New family member

boondyke69

boondyke69

Established Member
Hi to everyone.
I recently (3 weeks) adopted a Veiled Chameleon from a local pet store. He (or at least that is what they told me) had been surrendered with a broken pelvis, but was all healed & gone thru rehab. I was at the store looking at 2 babies they had for sale, when they asked if I had my heart set on a baby. I already had the exo-terra all set up. (I have been thinking about getting one for quite q while.)
I met "Simon" & fell in love. They told me he was about a year old. Great colors & an attitude. I brought her home & discovered Simon is Simone... :rolleyes: lol
She has been hanging & eating crickets & meal worms & then yesterday she was on the bottom of her habitat at the corner, "digging" at the corner of the reptile mat. & then again today.
I looked here & realized she was probably looking to lay eggs, so I got a bin & wet the sand. Now we are waiting.
So I have a couple of questions.
I was told they can "retain sperm" until they lay the eggs, up to 6 months!
Is this true?
she had been at the place for about 3 months, so is it possible she could lay fertile eggs? I don't have any info on where she came from.

Sue

I will post some pics of the new girl in the gallery
 

Attachments

  • simone sleeping.jpg
    simone sleeping.jpg
    265.9 KB · Views: 190
Simone - info filled out

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Veiled, Female, unsure of her age because I adopted her at petco. They said "he" was about year old. I've had her for 3 weeks
Feeding - 6 to 8 small crickets in the morning, 4-6 meal worms also, repeat in the evening if they are all gone. gut loading my crickets with orange, cereal, & cricket food.
Supplements - I dust my crickets & mealworms with Flukers Calcium.
Watering - I spray/mist 3-4 times a day.
Fecal Description - Her fecal seems hydrated, her urine is white
History - I got her from petco

Cage Info:
Cage Type - exo-terra size: 18 x 18 x 24"
Lighting - I use a 60 watt incandescent house bulb for basking, and a 5.0 zoomed reptisun compact bulb for her uvb. The lights are on from 6:00 AM to 9:00 PM
Temperature - Around 80 to 85 Degrees F. Overnight it gets to be around 70 to 74 Degrees F.
Humidity - The humidity is around 60%
Plants - aritficial
Placement - in living room
Location - Rochester, NY
 
Unless she was housed with a sexually mature male which you would've noticed right away when purchasing her because males have large casque and loads more colors then she probably just has an infertile clutch. Fill a 5gallon bucket with sand and potting soil half way(15in of it) put a small plant in there and dig some holes with your hand and she will lay those eggs in no time. Congrats on your Cham. Great site to get info.
 
jaglon53 said:
Unless she was housed with a sexually mature male which you would've noticed right away when purchasing her because males have large casque and loads more colors then she probably just has an infertile clutch. Fill a 5gallon bucket with sand and potting soil half way(15in of it) put a small plant in there and dig some holes with your hand and she will lay those eggs in no time. Congrats on your Cham. Great site to get info.
Click to expand...

Although that is true, you never know if they had a male that was sold. Since they do have nicer colors, it would make sense that it would have sold before the female. Take pictures of the eggs if/when they're laid. We might be able to tell you if they're fertile based on the size. :)
 
Pilotman800 said:
Although that is true, you never know if they had a male that was sold. Since they do have nicer colors, it would make sense that it would have sold before the female. Take pictures of the eggs if/when they're laid. We might be able to tell you if they're fertile based on the size. :)
Click to expand...

and if they are unfertile, chameleon omelets for everyone :D:D:D ok ok ok thats just wrong, but i had too
 
I would like to see more pics of her when she is awake. Her front limbs look a little curvy but it could just be the way she is sleeping. Just want to make sure.
 
She has had MBD at some time as indicated by the crooked arms. Hopefully its been corrected.

Here's some information I hope will help you with things like supplements, gutloading, etc....
Appropriate cage temperatures aid in digestion and thus play a part indirectly in nutrient absorption.

Exposure to UVB from either direct sunlight or a proper UVB light allows the chameleon to produce D3 so that it can use the calcium in its system to make/keep the bones strong and be used in other systems in the chameleon as well. The UVB should not pass through glass or plastic no matter whether its from the sun or the UVB light. The most often recommended UVB light is the long linear fluorescent Repti-sun 5.0 tube light. Some of the compacts, spirals and tube lights have caused health issues, but so far there have been no bad reports against this one.

Since many of the feeder insects we use in captivity have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorus in them, its important to dust the insects just before you feed them to the chameleon at most feedings with a phos.-free calcium powder to help make up for it. (I use Rep-cal phosphorus-free calcium).

If you also dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder it will ensure that your chameleon gets some D3 without overdoing it. It leaves the chameleon to produce the rest of what it needs through its exposure to the UVB light. D3 from supplements can build up in the system but D3 produced from exposure to UVB shouldn't as long as the chameleon can move in and out of it. (I use Rep-cal phos.-free calcium/D3).

Dusting twice a month as well with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A will ensure that the chameleon gets some vitamins without the danger of overdosing the vitamin A. PrEformed sources of vitamin A can build up in the system and may prevent the D3 from doing its job and push the chameleon towards MBD. However, there is controversy as to whether all/any chameleons can convert the beta carotene and so some people give some prEformed vitamin A once in a while. (I use herptivite which has beta carotene.)

Gutloading/feeding the insects well helps to provide what the chameleon needs. I gutload crickets, roaches, locusts, superworms, etc. with an assortment of greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, escarole, mustard greens, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, zucchini, etc.)

Calcium, phos., D3 and vitamin A are important players in bone health and other systems in the chameleon (muscles, etc.) and they need to be in balance. When trying to balance them, you need to look at the supplements, what you feed the insects and what you feed the chameleon.
Please note that various supplements have various amounts of D3 and vitamin A and so some can be given more often than others. The idea still is not to overdo the fat soluble vitamins like D3 and prEformed vitamin A.

Here are some good sites for you to read too...
http://chameleonnews.com/07FebWheelock.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200605020...Vitamin.A.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200406080...d.Calcium.html
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/
http://web.archive.org/web/200601140...ww.adcham.com/
If you can't access the sites above that have the word "archive" in you can do it through the WayBackMachine.
 
Simone is digging

First of all, thanks for the congrats & advice.

Omelets? I was thinking eggs Benedict but where will I get the tiny English muffins? hehehe

I left her alone today & she is digging in a spot I started for her. she has dug about 1/2 her body length & is quite intent (I peeked carefully) So that must be what she needed. Thank you so much for having this info available.
I don't have much history on her as she was surrendered with a broken pelvis & a hinky story about how it happened. So I know nothing about her past care/habitat/possible "roommates". But one person told me if she had been waiting for a safe environment to feel like she could lay her eggs, I should be glad I have provided her with one.

I will definitely keep you posted!

I know the sleeping picture is odd, but I just had to take it cause it was such a weird position. made my back & neck ache just seeing it.

thanks!
Sue
 
boondyke69 said:
Ok, you lost me here...MBD?
Click to expand...

Metabolic Bone Disease.
It is a lose of calcium in the bones, which can lead to bowing of the legs and arms, 'extra' joints, breaks, other deformities.
when left untreated, the cham can die.
any damage done by it cannot be reversed, the disease can simply be stopped in its tracks.

signs are the leg bowing, breaks, a cham who constantly grabs onto their own limbs and cant let go, chronic falling, extra joints in the arms, deformed casques (and i mean really deformed).

the poster was saying that your chams front arm does not appear normal. it could just be how she was sleeping, or it could be the beginning of MBD.
ALsom, as a female, she will need alot more calcium, especially now since she is laying eggs. egg production will reduce her calcim levels, and if she isnt getting enough, the eggs can draw it from her bones.
 
Congrats on your new family member, and welcome to the forums. :) I do have a few suggestions if you don't mind.

Try not to feed mealworms as often. They have a hard exterior that is difficult for chams to digest, and feeding too much can cause impaction (a blockage in their digestive system). Most forum members seem to agree that mealworms should be a treat for no more than once a week. Also, definitely don't feed them at night since chams need UVB and heat to properly digest their food.

You can safely feed a few extra crickets later in the day if she still seems hungry, but it's best to do that in the afternoon when there are still several hours left in the day for digestion.

Definitely read kinyonga's supplement info. Great stuff :D

How long is she? An 18x18x24 terrarium is probably too small if she is close to being full grown. Adult female veiled chameleons need at least a 24x24x36 enclosure.

6-9 is a little long to have her lights on. Chams like a lot of sleep at night, and most of us agree that a 12 hour on/12 hour off lighting schedule is best. If you work early and need to feed/mist at 6 am, you can get a dark-colored sheet to cover her cage in the evenings. This way you can turn her lights off at 6 or 7 and she'll be able to sleep without being bothered by anything going on around her.

Once again, congrats on your new girl. Chameleons are beautiful, fascinating creatures. :)
 
Simone & laying bin QUESTIONS

Ok, So Simone is all done, she covered up her tunnel & I misted the sand off her.
How long do I wait until I check the eggs?
how large will they be?
Will it stress her to see me take the laying bin out?
How long will it be until she does this again?
Can I put in a smaller laying bin in until she acts like she starts to dig again & then put the larger one in?
 
You said..."How long do I wait until I check the eggs?"....once she's done burying them and has returned to the trees you can dig up the eggs.

You said..."how large will they be?"...if they are fertile, about the size of jelly beans...if infertile about the size of those fancy flavored jelly beans.

You said..."Will it stress her to see me take the laying bin out?"...not likely if she has returned to the branches.

You said..."How long will it be until she does this again?"...not sure. It partly depends on whether they were all fertile or not fertile, etc.

You said..."Can I put in a smaller laying bin in until she acts like she starts to dig again & then put the larger one in?"...I wouldn't go any smaller than 12" deep x 12" x 8".
 
Eggs!!!

:eek:
OMG! 36 eggs! how did she do that?? no wonder she looks tired & thin!
here are the eggs...
A nice person in the chat said to get some hatch-rite...what can I do for them tonight?

do they look like the might be fertile?:confused:
 

Attachments

  • 36 eggs.jpg
    36 eggs.jpg
    94.7 KB · Views: 99
  • eggs closer.jpg
    eggs closer.jpg
    217.2 KB · Views: 88
  • egg size.jpg
    egg size.jpg
    73.7 KB · Views: 112
nope, not yet...i am trying to find out what to do with them tonight...
Sue's home for unwed chameleon mothers

lol
 
Someone always give me a great laugh here
tonite that person is you Sue!!
thank you for the giggle :p

Did you check jannb's care sheet? Im sure she has info there as to what to do
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

pistachio2025
New Veiled Chameleon mom..
Replies
5
Views
1K
Andrew1283
Andrew1283
C
New chameleon owner
Replies
4
Views
786
kinyonga
K
P
Tunnel collapse
Replies
12
Views
3K
kinyonga
K
Baileyrob1189
Possible Eggbound Chameleon
Replies
18
Views
972
ferretinmyshoes
ferretinmyshoes
jannb
Mia Was Egg Bound and Had to Have Surgery Today
2
Replies
35
Views
5K
Sonny13
Sonny13
Back
Top Bottom