Need some help/advice with Trixxi please

[ronnie]

Hi....Trixxi has been worrying me for the last couple of day's,i have posted a few threads on her behaviour eg:not wanting to stay inside her viv,not wanting to go back inside the viv when she out ect.Now she seems to be losing interest in her food and clawing at the top of her viv looking like she wants to get out,when she does get out she sits on the inside of the window sill looking out and basking,i have increased the wattage of her basking bulb from a 60 watt to a 100 watt in case her viv is not warm enough,temps at basking spot has been increased from 77/78 to 82/85....her pee's and poo's are considerably smaller than usual (i suppose that's to be expected if she is off her food)she does not seem to be dehydrated (eyes not sunken in)....i have a flexaurim on the way for her so she can spend some time outside on the rare sunny day we get here and be exposed to some natural uvb which can only do her good.....any help/advice would be very gratefully received,many thanks.....also,where she is now she can see right out the window but this hasn't lessened her want to get out,should i move her away from the window altogether so she can not see it?thanks again

 

[chambabysitter1]

https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/

I know its a pain, but fill that out again, so people won't be shooting in the dark.

Does she have a laying bin?

 

[jannb]

Do you have a laying bin for her? How old is she? They do these thing you are talking about right before laying eggs.

 

[ronnie]

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? glass with mesh top,24 inch 24 inch depth 17inch
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? lights on 12 hours 9-9 uvb 5.0 repti glo and just changed from a 60 watt to a 100 watt house hold basking bulb
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? floor temp:72 middle temp:74/76 highest temp 82/85,lowest over night temp 66,measure temp with digital thermometer
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? 50 up to 80 after spraying using hydrometer
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? 1 umbrella,1 ficus some vines and fake plants for cover
Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? she about 4 and a half feet off the floor in bedroom at the moment due to decorating,no fans near a window but no directly in the path of the draft
Location - Where are you geographically located?
N.Ireland U.K
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Female veiled,around about 2-2.5 years old(this is questionable)had her 6 months
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?when i am taking her out(that is daily at the moment)
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? 5 crickets a day 2 large locusts and day off a week gut loading carrots apples
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? dust with Komodo cricket dust 3 times a week and use Nutrobal twice a month
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? use a little dripper and spray,don't see her drinking
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? never tested,poo:small and dry looking pee:small white looks kind of dry also
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.recently moved rooms due to decorating...has laid two clutches for prev owner with no problems in sand that was being used as substrate
Current Problem - The current problem that you are concerned about. off food,wanting to get out of her viv,generally unsettled do have laying bin in her viv

 

[ronnie]

Hi...took some new pictures of Trixxi this morning,could someone with experience tell me if she has eggs or not,sorry about the amount of photos as i wanted to get a few different angles of her...she looks real fat when shes sitting but when shes up and walking she looks slim around the back legs,shes also off her food (see above threads for her behaviour)

 

[ronnie]

More photos of Trixxi

 

[Chameleoco]

She may be unsatisfied with her surroundings/nesting spot.
how deep is the sand/soil you have provided for her? has she made any attempts at digging? can she turn round completely in the laying bin?
if she is indeed carrying eggs, you might want to slightly increase her calcium)depends on how much you use when you dust) as she will require more calcium to form her eggs.

 

[ronnie]

She may be unsatisfied with her surroundings/nesting spot.
how deep is the sand/soil you have provided for her? has she made any attempts at digging? can she turn round completely in the laying bin?
if she is indeed carrying eggs, you might want to slightly increase her calcium)depends on how much you use when you dust) as she will require more calcium to form her eggs.

The sand is 7 inch deep and the bin is a foot wide...she has laid 2 clutches for her prev owner with out a laying bin (he had sand at the bottom of her viv) that was about 2 inch deep and she laid them at the back in the left hand corner...can you tell from any of the photos that i have put on if she is carrying eggs?thanks for the reply

 

[jannb]

The laying bin SHOULD BE 10 to 12 inches deep. She looks pretty big. I think she might have eggs.

 

[ronnie]

The laying bin SHOULD BE 10 to 12 inches deep.

Thanks jannb...i was hoping you would reply,i know the bin should be slightly bigger but this was the biggest thing i could get my hands on....what about the fact that she has laid before in only 2 inches of sand?

 

[ronnie]

The laying bin SHOULD BE 10 to 12 inches deep. She looks pretty big. I think she might have eggs.

Should i keep her viv covered all day?wouldn't this freak her out?i have a large black sheet that i could use or would this be to dark?I can make sure that no one goes into the room all day to give her peace...sorry about all the stupid questions,but this is the first time she has laid with me and i am pretty scared

 

[ronnie]

Bumping up my thread as i think most users are logged on about now!Still no food taken today,not even a waxworm that was offered up to her!Now thats a first......Also added some photos of her laying bin

 

[Miss Lily]

Trixxi does look rather round, bless her! They can suck their bellies in remarkably well when on the move - Lily managed to suck herself right in although she was carrying over 100 eggs!

How long has she not eaten for? Lily wouldn't eat for up to a week before she laid. Also I could see and feel the eggs just above her back legs when she was resting about 10 days before she laid. Lily's cage was in an alcove so I only needed to cover the front. I had two left over bits of contiboard from building a wardrobe that I stood up in front of the cage. In this pic of Lily, you can just make out the outline of an egg above her back leg.

 

[ronnie]

Trixxi does look rather round, bless her! They can suck their bellies in remarkably well when on the move - Lily managed to suck herself right in although she was carrying over 100 eggs!

How long has she not eaten for? Lily wouldn't eat for up to a week before she laid. Also I could see and feel the eggs just above her back legs when she was resting about 10 days before she laid. Lily's cage was in an alcove so I only needed to cover the front. I had two left over bits of contiboard from building a wardrobe that I stood up in front of the cage. In this pic of Lily, you can just make out the outline of an egg above her back leg.

WOW,Miss Lily really was massive!poor doll.Trixxi hasn't eaten for 3 days and is really roaming around her viv (thats when shes in it!) i had a wee feel of her tummy but couldn't really feel anything (didn't want to scare her) should i cover her up with a black sheet or will this just scare her??Freaking out here!!Should she be showing any interest in the sand?she hasn't so far

 

[Miss Lily]

Using a black sheet may make the glass more reflective on the inside, so try something else like an old towel if you have one big enough. They can dig several test holes before hand - I think Lily dug around a bit for 3 days before settling on the right spot and digging her hole. When they do dig for real they will be at it all day long. Lily would start digging when it got light and dug all morning, laid during the afternoon then filled in the hole again. She would be finished around 10pm the same evening.

If she has a laying bin in her cage already, try to leave her in there. Does she have room for another bin with soil/sand mix in? Lily preferred to lay in a mix of both rather than just sand. It's worth a try - just remember to make sure it's moist enough to hold it's shape. They can be very fussy! I would cover the cage once you see her showing an interest in the laying bin.

 

[ronnie]

Thanks Tiff,i will put another laying bin in of soil (is this the same one that i use for her plants?) and sand tomorrow and use a big old towel instead of the black sheet,thanks again for your help....i'll let you know how she goes....fingers crossed!

 

[gad58y]

how moist is your substrate & does it hold a tunnel?
you could always make a test hole for her,this will save her time if she uses your test hole as her laying site.
i use a mix of playsand/eco-earth in all my laying bins

hope this helps

graeme

 

[ronnie]

Hi....i have rearranged her viv a bit so she has a bit more room in her laying bin to move around and more cover at the sides of the viv,i have also mixed some non-fertilized soil in with the play sand and made it moist enough to hold in a ball in my hand (i will try the test hole...thanks Graeme) I will be leaving her in the Viv for the next few days......no sunbathing on the window sill for Trixxi for a while any way!!Here are a few new photos of her laying bin and new arrangement....any comments (good or bad!!) gratefully received

 

[Chameleoco]

it all looks good, maybe a bit on the bare side, maybe you could add some big leaves around her bin.
I use a slighlty bigger bucket and use screen vivs, but i have had females lay in a glass vivarium, so i dont think that is the issue as a lot of keepers in the uk use them.
A lot of my females get very restless before they lay, so this might be what it is, you could try and make the viv more "busy" for her so she feels there is more to explore.
I have the same exo terra viv you have and have had females lay in there in the winter, and i use an orange bucket from B and Q which is about 99p, it fits great in the viv.
Try pushing your hands into the soil, if the soil stays in place it should be ok.
Your sand or soil may have dried out as glass vivs can get warmer, so check that if you havent already.
I use childerens play sand, and occasionally mix potting soil with it. Hope this helps a bit!

 

[ronnie]

Thanks for the reply,i will put some more leaves around her bucket for a bit more cover,the sand and soil is nice and moist as i have dug a test hole and it is holding up well,i definitely think she has eggs as this is her 4th day of not eating and she usually eats anything i put in in 5 mins flat!i spray the bin at each spraying so it stays moist,thanks for the tips