Josie_Francis
Member
This was her first clutch and she lai 59 eggs, I was so shocked all of that came out of her little body!!! Will her clutches stay around this size every 90 days she lays?
She is laying eggs!
- Thread starter Josie_Francis
- Start date
Brodybreaux25
Chameleon Enthusiast
It will if you maintain your current temperature and feeding schedule, yes this is what you can expect every 90 days. However both Josh and I advocate for a reduced schedule for females. Large clutch sizes such as this one are very taxing on her body and will significantly shorten her lifespan.
To put it simply the reduced schedule for females is as simple as keeping her ambient/basking temps at the lowest acceptable range to down-rate her metabolic activity. Combine this with only giving her the minimum amount of food required to keep her healthy and the end result is a handicapped reproductive cycle. All the nutrients she receives from her diet are put into running all her other bodily functions leaving very little to be spent on reproduction. This is why it’s critical to have a top notch supplement and gutload routine with females.
I’ve had success with this method but not to the extent Josh has, maybe he would be willing to share his program!
JoshD49
Chameleon Enthusiast
I am not sure if there is a difference in species but mine is a female panther. I keep her temps pretty stable in the 80s and feed her 5 appropriate size and gut-loaded crickets a day. I had to cut her back as she would eat as many as you gave her and I was concerned about her weight. I do have a scale and should be checking her weight more often but she has not been the most friendly chameleon and will bite if she gets the chance. This has been getting better so I will track the weight better. I was concerned because her fat pads were... well.... fat. and she started to get neck ademia. I cut her feeding schedule and supplement schedule to fix this and she looks a lot better and has a better attitude as well.
I will get better temp measurements when I get home but I know they are around there. Also I live in southern CA and we keep the house temp in the low 70's almost all year around. This leads all my chameleons to not bask as much. They tend to hang out in other places in the cage and only bask in the morning and for a bit in the afternoon. This house temp staying steady helps keep the cage temps and basking stable. I also noticed my bearded dragon needed the basking temps turned down and now he has become much more active.
I don't know why she has not laid yet but my feeding schedules have been put in place due to managing her weight more then being scared of eggs. She has a lay bin in her cage at all times with plants around it for privacy so if she needs it its there.
Brodybreaux25
Chameleon Enthusiast
That’s interesting because 5 a day is nowhere near a reduced schedule. 5 every 3-4 days is what I consider to be reduced and that’s what I practice with my female veiled. If your girl isn’t laying with that much food she may very well be sterile.
Brodybreaux25
Chameleon Enthusiast
I’d be very curious to find out
