How often should a veiled lay eggs?

PrincessSpaz

Established Member
About 2 months ago I was repotting Spaz's pothos and located 31 eggs (about the size of jelly beans, felt like jelly beans, off white in color)
We never saw her hide or anything before locating the eggs. She seemed to be ok, a little hungrier than usual but otherwise normal. I figured out later on why she was hungry.
Fast forward to two days ago ... she's been taking up 1/3 of my daughter's room as her free roaming space since scraping her head on the frame of her enclosure. We left the door open in case she felt like going inside but she hadn't shown any interest in being in there. Wednesday, she went missing. We couldn't find her anywhere ... finally heard her (thank goodness we hadn't checked her old enclosure yet)
A little over 24 hours later, I find a very sandy and hungry girl. She had been in her sand box the whole time... got her bin out today and she had indeed laid more eggs ... she's been to the vet twice in the last couple months and according to the last x-ray she had not retained any eggs from when she laid in her pothos pot
I'm currently caring for a male veiled on a temporary basis. Priss pot cannot see him or his enclosure (they're in different rooms) but Spazzy seems to know he's here (she went from being a spicy girl to wanting to climb on us all the time, at first I thought she could have somehow sensed I'd had surgery and was concerned for me but now I'm thinking that wasn't it) ... could his presence have triggered her somehow??? Even if they're in different rooms? We were thinking of keeping him ... should she stay upstairs and I move him downstairs?
I'm so confused lol
My girl seems to be doing really good, she's been wanting crickets over dubias but eating/drinking well and snacked on a few hornworms
 
Veileds usually lay eggs every 130 or so days when not mated.
How many eggs did she lay this time?

Seeing or sensing the male seems to trigger them into producing eggs. The do communicate through vibrations/hooting sounds that we can't hear. Kenny Barnett studied it... "it has been determined that, of the
species known to hoot, a resonator is always present and is the likely source for sound
production/modification"...
"Kenneth Barnett’s research data suggests that chameleons respond to low frequency sound vibrations, no higher than “a middle C” in range (Barnett, Cocroft, Fleishman, 1999). This relates to the low frequency, infrasound wavelengths used by many animals, such as elephants"...
https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1384&context=stu_hon_theses
 
Veileds usually lay eggs every 130 or so days when not mated.
How many eggs did she lay this time?

Seeing or sensing the male seems to trigger them into producing eggs. The do communicate through vibrations/hooting sounds that we can't hear. Kenny Barnett studied it... "it has been determined that, of the
species known to hoot, a resonator is always present and is the likely source for sound
production/modification"...
"Kenneth Barnett’s research data suggests that chameleons respond to low frequency sound vibrations, no higher than “a middle C” in range (Barnett, Cocroft, Fleishman, 1999). This relates to the low frequency, infrasound wavelengths used by many animals, such as elephants"...
https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1384&context=stu_hon_theses
We counted 65 today which was a huge shock because she didn't look the slightest bit plump at all. As a matter of fact, she had actually lost a little weight (her casque had been quite plump but since the vet had changed her diet she had lost the extra in her casque)
When she laid her eggs in the pothos, the only clues I had was some dirt on the bottom of her enclosure but she didn't hide for 24+ hours like she did with her sand ... I couldn't sleep until she came out and went back in her hibiscus tree. She seems to be quite happy today, not as energetic as usual but I can understand why. She even huffed at me and raised her foot in protest when I walked past her (that's totally normal for her lol)
I had no idea they could sense each other being in separate rooms but he's just starting to mature (she's roughly 15 months now) so he's probably been humming to her
I'll move him downstairs to the opposite side of the house, maybe that will help 🤞
 
I31 is ok but 65 is not....you need to make sure her temperature is kept at no more than 80F and that she is fed nor more than 4 or Insects every two or three days to prevent the large clutches and reproductive issues from becoming a death sentence to her.
 
I31 is ok but 65 is not....you need to make sure her temperature is kept at no more than 80F and that she is fed nor more than 4 or Insects every two or three days to prevent the large clutches and reproductive issues from becoming a death sentence to her.
Her basking temp stays between 72.4 and 74.6 (I have 2 different thermometers measuring her temps due to a white spot I thought was a burn, vet said it wasn't)
She's been on a 2 feeder 3x a week schedule since April (per vet) and only one hornworm per week as treat (when I can get them, most of the time she's only getting the 6 feeders a week and a few pothos leaves here and there ... however yesterday and today she's had more to eat than normal, vet told me she needed the extra right after laying)
The only feeders she's had have been dubia roaches and crickets. In the year I've had her, I cannot entice her to eat any other feeder
I was totally floored. Still kind of in shock really
The male veiled is now downstairs on the opposite side of the house from Spazzy's area (he doesn't have a name yet, he was abandoned by previous owner and the shelter isn't equipped to care for him so I offered to take him until they could find a suitable home)
I knew to keep them from seeing each other but didn't know they could still communicate/sense each other. I'm not sure what kind of environment he came from but there's no handling him at all. He strikes at literally everything. I have to feed him with a cup on tongs or he tears me up (which is part of the reason we were thinking of keeping him, I'm worried no one will want him if he's "aggressive" or possibly mistreat him due to his defensive behavior)
 
She shouldn't be producing that many eggs then. Are the insects quite large?
I wouldn't have her basking temperature that low...close to 80F should be fine.
 
The dubias are what I would call small/medium (I've occasionally gotten larger in the shipment) and the crickets are medium with the occasional large in the mix (the cricket in the photo is larger than she normally eats)
 

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Left was her in April, right was this morning shortly after she woke up (she decided she'd rather sleep in her old enclosure, her door was open for her to spend the rest of the day in her hibiscus tree ... she has UVB and heat lights in both places)
She's lost a good bit since April and I've made sure no one has been sneaking her any extra
 

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Feeding with tongs is a bit risky. If we don’t release the feeder quickly enough, the chams tongue can get pulled and it can result in permanent damage. It’s more common than you’d think.
I hold the cup with the tongs, not the feeders. I apologize for not being more clear. Poor baby boy is so defensive (I'm assuming previous owner grabbed him out of his enclosure vs allowing him to come out on his terms, possibly poking at him to provoke a response such as hissing or striking) I feel so bad for him. He looks pretty good despite all he's been through (he was found outside a store, inside a 16x16x20 on a 95° day)
 
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