Non-stop wants to come out and eating dirt in egg box

[userBandit]

Recently my female veiled chameleon who is somewhere between 8-12 months old has been climbing all around her cage and climbing right out of it when I open her cage door. She gets the moody dark spots as well. Today I found her lightly holding her mouth open (not gaping at me, just lightly holding it open), but she is hydrated very well. Misted numerous times daily. She also tends to eat her ReptiSoil in the egglaying bin. I dust her insects with non-d3 calcium each feeding a multivitamin twice a month.

I've had my care info looked at on here before, my husbandry is all correct. I don't understand this she has never done this her whole life.

 

[PoseidonTheChameleon]

Can I see your enclosure? This sounds like she is very stressed and wants out of this environment

 

[userBandit]

best pic i have of it atm

 

[kinyonga]

Has she laid eggs yet?

 

[userBandit]

Has she laid eggs yet?

Unless she did it with out me even knowing, but I check on her frequently because I am always paranoid about her.

She also has no recessive or gravid coloration to her.

 

[kinyonga]

You said..."She also has no recessive or gravid coloration to her."... That's why I was asking if she'd laid before....along with you saying she's eating the soil.

What is your supplement schedule? What brands do you use? With D3 or without? With prEformed vitamin A (retinol) or prOformed (carotene)?

 

[userBandit]

You said..."She also has no recessive or gravid coloration to her."... That's why I was asking if she'd laid before....along with you saying she's eating the soil.

What is your supplement schedule? What brands do you use? With D3 or without? With prEformed vitamin A (retinol) or prOformed (carotene)?

I'm no enthusiast my brother just got one as I pet and had no clue how to take care of it, so i had to do most of the research afterwards. Do the recessive colors go away after she lays eggs?

Supplement schedule was already said in the thread above, calcium with no d3 (the stuff that comes in the Zoomed Kits) daily, and the mutlivitamin twice a month. I NEVER PROVIDE THEM ON THE SAME DAY.

 

[kinyonga]

I think you mean receptive colors.
The females become mature and get mustardy yellow splotches. They get the blue dots to show that they are looking for a mate and then once mated the colors go quite dark to ward off the male. If they aren't mated they still keep the splotches and th dots until they lay the eggs. Then a while after the eggs are laid the gravid colors go away...however the females don't always show the colors completely when there isn't another chameleon around.

Oops...I missed the supplement part.
You didn't mention the vitamin aa though.

 

[userBandit]

I think you mean receptive colors.
The females become mature and get mustardy yellow splotches. They get the blue dots to show that they are looking for a mate and then once mated the colors go quite dark to ward off the male. If they aren't mated they still keep the splotches and th dots until they lay the eggs. Then a while after the eggs are laid the gravid colors go away...however the females don't always show the colors completely when there isn't another chameleon around.

Oops...I missed the supplement part.
You didn't mention the vitamin aa though.

I've just been watching her the yellow splotches to know when she is gravid, but are you saying she may not even change color?

 

[kinyonga]

The splotches are subtle on some.
It's usually the gravid colors that can come and go....but they don't always.

 

[userBandit]

She gets patches of a different shade of green sometimes but never yellow like i see in pictures. She doesn't looks fatter or like shes carrying eggs.

sorry for so many threads just want to get this understood.

 

[kinyonga]

This might help...
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/receptive-coloration-in-veiled-females.15709/

 

[cruz.m]

She gets patches of a different shade of green sometimes but never yellow like i see in pictures. She doesn't looks fatter or like shes carrying eggs.

sorry for so many threads just want to get this understood.

Hey so did it look something like this? Your female looks a little older and bigger than mine but mines in her receptive stage and will lay soon. This is an old picture but she still looks like this she’s just afraid of the camera so I don’t want to stress her right now and she’s hiding too.

 

[userBandit]

Hey so did it look something like this? Your female looks a little older and bigger than mine but mines in her receptive stage and will lay soon. This is an old picture but she still looks like this she’s just afraid of the camera so I don’t want to stress her right now and she’s hiding too.

Yes basically the same thing!

 

[cruz.m]

View attachment 290802
Yes basically the same thing!

She looks hefty. If she allows you can feel her belly to see if you feel any eggs. As long as you have a laying bin she will hopefully lay when she needs to

 

[userBandit]

She looks hefty. If she allows you can feel her belly to see if you feel any eggs. As long as you have a laying bin she will hopefully lay when she needs to

I have a laying bin in there. There are two sticks in it so she can get in/out will that bother her or will she still dig in it?

Its a small trash bin 10" tall 7.5" wide and im worried she wont know that is her laying bin.

 

[cruz.m]

I have a laying bin in there. There are two sticks in it so she can get in/out will that bother her or will she still dig in it?

Its a small trash bin 10" tall 7.5" wide and im worried she wont know that is her laying bin.

The sticks shouldn’t bother her you can also put a scrap plant in there to provide more privacy. Usually they will lay near the roots of the plant. Having other plants at the bottom that provide more privacy is good too. She should know it’s her laying bin when she’s looking around for a place to lay and the size sounds good.
Edit: I think as long as the sticks are on the rim of the bin it shouldn’t bother her.

 

[cham girl]

if you are home to supervise let her out on a big tree or safe area to explore or in the fresh sunshine when it gets above 60, Also do not over mist the cage and don't mist her directly just the leaves

 

[cham girl]

it safer for them if cage dries out between mistings

 

[Fchamel]

One thing I want to add is if you are watching her while she is trying to lay, then she won't lay. Privacy is key with egg laying.