Is she gravid?

[redlupin]

Alright so my oldest veiled cham Hera has gone through some color changes and some attitude changes. Recently shes been wanting to get out of her cage and just hang about outside of it. So do you think that she has an infertile clutch in her or is she just being moody?

 

[SoCaliSon]

Looks and sounds to me like she is becoming receptive. How does she react when you show her a male? Have you seen her colors become dark at all?

 

[redlupin]

I dont have a male to show her, would it work with a picture? lol The only times I have seen her go dark is when she doesnt want to be touched.

 

[JoshCrane1]

she's pretty, almost looks identical to my 7mo female. she looks receptive to me and a lil chubby, she might have some eggs. can you touch her belly to feel for eggs?

 

[redlupin]

I have felt for them, but I dont feel any bumps, just ribs

 

[redlupin]

Oh and do you think I will need to get out the bucket and see what she does?

 

[JoshCrane1]

you might be feeling a bit too high. try feeling her underside right in front of her back legs. liz(ibesok) did that to my female and she said she could feel some. so im just waiting till she stops eating and getting ready for a unfertile clutch. i wanna mate her but she still too young IMO

 

[JoshCrane1]

ive had a egglaying container in her cage since 4mo old, just incase. if i were you i would get that thing in there asap.

 

[redlupin]

Will do, what soil do you use?

 

[JoshCrane1]

popular mix is 50/50 washed playsand and organic soil at least 6-8 inches deep. just make sure its digg-able. and not too soft to cause a collapse.

 

[redlupin]

Ok...she doesnt want to go into the bucket/container that I got with the soil sand mix. Do I just do it everyday until she goes in or just wait?

 

[kinyonga]

I have a container that when empty is big enough for the female to fit into with a couple of inches of space on all sides including above her in each egglaying female's cage at all times once she is old enough to lay eggs. I fill it 2/3rds full of washed playsand. It gives the female a place to dig to show you she's ready to lay eggs. Failure to provide a place can lead to eggbinding and eventually death.

 

[redlupin]

How big would you say is the container?

 

[SoCaliSon]

I use empty pots that the 1 gal plants come in from the nursery, and fill it half way with sand, and leave it at the floor of their cage with a vine running in. It is small enough to fit in the cage, and large enough for her to crawl in and start digging. When I get home every day I check to see if the sand has been disturbed, If so... I use a 5 gal plastic pale with the laying medium filling half, and I actually put it right in the cage... Most cages can fit one of these in there if you remove a plant or two. This way I don't have to move the lady, and she leggo her eggos at her own leisure. Just make sure you keep the laying medium damp enough to hold a tunnel... I almost lost one of my veiled girls, Caddie, to a cave in while she was covering her eggs.

 

[redlupin]

There is a slight problem, there isnt enough room inside of her cage to fit anything else. The reason being is because the pot for the hibiscus is so darn big. Any suggestions for this problem?

 

[redlupin]

Update!!!

This morning my brother was looking at the chams and asked me if I was doing something with Hera's cage. I said no and looked to see what he was talking about, turns out there was an inch hole in the soil where the Hibiscus is planted So now I have her out of the cage and into her digging area, so far she is in a corner digging away, I am sooooooo excited right now.

So how long do I leave her inside the digging area? Until shes done? Or what?