yankfanthom
Established Member
I need some help. I just lost a female Ambanja because she never went down to her bin. I've heard different suggestions but what works best? In cage or out? Sand or Peat moss? HELP!!
Laying Bins
- Thread starter yankfanthom
- Start date
KarmaChameleon1337
Avid Member
You're supposed to use damp play sand and from what I've heard both in and out of the cage. 12 inches deep and 12 inches across, damp enough to make a tunnel and it won't collapse.
Thompson
Chameleon Enthusiast
I have a 5 gallon bucket in my females cage filled with play sand and organic soil so she can dig in when she's ready to lay eggs. Once I see that she is digging i then move her to a bigger laying bin which is a large trash can that is only filled 12" high with play sand and organ soil. I also put vines and have her uvb light on top of the bin.
There are many reasons females get egg bound.Somtimes it there supilment schedulle,sometimes feeding&watering schedulle,sometimes bad luck! I had a female panther pass from eggbound at 8 months.I was devestated. I have a female veiled that we have to completly cover her cage. Once she starts digging ,any movement in the room and she stops and goes back up top of her enclosure.Each female is a little diffrent.I use a 2gal bucket with organic potting soil and toss a plastic vine on top. The 2gal bucket is 12in in dia. and fits in there enclosure.hope this helps
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carol5208
Chameleon Enthusiast
some very good info for you to read from one of our members https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/jannb/345-egg-laying-laying-bin.html
yankfanthom
Established Member
Thanks everyone. I have a feeling I'll be moving her to an enclosure like a garbage can that just has some climbing things but mostly a visible laying substrate for her. I heard reptile sand works better and not play sand because of the roughness of it. True?
ijmccollum
New Member
Does moving the cham from her enclosure to a laying bin cause any interuption in the activity? Reason I ask is that I have thought of doing this as well - sequestering the bin in the shower and closing the door.
Good Q on the sand too.
Good Q on the sand too.
I can't give you a 100% certain answer about why your chameleon didn't use the bin to dig in or whether she could have been saved if you had used a different bin...there are too many things that might be in play in this. Some of this has already been said, but I think repeating it won't hurt.
If the female is healthy and has good husbandry , proper supplements, etc., then she should have all the nutrients needed to produce good eggs and to lay them. Of course, she still needs an appropriate site to lay them in and the peace to get the job done.
What has always worked for me is to put a container of washed playsand that is just moist enough to hold a tunnel in an opaque container at least 12" deep x 12" x 8" in the female's cage once she is sexually mature and leave it there. This way she always has a place to dig to show you that she needs to lay eggs. Most will lay the eggs in this size of a container. However, once they start digging, they can be moved to the trash can or a large rubbermaid bin that has been set up as an egglaying site. The female should not see you watching her while she is digging or she will abandon the hole. If it happens often enough, it will likely lead to eggbinding.
Back to the egglaying...there could be a physical reason such as malformed eggs, uterine deformity, hormones not right, eggs that have grown too big, folicular stasis, etc. that prevented her from laying the eggs. An necropsy would have been the best shot at determining this.
Yankfathom said..."I heard reptile sand works better and not play sand because of the roughness of it. True? "...I have used the same brand of playsand for over 15 years and it has never caused a problem with my chameleons (even if they eat some of it)....its produced by Kings...here it is...
http://www.homedepot.ca/product/king-play-sand-20kg/902209
ijmccollum said..."Does moving the cham from her enclosure to a laying bin cause any interuption in the activity? Reason I ask is that I have thought of doing this as well - sequestering the bin in the shower and closing the door"...
I usually move the female once she has started digging in the container in her cage, but I only move her when she is up in the branches, not when she is in the hole. I will often start a hole in the sand in the bin I move her to as well. If you do put the container in the shower, make sure that if she climbs out of the bin she has a way to get back into it.
Its a shame that even after so many years of chameleons being kept as pets that egglaying is still such a big problem. The study done a couple of years ago was a good start on learning about the hormones, but there is a lot more that will need to be done before there will be some real answers concerning why, even when the husbandry is good and the chameleon is healthy, there are still so many problems getting them to lay.
If the female is healthy and has good husbandry , proper supplements, etc., then she should have all the nutrients needed to produce good eggs and to lay them. Of course, she still needs an appropriate site to lay them in and the peace to get the job done.
What has always worked for me is to put a container of washed playsand that is just moist enough to hold a tunnel in an opaque container at least 12" deep x 12" x 8" in the female's cage once she is sexually mature and leave it there. This way she always has a place to dig to show you that she needs to lay eggs. Most will lay the eggs in this size of a container. However, once they start digging, they can be moved to the trash can or a large rubbermaid bin that has been set up as an egglaying site. The female should not see you watching her while she is digging or she will abandon the hole. If it happens often enough, it will likely lead to eggbinding.
Back to the egglaying...there could be a physical reason such as malformed eggs, uterine deformity, hormones not right, eggs that have grown too big, folicular stasis, etc. that prevented her from laying the eggs. An necropsy would have been the best shot at determining this.
Yankfathom said..."I heard reptile sand works better and not play sand because of the roughness of it. True? "...I have used the same brand of playsand for over 15 years and it has never caused a problem with my chameleons (even if they eat some of it)....its produced by Kings...here it is...
http://www.homedepot.ca/product/king-play-sand-20kg/902209
ijmccollum said..."Does moving the cham from her enclosure to a laying bin cause any interuption in the activity? Reason I ask is that I have thought of doing this as well - sequestering the bin in the shower and closing the door"...
I usually move the female once she has started digging in the container in her cage, but I only move her when she is up in the branches, not when she is in the hole. I will often start a hole in the sand in the bin I move her to as well. If you do put the container in the shower, make sure that if she climbs out of the bin she has a way to get back into it.
Its a shame that even after so many years of chameleons being kept as pets that egglaying is still such a big problem. The study done a couple of years ago was a good start on learning about the hormones, but there is a lot more that will need to be done before there will be some real answers concerning why, even when the husbandry is good and the chameleon is healthy, there are still so many problems getting them to lay.
ijmccollum
New Member
Many thanks, good info and thoughts on this.
yankfanthom
Established Member
Good stuff!!!
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