how would I no???

[rcagosto]

Hi guys!!! I'm new here and I'm fairly new to keeping chameleons. I have a question that I have been wondering about for a while now and is starting to worry me. I have a female veiled chameleon and I been reading about how no matter if she is breeded or not she will still end up gravid with infertile eggs. How would I know if she is gravid and about lay eggs (ie: changes in color, getting bigger, etc) and what should I do to help her (ie: anything to buy for her to make it easier, what kind of substate should I use for her to lay her eggs, etc). Thanks you guys so much I'm just really worried that I would not notice and let it slip by and something was to happen to her.

 

[Jordan]

For the egg laying chamber I use a 12" flower pot with a 1/2&1/2 mix of peat moss and sand. I fill it 3/4 of the way full. This way if you enter the room while they are laying you will not immediately disturb them. Every owner kind of has their own thing with the substrate used to lay eggs. Some owners actually isolate their females when they are about to lay the eggs. You will usually be able to tell that they are in production by their size. In some case you may actually see an eggs bulging. I leave my egg container in there all the time. When they are about to drop the eggs the become restless, pacing the lower parts of the cage. You may see them pawing at dirt or the bottom of the cage. As with women they are picky. They look around for the best spot they can find. They may actually dig a couple of test holes before they decide on one. In most case they will chose the designated egg laying container. They may dig under on of the plants you have in the cage. The soil needs to be loose, moist, and easily packable for tunneling. When they are in the process of laying the eggs do not disturb them. They may quit digging if they are bothered. Leaving some empty room at the top of the pot can give you some room to peak over without them seeing you. You can just tell if you are paying attention as to whether they are about to lay eggs or at least I could. After they are done offer them a shower. Bounce it off the side way of the shower and make sure they can get in and out of the water. They will be muddy and dehydrated in most cases so you are really killing two birds with one stone. For the next couple of days after they lay eggs make sure you offer good amounts of water. They may not show that they are dehydrated for a couple of days. I had one that looked good right after she was done, about three days later you could see loose skin and her eye sunk in a bit. You may choose to offer some fatty food for the next couple of days to help her out with her recovery as she has become depleted in fat in the whole egg laying. A slight pick up with the calcium supplements will help right after too.

 

[ChameleonsTree]

Personally i use playsand...damp...and i use a big home depot orange bucket. A lot of times they like to dig down more than 12 inches. If you keep newspaper at the bottom you will see a spot where they scratched it up trying to dig and then you know its time.

 

[rcagosto]

Thanks I really appreciate the advice and info. I'm goin out today to buy some play sand and a big enough flower pot for her or maybe a big bucket. Another question after she lays eggs what would be good to raise her wieght up back to normal? Thanks again.