I’m a new chameleon owner with a female veiled and have a few questions that I’m struggling to find anywhere?

What’s the minimum size I’d need for it? And what kind of play sand?
I tried a short bin of sand and my girl tried it and rejected it. They like big bins of at least 12x12x12” even though the sand depth is only 5-6”. Maybe they like the secure feeling of being completely surrounded by opaque plastic. 🤷‍♀️ They don’t lay very often, so I don’t know, and it’s not something I want to experiment with.
You’ll want to use the type of play sand that is used for kid’s sand boxes - available at most home improvement stores.
 
I tried a short bin of sand and my girl tried it and rejected it. They like big bins of at least 12x12x12” even though the sand depth is only 5-6”. Maybe they like the secure feeling of being completely surrounded by opaque plastic. 🤷‍♀️ They don’t lay very often, so I don’t know, and it’s not something I want to experiment with.
You’ll want to use the type of play sand that is used for kid’s sand boxes - available at most home improvement stores.
Now would it be ok to wait a little bit to see when I can actually see the eggs and she starts acting weird? See if she will dig in the reptisoil I’ve got before I move everything around
 
Yes, but read back on the signs to watch for. I really hope that she’ll have a totally uneventful egg laying for you. Do keep us posted on her progress. :)
So tonight she’s sleeping in a new spot and I just want to make sure here that she’s doing ok. Is it normal to be sleeping on the side of the cage? I thought they normally sleep in the leaves and branches?
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It’s fine for her to be sleeping on the screen. While chams usually find and stick to a certain area for sleeping, sometimes you never know where you’ll find them. Love the AC/DC banner btw. One of my favorite bands. 💗
Thank you thank you. Also she’s not eating much. She eats like 2-3 really quick then acts uninterested when there’s plenty more. Do you know why that could be? I thought they always ate and didn’t stop
 
Thank you thank you. Also she’s not eating much. She eats like 2-3 really quick then acts uninterested when there’s plenty more. Do you know why that could be? I thought they always ate and didn’t stop
Veileds usually are little green eating machines, but as her belly has eggs in it, there’s less space for food.
 
Any progress with egglaying?
Any digging

Can she see herself (her reflection) anywhere that might be making her take on the darker coloration?
No nothing yet. I think I’m starting to see some eggs form but it’s not too noticeable and could just be the way her skin and such push together when she’s in whatever position. And no there’s no reflections or anything. There’s a tv but it’s angled and she can’t see herself in it from where her cage is.
I think the darker coloration is my room can get a bit cold. But in the cage it’s sitting at like 70-75. Sometimes it goes down a little below 70 but she just sits at her light which is 80-85. I have a digital thermometer that I’ve tied around the basking spot. I have to readjust it sometimes cause she moves it when she sits there but from what I can tell it’s good.
I’ve noticed she eats a little less now. She doesn’t act as interested in food as much but I got her yo eat more than she has been today
 
Ok so small update. I am really starting to think she may just be a unique personality. Whenever I walk in my room she’s always in her basking but like, kind of rushes to the door to say hello. I’m gonna start not handling her as much but at the moment we’re gonna put a prewashed sand and reptisoil mix in a small bin in the enclosure to see if she will choose to dig and lay there. I do think she’s getting closer to egg laying but she’s not at the point where she seems egg bound and tired and such. That one corner I said she kinda hung out at and tried to get out of I’m gonna try to kind of block it off. Put some cardboard up so it’s not an open space she can look out into and want to explore. Now I just watched her to see what she would do when I left the room, just watched through the door crack and she hung out on the door for a bit cause she did the thing where she kinda hung out there and begged to be out, and after a while of not moving she moved right back to her basking spot. When I did go into my room she came onto the door and she changed from her black gravid colors to a light green so I’m gonna lean that more towards, she likes people and wants to be out and explore and such. She didn’t show her stressed colors or any other signs except some antsy-ness
 
Any progress with egglaying?
Any digging

Can she see herself (her reflection) anywhere that might be making her take on the darker coloration?
I’m noticing she’s getting bigger. She’s still eating though, I’ve lowered her food intake to 5 every other day now cause someone said to do that on another thread I’ve got. She’s also going down to the back a lot more. I put in a little sand/reptisoil half/half mix in a bin and put it in the back, put all the plants on front of it so she has plenty of cover. She seems just restless right now but still no digging just kinda moving everywhere. @MissSkittles to keep you updated as well idk if you’ll see this otherwise
 
@MissSkittles @kinyonga @Beman last update. I’m just gonna rehome her with someone who has experience and can properly take care of her. I’m at my limit on stress and I just don’t know what to do anymore without making drastic changes I can’t handle right now. I want to thank you guys for helping me and giving me all the advice. I’m definitely going to make sure, 100% that I know what I’m doing next time. I love chameleons and I’d love to take care of them but I just can’t do that right now. Thank you guys again and hopefully I can come back in this community again.
 
Hope to see you again on the forums! Chameleons are awesome animals and you should try again once you’re ready. Take care!
 
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