Newer owner, first egg lay? Help please!

Sarahdactyl

New Member
Hi there! I have a veiled chameleon (Freya) that I have had since October. She is roughly 10-11 months old. Up until about a week ago, she was the sweetest little thing ever! She came out to me daily (always on her terms, never forced), she ate every single bug from my hand. She was so chill. All of a sudden, she hisses at me, changes dark green and spotty when she sees me, hides, hisses, bites. She's also looking a little chunky! I'm wondering if the personality change and the reduced eating could be because she's about to lay eggs. I have a laying bin in there for her and I plan on making it bigger for her. Right now it's about 10inches deep and is a 50/50 of sand and organic soil. The main issue is....she uses it as a litter box. I don't want her to become egg bound, so I'm a little worried. I can't find where anyone else has this issue. Will she still dig and lay eggs if it smells like pee and poo in her bin? It can be as deep as she wants it to be or in as big a container as she wants, I just don't want her to use it as a potty. Is this normal? Please help!
 

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Hi and welcome. :) If those are recent pics of your pretty girl, she isn’t showing gravid coloring. Actually she isn’t really showing receptive or adult coloring yet. She is plump at her back end though. Are you able to determine if she’s been pooping regularly? How has her appetite been? I ask because I see artificial plants in her enclosure. Veileds and especially the girls eat their plants and aren’t able to figure out that some are fake. All it takes is one nibble of a fake leaf and a cham can get a bowel obstruction. If she’s pooping, all is well. You will need to replace all the fake plants asap though. Pothos is perfect and usually quite easy to find. This will help guide you for plants. https://chameleonacademy.com/plants/ You can use the artificial on the outside of the enclosure to provide her with a sense of more privacy.
About your main question of the soiled lay bin, it depends on how heavily soiled it’s gotten. If it’s just a couple of poos, I’d just scoop them out. If it’s a lot, I’d replace the sand and then place the bin in an area away from what appears to be her poop spot.
 
Hi and welcome. :) If those are recent pics of your pretty girl, she isn’t showing gravid coloring. Actually she isn’t really showing receptive or adult coloring yet. She is plump at her back end though. Are you able to determine if she’s been pooping regularly? How has her appetite been? I ask because I see artificial plants in her enclosure. Veileds and especially the girls eat their plants and aren’t able to figure out that some are fake. All it takes is one nibble of a fake leaf and a cham can get a bowel obstruction. If she’s pooping, all is well. You will need to replace all the fake plants asap though. Pothos is perfect and usually quite easy to find. This will help guide you for plants. https://chameleonacademy.com/plants/ You can use the artificial on the outside of the enclosure to provide her with a sense of more privacy.
About your main question of the soiled lay bin, it depends on how heavily soiled it’s gotten. If it’s just a couple of poos, I’d just scoop them out. If it’s a lot, I’d replace the sand and then place the bin in an area away from what appears to be her poop spot.
Thank you so much for the response! She's been going to the bathroom quite regularly and a very good amount. As far as the plants go, I'll put them on the outside. Good idea! I do have 4 pothos in there, but they are still small and growing. I guess she's just a butthead now!
 
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