Possibly Gravid?

panthercrazy

New Member
Ok, so here's my situation and then I'll get to the question.

I have been searching the breeding posts and cannot seem to find my answer.

I have a 14 month veiled (not one that I have raised, I got her out of a poor situation a few months back).

Where she come from she showed receptive coloring (robin egg blue spots). I know that she was placed with a male for a few days as well until she displayed the non receptive coloring/behaviour (dark greyish, mouth gaping & hisses), she was removed.

Now she has been eating like a pig hence her nickname "miss piggy" and for the last 2 days has been roaming her cage from side to side, top to bottom. I am prepared for the possibility of her laying eggs but the question I have is

Do they show the gravid coloring the entire time after being with a male? Or only until removed? I couldn't seem to find this answer in any posts?? But maybe I read too many times and missed it?? I can sit here for hours reading new and old posts.

Thanks in advance everyone :) I've attached a couple pics but wasn't easy to get the angle/shots I was trying for.
 
I'm no expert but it sure looks like she has eggs!! I have a gravid female as well and the only time she shows the classic gravid color is when she sees the male. I'd get her a laying bin if you haven't already done so. I also was wondering the same thing about mine because she looks like yours the majority of the time but mine was bred only a week ago. Hopefully someone more knowlegable will respond for both of us!
 
Many gravid females will only show gravid coloration when shown to a male. My female never did show gravid coloration until she laid her 70+ eggs.
 
Yes I am fully prepared should she lay eggs but I have never bred chameleons nor had any lay eggs. Bred other reptiles but as we all know each animal is different.
 
Time for egg laying place....

Her roaming behavior indicates that she is getting ready to lay. She's looking for her spot. It's time to put her in that egg laying place you have ready. I've found that the first time for females can take awhile. Like days until they complete the process. It goes faster the second time around. Because of this I've got a UVB tube on top of the screen I have over my egg laying "trash can". This provides UVB when they need it most (gravid condition) while they take several days of fussing around with test holes or whatever. I've always been afraid to just let them be in the trash can for days without the UVB if it takes more than a day. I'm not saying you need to do this. Just something to consider if she takes several days to lay. She looks ready. Her body looks ready to pop :)
 
Thanks again for the responses, greatly appreciated.

I have a lay box ready for her, both one in the cage and another outside. She has been showing interest in the one in her cage, but I'm concerned as to how long I should or shouldn't leave her in cage to attempt using the lay box inside. I suppose she'll decide if she wants anything to do with this box and I will continue to monitor very closely. At any sign of her not wanting this box I can move her to the other.

I know appetite is suppose to stop prior to laying, she has just started to slow on her feeding response today. I offer crickets by cup feeding a couple feedings in the week (other cricket feedings I place in cage for them to hunt) and she is usually the first to try to get them before I have her cage open...lol today she had no interest in the cricket cup but ate one hornworm.
 
I let the female start digging in the container in the cage first and then when she is digging with intent she can be moved to the larger container outside the cage. A female will often dig a couple of test holes before settling on the one she will use. Do not let her see you watching her when she is digging...it will make her abandon the hole. If it happens often enough she could become eggbound.

She may take several days to dig the final hole and may sleep in the hole overnight. She should eventually turn around bum down in the hole and lay her eggs (usually done at night). Allow her to fill the hole in when she is done and return to the branches before you dig them up. I would recommend digging them up even if they are infertile to get a count on them.

Do you have a place to incubate them ready in case they are fertile?
 
I let the female start digging in the container in the cage first and then when she is digging with intent she can be moved to the larger container outside the cage. A female will often dig a couple of test holes before settling on the one she will use. Do not let her see you watching her when she is digging...it will make her abandon the hole. If it happens often enough she could become eggbound.


Yes I am aware of this becoming an issue.

She may take several days to dig the final hole and may sleep in the hole overnight. She should eventually turn around bum down in the hole and lay her eggs (usually done at night). Allow her to fill the hole in when she is done and return to the branches before you dig them up. I would recommend digging them up even if they are infertile to get a count on them.

Do you have a place to incubate them ready in case they are fertile?

I have 3 incubators as I breed other lizards and snakes. :)
 
I let the female start digging in the container in the cage first and then when she is digging with intent she can be moved to the larger container outside the cage. A female will often dig a couple of test holes before settling on the one she will use. Do not let her see you watching her when she is digging...it will make her abandon the hole. If it happens often enough she could become eggbound.

She may take several days to dig the final hole and may sleep in the hole overnight. She should eventually turn around bum down in the hole and lay her eggs (usually done at night). Allow her to fill the hole in when she is done and return to the branches before you dig them up. I would recommend digging them up even if they are infertile to get a count on them.

Do you have a place to incubate them ready in case they are fertile?


Up until the last couple days she has not shown much interest in the laying bin and roams a little; however for 2 days now, she has been digging a little in the bin in her cage, then basks, then roams around the cage, basks...so I'm thinking she about had enough.

She has not eaten anything offered in these 2 days, so this morning I noticed she was in the bin when the lights came on (which she usually hasn't been in bin early morning yet, moves that way throughout day a little) so I moved her over to the trash can laying bin. Well she went to town, dug only 1 hole?? that took her almost 2 hrs to perfect and now she has been in the hole facing out for almost 2 hours.

HMMM??? This is the part that will drive me nuts until she is done, how many eggs???
 
HA A you are like i used to be! sorry but most of the time it is going to take n e where from 2-5 weeks, and its ok if she doesnt eat barely n e thing in that period of time. My girl is going on 3 weeks, all i have done is completely covered her cage and sprayed her, force fed her 1 cricket and 1 worm, and given her calcium water. Prepare for a long arduous task my friend
 
I'm amazed!

Well I gotta say this little girl has me totally amazed! She has laid and is almost done covering hole up! :eek:

I feel for her she worked so hard, so fast, and looks so thin!

Now...she shows gravid colors! Go figure.....:rolleyes:
 
Lily only showed gravid colours when she was actually in the hole and laying. She stayed the same colours throughout being gravid, although her clutch was infertile. I'm not sure if carrying a fertile clutch has anything to do with their colour.
 
Eggs-cavating all done

Wow they can pack em there can't they!

The end results are 37 eggs laid, 2 much smaller but firm & white - I have my doubts but will see... 35 look great :)

Now the long haul......
 
did you get any pics of her when she was showing gravid coloration? how's she doing now?...appetite, drinking, etc?
 
I did post pics of her at the beginning of this post. She never showed gravid coloring until she was in the process of laying the eggs.
She drank for about 5 minutes after returning to her cage, ate a silk & a hornworm. She has a wild appetite still and always had thus her name of Miss Piggy...lol

I snuck a picture after well while she was covering the hole and I'll post that a little later today after I get it off my camera.
 
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