Male or female??

[Jerika]

Hello everyone!
I have an (almost) 9 month old veiled. I always figured he was a boy until I recently saw two 2-3 year old males at the pet store. They were both paper thin! I couldn't believe it because my little one is so wide! It got me thinking, is he possibly a female? I can't tell and I need some advice... If its a possibility that it is a female, I should probably take her to the vet to see if and when she will lay eggs or what I need to do. Do males get to be chunky like this? Or only females? I can't find anything online anywhere about it. Help!!

 

[Olimpia]

Oh wow, yea that's a female that looks like she's going to lay a hefty amount of eggs. I would put together a laying bin ASAP. If she's alert, active, and looks normal there's no need to go to the vet, but if she does become lethargic or starts acting slow in any way then it's a good idea to go to the vet. But if she's still acting normally getting her a proper place to lay is urgent but everything should be fine once you do.

Here's a video on how to make a proper laying bin- https://www.chameleonforums.com/laying-bin-set-up-educational-video-77225/

Once you have the bin in the cage, give her lots of privacy. If you interrupt her or if she feels watched/unsafe she will hold onto the eggs. Throwing a sheet over the cage is usually a good trick if the cage is in a main room of the home.

Edit - If you do find that she's acting a little off a vet (so you know what to expect) will usually give her a shot of calcium and one of oxitocin, the hormone that induces uterine contractions to lay the eggs. This will start the egg laying process and they'll usually expel all the eggs over the next couple hours. An x-ray is usually recommended to see if she expelled all of them or not.

Good luck!

 

[Lathelia]

Is there someting wrong with her right back leg? It looks really swollen.

 

[Jerika]

No her leg is fine. She was in the process of rearranging and that one was holding all the weight. Thanks for your help everyone! I had no idea!