once a week . also on fridays for a change we give her kingworms instead of crickets. i only started to give her lettace as well as the hibiscus she has been munching on. i read that romaine was ok on the net to give. i know not to give it to my iguana so now i know its not that good. the size of the bin is 8x8x12 and her cage is18x18x24 exo terra screen cage. ya i know its too small but i live on vancouver island and i thought she was going to be a lot smaller.we got her from a pet store in vancouver and she was flown over so we had no idea of how big she was. there is a pet store here that has panther and there 9 month olds are a lot smaller than cleo so we thought she would be about the same size. i am in the process of making a larger cage so don't be mad.
thanks guys
glen
 
IMHO you should be lightly dusting with a phos.-free calcium powder at all the feedings since she is producing eggs.

Does she keep her eyes shut during the day? Is she sitting low in the cage or up near the top?

Is she drinking more than normal?

Never heard of a veiled chameleon ever becoming eggbound by eating lettuce. Romaine lettuce is not something I would use often, but there is no problem giving them some once in a while..there's quite a bit of calcium in it. (Even head lettuce has some nutrients in but I never use it for chameleons at all....there are better things to give them!)

I don't like the look of her in the "dark" picture...it might be time to take her to the vets.
 
hi again

thanks for the tip about giving her calcium every feeding. she stayes basicly at the top of the cage except to go and check out the bin. the pic is a lousy pic of her and she has just finished shedding. she still is eating fine and drinking normally, i use misting the cage and then start the drip system and we have seen her drink. the last 2 pics are how she is looking most of the time. the other thing that bothers us is her licking the sand. she is still doing this.she stayes alert and awake as long as her lights are on.
thanks for all you advise guys
glen
 
Call me crazy...but if she's staying near the top of the cage, or even climbing up and down, then I think that's a good thing.

Keep the laying bin in there. My view is that all egg bearing females should have one available. It seems she might be interested in the laying bin so be prepared to give her privacy so she can do what she needs to do.
 
Killjoy said:
looks egg bound.......is she moving about the bottom of the enclosure?? or at the bottom of the hibiscus pot?

Edit: just saw the pic again, is that lettuce for feeding???....... is this your only chameleon? maybe not egg boud at all, now im thinking impacted with lettuce she cant digest!! in other words, chameleons dont eat lettuce!!! take it out. Insect diet only.
Click to expand...

false, how could this cause impactions? its very common for keepers to feed the cham fruits and veggies directly. CleatheChameleons beast has a video eating apple chunks. i was like :eek: but their acid content is very good coming to things like this. sand, substrate and rocks are totally different tho and cannot be digested
 
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