No signs of eggs yet?!

[champhoto]

Hello, I bought a baby chameleon about 6 or 7 months ago and they said she was 6 months old but after doing research there is no way! I did a ton of research when I got her and have been waiting for signs of her needing to lay eggs ever since (knowing she could become egg bound was very scary) hahaha. She has yet to lay any eggs or show signs of needing to. So I guess my question is around what age do they lay eggs and is there any way of telling how old she is? She seemed perfectly healthy up until a couple days ago. She looks sleepy ( but could be because her UVB-UVA bulb broke yesterday, going out in the AM to replace) but dose not seem weak, or sick and she dose not fall. Any help would be great! Thank you!

 

[champhoto]

Also...

She is a female Veild Chameleon.

 

[Elizadolots]

Hi!
Not all will lay early and if you've kept your temps lower than is recommended for males, not over fed her, it's possible she won't produce eggs.

However, "sleepy" may be a problem. I really recommend you complete the "How to Ask for Help" form. Go here: https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/

Copy the form, paste it into a reply and add your information. Be as specific as possible. "fecal description" means what does the poop look like. Please don't say "normal" as we have no way of knowing what you consider "normal".

 

[champhoto]

More Info

Ok here is the rest of the info. Also yes we keep the house cool, even in the winter months, nothing crazy but then some people may think 68-70 is crazy in the winter haha.

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Female Veild Chameleon, my best guess fro age would be about 7 or 8 months. I got her in mid September of this year 2012 so I have had her about 6 months
Handling - I only Handel her when I have to so 3 times a week at most.
Feeding - I feed her 4 to 6 meal worms a day usually at night. Dust them 3 times a week and i gut load the worms the faulkners water calcium and food orange cubes. I was giving her crickets as well but was having trouble keeping the crickets alive in the winter months. She also Vegges on her tree throughout the day.
Supplements - I dust my bugs with Rep-Cal, Phosphorus-Free, Calcium with VIT.D 3 times a week or every other day or two.
Watering - I spray her 2-3 times a day with a mist bottle for 30=60 seconds and set up her drip once a day and it drips for about 2 hours. She loves to drink from the drip. I see her doing so often!
Fecal Description - Small and long, dark dark brown at one end and white at the other. She has never had it tested.
History - Her health has been good so far. I was concerned aboiut her pooping about a month ago, she didn't poop for a whole week (is that normal)

Cage Info:
Cage Type - She was living in the large exo terra tank up until 2 months ago. Now she lives in her hibiscus tree all the time. I use to just put her in it sometimes but she started demanding to be in it all the time. Also I read that its not good to keep them in tanks.
Lighting - 150 watt basking bulb and a repti 5.0 uvb bulb (im going to pick up a second bulb tomorrow.
Temperature - 100 degree basking spot and the rest is usually anywhere from 68 to 71. Lowest temp at night 64. I know from the gages.
Humidity - I'm not sure of the levels I stooped doing that when we switched to the tree. I just make sure I'm misting often. (I work from home)
Plants - Yes, hibiscus tree.
Placement - Her tree stands about 4 1/2 - 5 ft tall Its in the corner of my living room. Its kind of a high traffic area depending on the day. I thought of moving her to a less busy room but she seems to enjoy watching us though.
Location - East Coast. southern NJ near the shore points.

 

[camimom]

Ok here is the rest of the info. Also yes we keep the house cool, even in the winter months, nothing crazy but then some people may think 68-70 is crazy in the winter haha.

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Female Veild Chameleon, my best guess fro age would be about 7 or 8 months. I got her in mid September of this year 2012 so I have had her about 6 months lets see some pics of her on your hand, we can help guesstimate age
Handling - I only Handel her when I have to so 3 times a week at most.
Feeding - I feed her 4 to 6 meal worms a day usually at night. Dust them 3 times a week and i gut load the worms the faulkners water calcium and food orange cubes. I was giving her crickets as well but was having trouble keeping the crickets alive in the winter months. She also Vegges on her tree throughout the day.mealworms are not a good staple food. you need to feed crickets, dubias, or silkworms as a staple feeder, with no one bug making up more than 40% of her diet.
Supplements - I dust my bugs with Rep-Cal, Phosphorus-Free, Calcium with VIT.D 3 times a week or every other day or two. calcium without d3 every feeding, with d3 2 times a MONTH, and a multivitamin 2 times a month
Watering - I spray her 2-3 times a day with a mist bottle for 30=60 seconds and set up her drip once a day and it drips for about 2 hours. She loves to drink from the drip. I see her doing so often!
Fecal Description - Small and long, dark dark brown at one end and white at the other. She has never had it tested.
History - Her health has been good so far. I was concerned aboiut her pooping about a month ago, she didn't poop for a whole week (is that normal)

Cage Info:
Cage Type - She was living in the large exo terra tank up until 2 months ago. Now she lives in her hibiscus tree all the time. I use to just put her in it sometimes but she started demanding to be in it all the time. Also I read that its not good to keep them in tanks.
Lighting - 150 watt basking bulb and a repti 5.0 uvb bulb (im going to pick up a second bulb tomorrow.
Temperature - 100 degree basking spot and the rest is usually anywhere from 68 to 71. Lowest temp at night 64. I know from the gages.a basking temp of 100 is WAY TOO HOT for any cham, but especially a female. please reduce this temp to no more than 83. the higher the temp, the more likely she will be to lay eggs. and you want to avoid egg laying.
Humidity - I'm not sure of the levels I stooped doing that when we switched to the tree. I just make sure I'm misting often. (I work from home)
Plants - Yes, hibiscus tree.
Placement - Her tree stands about 4 1/2 - 5 ft tall Its in the corner of my living room. Its kind of a high traffic area depending on the day. I thought of moving her to a less busy room but she seems to enjoy watching us though.
Location - East Coast. southern NJ near the shore points.

corrections in red.

 

[Elizadolots]

I agree with Camimom. You really need to figure out a way to get other feeders than mealworms going. As it's warming up, maybe you'll have more luck with crickets...then put your brain to work on how you'll keep the crickets going through next winter.

 

[champhoto]

Yes, I will def be getting crickets now that its warmer. I also give her wax worms on occasion.

Question though I just started free ranging with my chameleon 2 months ago she live in her Hibiscus Tree with no enclosure. Before I had her in a large Exo-Terra and feeding her crickets was no problem. So now how do I feed her crickets?

Also here is a picture of her. I would love to know about how old she really is.

 

[champhoto]

here is another one.

 

[Olimpia]

She definitely looks like she's carrying eggs, her midsection is very round. Do you have a laying bin for her?

 

[Elizadolots]

She's beautiful. She looks pudgy to me. Are you sure she doesn't have eggs? Do you have a laying bin in her enclosure for her? Ideally it will be a 12x12x12 inch opaque container with moist play sand or organic soil or a mixture. It should be moist enough to hold a tunnel (I suggest drilling out an angled tunnel with your finger, it will test the sand and maybe give her an idea). You can play with the dimensions some to fit your cage. Try to keep as much depth as possible and make it big enough she can turn around comfortably. She needs to have easy access to it.

As to the crickets in the free range, I think cup/tub feeding is probably the best solution.

Here's a very good example: https://www.chameleonforums.com/custom-made-cricket-feeder-80015/

 

[champhoto]

Please don't tell me they are eggs!

Oh jeez, don't say that! I do have a laying bin for her its a large flowering pot looks a little bigger then 12x12 and its filled a bit more then 1/2 way with play sand. I put her in there a hand full of times when I would catch her at the bottom of the cage. She just looked like she was hunting but just in case I did. Once I did it for three days taking her out at night and putting her back in during the day. But she wouldn't do anything. Just stay all puffed up (I added a picture of what she does in the laying pin. could it be that shes just a lil chubby from all the meal worms? Cause I have felt around there like a site told me too and they don't really feel like eggs. Any other ways to tell maybe?

 

[Elizadolots]

Can you fix it so she can easily climb into and out of the container on her own? Maybe you can rig a branch or vine so she has access to it when she wants to use it. Make sure it's moist enough to hold a tunnel.

 

[champhoto]

I can make it like that. How long do they have to lay them once they are there? Is it possible that maybe she is just a little fat from the meal worms? Cause I have felt her stomach and it dosn't feel like there is anything in there. Now I'm worried. Is there anything else I can do or any other way to see if she has eggs in there. I know it sounds dumb but I just got laid off and dont have a whole lot of money right now and I am so in love with my girl.

 

[Olimpia]

You don't always feel the eggs, I've only been able to feel the eggs during one clutch my panther had, but nothing on the several others. But if she's just fat I think you would see it in her casque and limbs as well, but it's just her middle that is wide, especially towards the tail which is where eggs are stored.

Just make sure that she has 12" of moist sand or soil available to her and she will know what to do next. Make sure to provide her with privacy, so she feels safe enough to lay the eggs comfortably. It may take her anywhere from a few hours to several days to lay eggs from start to finish, and you shouldn't hover around her when she's working on it. It's tough to say when she will be ready to lay, but it could be in the next couple days or in a week or two.

 

[Elizadolots]

I definitely think she has eggs, but I do also think she's pudgy overall. Look at that back leg:

I know I'm used to lighter bodied chameleons, but I see a lot of pictures of veileds and that looks a bit tubby to me.

camphoto, in her dream world, you don't get to watch her dig and lay eggs....so, you should try to fix it up so she thinks that's what's happening. People wrap newspaper around the lower part of the cage and then poke little spy holes in the paper...stuff like that. People with the technology will rig web cams so they can spy from afar.

As to time, it really depends at this point. Once she starts actively digging, it should happen fairly soon, but be prepared to wait a day and night (let the lights go off just as you always do....she needs her night even if she's laying eggs). Just make sure the soil will hold a tunnel so it doesn't collapse on her.

At this point, the most important thing to do is provide her the opportunity to lay. If she does, you will probably have no reason to take her to the vet. If not....then a vet visit will likely be necessary to save her life.

Be ready to provide her lots of calcium rich food when she's done. She'll need to replace what her body gave up to make the eggs.

 

[sophiecalypso]

sleepyness

My female veiled chameleon is acting very sleepy as well recently and she hides herself away at the top of her flexarium behind some leaf decor near the heat bulb. She has been fine up until now ive had her for about two weeks now and she must be around 4-5 months old! She doesnt look as pudgy as your female but is my females behaviour anything like what yours was doing??

She just keeps her eyes closed even when i go in and try to move her, i know shes gets annoyed by it because her markings flare up but she still remains still and keeps eyes shut!

 

[kinyonga]

sophiecalypso...you should make your own thread so we can answer you better...but its not a good thing for the chameleon to be sleeping all the time during the day. It seems like its time for a vet visit unless its something in your husbandry that can be quickly corrected. Please start your own thread and fill out the "how to ask for help" questions in that thread at the top of the Health section.

champhoto...if she continues to be sleepy you need to find out why as quickly as possible. If she is carrying eggs and not laying them then it needs to be dealt with before she becomes too weak...but I'm not sure if that's what's going on or not.