Please help !!!!!!

[Jason H]

I bought a 6 month old female veiled chemeleon a little over a month ago. She has always been very healthy and eats extremely well. She had gotten so used to me that she has been eating her crickets out of my hand every morning. She has done so for the past two weeks. Now all of a sudden she won't eat at all and has been roaming her cage for the past three days, and tries to push the door open. Every time I open the cage she comes as far out the front as she can and tries to bite me. Now she is in the very back of the cage on a branch and has turned a very dark brown color. PLEASE HELP

 

[Kat77]

Do you have anything in her cage for her to lay infertile eggs in?

 

[Brad Ramsey]

She maybe cycling a clutch of infertile eggs and needs to lay them.
Please read here:

http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/

Particularly the articles on keeping females and breeding.
Also a good place to check your husbandry practices.
Within a week or so before a female lays she will typically stop eating.

-Brad

 

[Jason H]

Yes, I have a 7" x 9" plastic container that is filled with sand 6" deep. But after reading some of the threads about egg laying bins I suppose my container is not large enough. If I get a trash can and make one to put her in how will I know when to place her in it ? and how long do I leave her in it?

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Is the sand moist enough to support a tunnel?
Is there a vine or branch leading into it?
Is the container round?
It needs to be twice as deep.

-Brad

 

[Jason H]

Thanks for the help Brad, I think I will use a trash can to make an egg laying bin out of. Do you know how I will know when to put her in it and for how long?

 

[Brad Ramsey]

If you put it in her enclosure you save yourself some worry.
I also tape paper to the front and sides to give privacy.

-Brad

 

[Jason H]

My enclosure is not big enough, I have a guy making a custom enclosure that looks like an armoire.So I will have to use the garbage can. I guess back to the original question, how will I know when it's time and how long do I leave her in there? Also, she is back to her bright green color and is no longer roaming the cage. I am about to go see if she is going to eat.

 

[ChromaChameleons]

If you leave a small container in her cage, she will dig in it and throw sand around. Once you see she has attempted to dig in the small container, then move her to the bin. She may also stop eating 3-7 days before laying eggs.
Good Luck