Not Eating for a week, has eggs

[DavidBuchan]

I know there have been a few changes to make, but she is not dehydrated, she will go on a diet herself before laying (might as well slip a little baby food in while you're giving calcium). It's the calcium that is my main concern. That and water, but just a couple of extra mistings per day would sort that if the rest is ok.
The weakness is a concern......it's impossible to tell if she can cope with a laying, and it sounds like she has a big load to drop........if she hasn't laid by the time you can get to a vet there's not a lot more you can do

 

[kinyonga]

Is she still sitting low in the cage? Does she keep her eyes open or shut?
Weak grip isn't good.

Has the vet ever seen eggs in a veiled that are ready to lay?? They don't usually look well-calcified even at that point. Are the eggs oval or round in the x-ray?

When you are giving her the calcium make sure that you just ease it into the mouth...don't squirt it or it might go into her lungs. Same with the water. If she is still drinking, get her drinking by dripping water on the tip of her nose and while she is opening her mouth ease the calcium in....it will be less stressful than pulling her mouth open and you won't be so likely to hurt her either.

You can try digging a hole for her in the sand in the new egglaying container you are putting in for her. Sometimes it gets them going. Because you didn't have the container in sooner, it may be playing a part in her problems.

You also should make the needed changes to the supplementing and gutloading. Also 50 crickets a week is too much IMHO for a female veiled. Over feeding constantly can lead to reproductive issues, constipation, prolapses and even MBD. I'm hoping she isn't already in trouble, but I think she might be. I hope she lays the eggs for you, but the problem is that if you wait and she doesn't it might be too late for the oxytocin to help her and the only option will be spaying as long as she doesn't get too weak to do it. ;(

You don't need a light on at night and you don't need any source of heat unless the temperature drops into the low 60'sF. If it does get that cold, then you can use a heat emitting "bulb".

Is the cage in the sun at all during the day? Close enough to the window to feel the cold air from it at night?

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.

A wide variety of insects that have been well fed and gutloaded should be fed to it.

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.

 

[Zoe]

Is she still sitting low in the cage? Does she keep her eyes open or shut?
Weak grip isn't good.

Has the vet ever seen eggs in a veiled that are ready to lay?? They don't usually look well-calcified even at that point. Are the eggs oval or round in the x-ray?

When you are giving her the calcium make sure that you just ease it into the mouth...don't squirt it or it might go into her lungs. Same with the water. If she is still drinking, get her drinking by dripping water on the tip of her nose and while she is opening her mouth ease the calcium in....it will be less stressful than pulling her mouth open and you won't be so likely to hurt her either.

You can try digging a hole for her in the sand in the new egglaying container you are putting in for her. Sometimes it gets them going. Because you didn't have the container in sooner, it may be playing a part in her problems.

You also should make the needed changes to the supplementing and gutloading. Also 50 crickets a week is too much IMHO for a female veiled. Over feeding constantly can lead to reproductive issues, constipation, prolapses and even MBD. I'm hoping she isn't already in trouble, but I think she might be. I hope she lays the eggs for you, but the problem is that if you wait and she doesn't it might be too late for the oxytocin to help her and the only option will be spaying as long as she doesn't get too weak to do it. ;(

You don't need a light on at night and you don't need any source of heat unless the temperature drops into the low 60'sF. If it does get that cold, then you can use a heat emitting "bulb".

Is the cage in the sun at all during the day? Close enough to the window to feel the cold air from it at night?

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.

A wide variety of insects that have been well fed and gutloaded should be fed to it.

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.

Thanks for the sites! I will check them out now. Zoe has the UVB ZooMed Repti-sun strip light that is a 5.0. I said 10.0 earlier, but that is my bearded dragons and I got them confused. She doesn't have a "light" on at night, but has a heat emitting bulb that I just leave on. Since her cage is big and she can move around, I thought it wouldn't harm anything by leaving it on. Her temps stay the same at night and day.

I have been giving her calcium on Monday's and calcium with d3 on Fridays on the crickets before feeding, but will cut back to 2 times a month on the d3.

In the x-ray her bones looked fine, so no MBD. That was my original concern before I knew there were eggs. I want to say the eggs were round, but I will have to ask my friend who went with me to be sure. They were all low laying and not near her lungs. They weren't big, but there were a lot. The vet has a panther chameleon and also talked about one chameleon she had to induce, so I assume she has seem them before.

I am not 100% if Zoe actually eats all 24 crickets at each sitting... I feed my lizards every Monday and Friday. They each get 24 (if that's the right count). So I will cut hers back once she starts eating again and make sure they are gutloaded. Should I give her a dozen each sitting?

Zoe is near the window, but you can't feel the heat/cold from where she is. Her temps stay at 73 throughout the night. There isn't direct sun hitting the cage, but it's enough to light the room and cage so a daylight bulb isn't needed.

I just peeked in at her and she is actually digging a little in her box. I couldn't find sand anywhere tonight, so I'll have to go look for some in the morning. Her eyes were open when I peeked in. I also gave her a shower earlier and she didn't want to drink. I gave her a tiny bit of plain pedialyte tonight mixed with water like suggested. I gently opened her mouth and slowly poured the water mix in. Thanks for the tip about not squirting.

Seriously, thank you so much for the help and all of the info!! You guys are all amazing!

 

[DavidBuchan]

A night time drop in temps is better for her, as long as it doesn't go below 60F (65 while she's still weak).

 

[Zoe]

I found sand and a large planter today. She is just sitting in the hole I dug not really moving around. Her eyes are open though.

How much pedialyte should I give her in a day? 1-3 times?