hello! so my chameleon recently has only had these dark colors and spots for a while now and i was starting to get worried. she eats about 6-10 medium sized crickets and 2 times a week she gets 2 or 3 super worms dusted with calcium no d3 and reptivitamins. she doesn’t seem or look dehydrated , and she’s always climbing on the screen of the enclosure and sometimes even on the top of the enclosure where the lights are. my room can tend to get a little cold but she always is opening her mouth in an attempt to cool down so i don’t think that’s the issue. she has a 75 watt basking bulb and she has a t5 linear light. if anyone can help that would be so helpful! one was taken today literally a few minutes ago and the other was taken on oct 7th
spots and dark colors
- Thread starter lenalee
- Start date
ehdee6
Avid Member
Hi there,
Welcome to the forum!
How old is she?
I ask how old she is because the colors she's showing is what a female looks like when she's developing, or about ready to lay eggs.
It's often a surprise to new Cham owners.
Our little lady chameleons lay eggs; like chickens they'll keep laying, even without a male.
There's an excellent blog about it by our own female vailed expert @MissSkittles here: https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/veiled-chameleon-laying-101.2488/
If you need any support we're here to help! Ask away.
If you'd like a husbandry review to see if it's possibly another issue (or if you'd just like a general review) please answer the following and a full picture of the current set up.
Chameleon Info:
Cage Info:
Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.
--------------
Please Note:
Welcome to the forum!
How old is she?
I ask how old she is because the colors she's showing is what a female looks like when she's developing, or about ready to lay eggs.
It's often a surprise to new Cham owners.
Our little lady chameleons lay eggs; like chickens they'll keep laying, even without a male.
There's an excellent blog about it by our own female vailed expert @MissSkittles here: https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/veiled-chameleon-laying-101.2488/
If you need any support we're here to help! Ask away.
If you'd like a husbandry review to see if it's possibly another issue (or if you'd just like a general review) please answer the following and a full picture of the current set up.
Chameleon Info:
- Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
- Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
- Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
- Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
- Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
- Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
- History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
Cage Info:
- Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
- Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
- Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
- Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
- Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
- Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
- Location - Where are you geographically located?
Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.
--------------
Please Note:
- The more details you provide the better and more accurate help you will receive.
- Photos can be very helpful.
she’s a veiled female chameleon, & she has been in my care since june 1st.
i’ve asked around on here and they said she’s at least 5-6 months.
i don’t handle her at all, only when i need to get her out the cage to give it a full clean because since the plants are touching the floor and not hung up i can’t spot clean. 1, because i use paper towels on the bottom to catch any water that dosent get into the pots.
feeding- she gets fed 6-10 or maybe even 15 medium crickets every other day and once times a week she gets 2-3 super worms.
supplements- the brands i have are the zoo med repti calcium without d3 which gets used every feeding and and the zoomed reptivite vitamins with d3 and that one only gets used 2 twice a month.
watering- for her water i use a water bottle with holes poked in the bottom and i mist the cage once before lights turn on and before the lights turn off so 2 times a day her cage gets misted.
fecal description- she’s never been tested for parasites and she hasn’t dropped any eggs so far while i’ve had her yet.
history- nothing i haven’t said already, someone told me on here that it looks like she’s probably about to start developing her colors so that’s probably what this is and im just overreacting?
————
cage type- all screen enclosure.
lighting- a 75 watt basking bulb and a t5 linear light.
temperature- her temps during the day are usually around 78-85 at the top and the bottom is probably low 70s. & at night her temp drops to low 60s.
humidity- during the day it’s around 40-50% and at night it gets around 80-100%. to maintain and keep her humidity where it needs to be i used aluminum foil on the back of the cage and on one of the sides and it actually works surprisingly well.
plants, right now i have a mix of real and fake plants so she has more hiding room, i have 2 pothos & a succulent and the rest are fake but i plan on going all live plants soon but when i went plant shopping i only saw the pothos.
placement- its on my dresser for height, although all the water is molding my dresser. its not near any vents, i do however have a ceiling fan but its not like right over the cage.
location- i’m in the east south, in kentucky. it’s in the 70s degrees wise but it’s only going to get colder as the months go on.
current problem - im worried about her colors. she’s been dark and spoty for like a week and some change now.
PSA- i’m aware the temperature gauge i have right now is known for eventually giving wrong temps so i will be getting a digital one soon! and i plan on getting more live plants!
i’ve asked around on here and they said she’s at least 5-6 months.
i don’t handle her at all, only when i need to get her out the cage to give it a full clean because since the plants are touching the floor and not hung up i can’t spot clean. 1, because i use paper towels on the bottom to catch any water that dosent get into the pots.
feeding- she gets fed 6-10 or maybe even 15 medium crickets every other day and once times a week she gets 2-3 super worms.
supplements- the brands i have are the zoo med repti calcium without d3 which gets used every feeding and and the zoomed reptivite vitamins with d3 and that one only gets used 2 twice a month.
watering- for her water i use a water bottle with holes poked in the bottom and i mist the cage once before lights turn on and before the lights turn off so 2 times a day her cage gets misted.
fecal description- she’s never been tested for parasites and she hasn’t dropped any eggs so far while i’ve had her yet.
history- nothing i haven’t said already, someone told me on here that it looks like she’s probably about to start developing her colors so that’s probably what this is and im just overreacting?
————
cage type- all screen enclosure.
lighting- a 75 watt basking bulb and a t5 linear light.
temperature- her temps during the day are usually around 78-85 at the top and the bottom is probably low 70s. & at night her temp drops to low 60s.
humidity- during the day it’s around 40-50% and at night it gets around 80-100%. to maintain and keep her humidity where it needs to be i used aluminum foil on the back of the cage and on one of the sides and it actually works surprisingly well.
plants, right now i have a mix of real and fake plants so she has more hiding room, i have 2 pothos & a succulent and the rest are fake but i plan on going all live plants soon but when i went plant shopping i only saw the pothos.
placement- its on my dresser for height, although all the water is molding my dresser. its not near any vents, i do however have a ceiling fan but its not like right over the cage.
location- i’m in the east south, in kentucky. it’s in the 70s degrees wise but it’s only going to get colder as the months go on.
current problem - im worried about her colors. she’s been dark and spoty for like a week and some change now.
PSA- i’m aware the temperature gauge i have right now is known for eventually giving wrong temps so i will be getting a digital one soon! and i plan on getting more live plants!
Attachments
MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
Hi again. 
I have an idea about her behavior, but give me a bit of time and I’ll go thru your husbandry.
I have an idea about her behavior, but give me a bit of time and I’ll go thru your husbandry.
MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
she’s a veiled female chameleon, & she has been in my care since june 1st.
i’ve asked around on here and they said she’s at least 5-6 months. I think I may have been the one who said that, so I agree.
The spots and dark colors are her big girl patterns. Some girls will show mainly a default of bright colors of teal and mustard or orange and others default is dark patterns. I’ve had one of each. The girl on the top right is my girl Stella - her default is those dark patterns and spots. However, the pic on the left is also Stella, but she was excited and turned her colors to bright as she was sneaking peaks at her forbidden boyfriend. The bottom right was my girl Grumpy, who always wore her bright colors. Once a girl has developed her adult colors/patterns, she will not return to solid green again and it signifies that she is of sexual maturity. The behaviours you describe sounds like she is receptive…all dressed up and pretty and now trying to find a cute boy to make eggs with. However, if she does not yet have a lay bin, the time to prepare and put one in is now. They can also be similarly restless when looking for a place to lay their eggs. Also, start preparing your privacy barrier from now, so that once she is ready to lay and starts digging, you can just quickly/quietly pull it in place without risking disturbing her.
i don’t handle her at all, only when i need to get her out the cage to give it a full clean because since the plants are touching the floor and not hung up i can’t spot clean. 1, because i use paper towels on the bottom to catch any water that dosent get into the pots. I believe I already gave you a link to the blog on building trust and explained about veiled attitude. It’s a good idea to get both of you comfortable with handling. Even though I have zero need for it, I handle all but one of my chams on a regular basis, but only for a few seconds to reinforce that I’m okay. The one I don’t handle is wild caught, punctures and hurts my skin with his remaining claws and he just freaks out. However, I do gently stroke his chin or side and he trusts I’m not going to hurt him. Every time I give silkworms, I hand feed them.
feeding- she gets fed 6-10 or maybe even 15 medium crickets every other day and once times a week she gets 2-3 super worms. Ok - 10-15 every other day is too much. This may be why she has matured already. (I did worse with my first cham, so no judgement). From my blog, Starting at around 5 months old, you’ll want to slowly start reducing her diet so that by the time she’s reached 6-7 months, she’s getting 5-8 smaller sized feeders daily. By 7-8 months, she should be getting 3-4 feeders, every other day and by 9-10 months old, further reduce her to 3-4 feeders three days a week (plus treats). If she happens to mature and lay eggs before any of this, the schedule will jump ahead.
You should also add variety to her diet. Crickets are a good staple feeder, but try adding some dubia or discoid roaches, silkworms, bsfl, grasshoppers, etc. *Kai Phan on Facebook or https://dragonhoppers.com/ are the only sources I know of for grasshoppers. You also want to feed you feeder insects a healthy diet. Afraid the orange and other colored cubes, jelly pots and other similar items are not going to do much aside from keep your bugs alive for a few days. I have beardies, so it works out well to feed my bugs the same fresh organic produce that they get. I also like/use Repashy Bug Burger. For when I’m rushed or lazy, I do have frozen cubes of puréed veggies.
supplements- the brands i have are the zoo med repti calcium without d3 which gets used every feeding and and the zoomed reptivite vitamins with d3 and that one only gets used 2 twice a month. Perfect!
watering- for her water i use a water bottle with holes poked in the bottom and i mist the cage once before lights turn on and before the lights turn off so 2 times a day her cage gets misted. How often and for how long do you use the dripper? How long do you mist for. What color are her urates? All or mostly white/cream urates show she’s well hydrated. I suggest using the dripper for only about 15-20 minutes per day. Misting should be for 2 minutes to ensure everything is soaked and dripping, plus that gives her time to refresh her eyes in the mist.
fecal description- she’s never been tested for parasites and she hasn’t dropped any eggs so far while i’ve had her It’s always a good idea to get a fecal. 99.9% of vets require a wellness exam before they’ll test…legally they can’t treat any animal that they haven’t seen.
history- nothing i haven’t said already, someone told me on here that it looks like she’s probably about to start developing her colors so that’s probably what this is and im just overreacting? Yes, that was me and again, I agree with myself.
I do have a bit more to say about her activity level, but will save that for part 2.
To be continued….
————
i’ve asked around on here and they said she’s at least 5-6 months. I think I may have been the one who said that, so I agree.
The spots and dark colors are her big girl patterns. Some girls will show mainly a default of bright colors of teal and mustard or orange and others default is dark patterns. I’ve had one of each. The girl on the top right is my girl Stella - her default is those dark patterns and spots. However, the pic on the left is also Stella, but she was excited and turned her colors to bright as she was sneaking peaks at her forbidden boyfriend. The bottom right was my girl Grumpy, who always wore her bright colors. Once a girl has developed her adult colors/patterns, she will not return to solid green again and it signifies that she is of sexual maturity. The behaviours you describe sounds like she is receptive…all dressed up and pretty and now trying to find a cute boy to make eggs with. However, if she does not yet have a lay bin, the time to prepare and put one in is now. They can also be similarly restless when looking for a place to lay their eggs. Also, start preparing your privacy barrier from now, so that once she is ready to lay and starts digging, you can just quickly/quietly pull it in place without risking disturbing her. 
i don’t handle her at all, only when i need to get her out the cage to give it a full clean because since the plants are touching the floor and not hung up i can’t spot clean. 1, because i use paper towels on the bottom to catch any water that dosent get into the pots. I believe I already gave you a link to the blog on building trust and explained about veiled attitude. It’s a good idea to get both of you comfortable with handling. Even though I have zero need for it, I handle all but one of my chams on a regular basis, but only for a few seconds to reinforce that I’m okay. The one I don’t handle is wild caught, punctures and hurts my skin with his remaining claws and he just freaks out. However, I do gently stroke his chin or side and he trusts I’m not going to hurt him. Every time I give silkworms, I hand feed them.
feeding- she gets fed 6-10 or maybe even 15 medium crickets every other day and once times a week she gets 2-3 super worms. Ok - 10-15 every other day is too much. This may be why she has matured already. (I did worse with my first cham, so no judgement). From my blog, Starting at around 5 months old, you’ll want to slowly start reducing her diet so that by the time she’s reached 6-7 months, she’s getting 5-8 smaller sized feeders daily. By 7-8 months, she should be getting 3-4 feeders, every other day and by 9-10 months old, further reduce her to 3-4 feeders three days a week (plus treats). If she happens to mature and lay eggs before any of this, the schedule will jump ahead.
You should also add variety to her diet. Crickets are a good staple feeder, but try adding some dubia or discoid roaches, silkworms, bsfl, grasshoppers, etc. *Kai Phan on Facebook or https://dragonhoppers.com/ are the only sources I know of for grasshoppers. You also want to feed you feeder insects a healthy diet. Afraid the orange and other colored cubes, jelly pots and other similar items are not going to do much aside from keep your bugs alive for a few days. I have beardies, so it works out well to feed my bugs the same fresh organic produce that they get. I also like/use Repashy Bug Burger. For when I’m rushed or lazy, I do have frozen cubes of puréed veggies.
supplements- the brands i have are the zoo med repti calcium without d3 which gets used every feeding and and the zoomed reptivite vitamins with d3 and that one only gets used 2 twice a month. Perfect!
watering- for her water i use a water bottle with holes poked in the bottom and i mist the cage once before lights turn on and before the lights turn off so 2 times a day her cage gets misted. How often and for how long do you use the dripper? How long do you mist for. What color are her urates? All or mostly white/cream urates show she’s well hydrated. I suggest using the dripper for only about 15-20 minutes per day. Misting should be for 2 minutes to ensure everything is soaked and dripping, plus that gives her time to refresh her eyes in the mist.
fecal description- she’s never been tested for parasites and she hasn’t dropped any eggs so far while i’ve had her It’s always a good idea to get a fecal. 99.9% of vets require a wellness exam before they’ll test…legally they can’t treat any animal that they haven’t seen.
history- nothing i haven’t said already, someone told me on here that it looks like she’s probably about to start developing her colors so that’s probably what this is and im just overreacting? Yes, that was me and again, I agree with myself.
I do have a bit more to say about her activity level, but will save that for part 2. To be continued….
————
MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
cage type- all screen enclosure. You don’t say what size and it does look too small to me. The minimum standard for an adult veiled or panther is at least 2x2x4’ (XL ReptiBreeze size). I urge/encourage you to upgrade her as soon as you can. A few inches may not seem like much, but here you go. *this was when I was a newbie and had just upgraded my girl. I was astonished at the size difference. I was able to give her a properly sized lay bin too.
Helpful hint - it’s much easier to attach Dragon Ledges, trellis or whatever else you may be using to hold branches and plants before putting the enclosure together.
lighting- a 75 watt basking bulb and a t5 linear light. Try a 60w basking bulb and see what temps that gives. 85 is a bit too warm. You don’t want her temps above 80. Also, what strength and band is your uvb? The standard is either Arcadia 6% or ReptiSun 5.0. I discourage all other brands as they have not proven to have adequate output. Only with a solarmeter 6.5 can one determine that, and since those are over $200, it’s easier to just buy reliable proven uvb brands. What is the distance between your basking area and the lights? This may be another cause for some climbing behavior…she may not be getting enough uvb and is climbing higher to try to get more. The ideal distance is around 8-9” below the lights.
temperature- her temps during the day are usually around 78-85 Just covered that. at the top and the bottom is probably low 70s. & at night her temp drops to low 60s. Perfect night temp drop!
humidity- during the day it’s around 40-50% and at night it gets around 80-100%. to maintain and keep her humidity where it needs to be i used aluminum foil on the back of the cage and on one of the sides and it actually works surprisingly well. Very good! You might want to consider (for aesthetics) swapping out the foil for either a printed background or a shower curtain. After trying different things, I finally settled on a shower curtain of a pale blue sky with clouds. Some get prints of forests and trees or whatever else they like. Just avoid things with other animals -especially birds.
plants, right now i have a mix of real and fake plants so she has more hiding room, i have 2 pothos & a succulent and the rest are fake but i plan on going all live plants soon but when i went plant shopping i only saw the pothos. Definitely you’ll want to replace the fake with safe live plants. You can hang the fake ones on the outside to give her a bit more privacy. Not sure how the succulent will fare with the amount of water. Keep looking for plants, specifically a taller one, like a schefflera, weeping fig/ficus benjamina or money tree. It took me over three years to find money trees that were taller than a foot high and I’m still waiting to find some weeping figs. I only ever found one and it’s grown too big. Schefflera are pretty common, so you should be able to find one of decent size. Do regularly take some clippings from your pothos and start new plants from them, so that you always have a couple extra. My girl devours her plants and I’m recently finding that my veiled boy is eating all the baby leaves off his.
placement- its on my dresser for height, although all the water is molding my dresser. its not near any vents, i do however have a ceiling fan but its not like right over the cage. ReptiBreeze makes substrate trays that you can place inside the enclosure. They have a lip so it’ll hold water. This is another option, but you’ll need to assemble it and seal the joints with silicone. https://www.diycages.com/collection...odel-vertical-screen-cages?variant=1079600969 Additionally, you may want to look at getting something to hold your enclosure if you have the space.
location- i’m in the east south, in kentucky. it’s in the 70s degrees wise but it’s only going to get colder as the months go on.
current problem - im worried about her colors. she’s been dark and spoty for like a week and some change now. Hope I’ve answered this well enough. Do refer back to my laying blog and get a lay bin set up asap. Plants and upgrades and all are wonderful and needed, but a lay bin is priority since we don’t know when she may need it and trying to guess that is tough.
PSA- i’m aware the temperature gauge i have right now is known for eventually giving wrong temps so i will be getting a digital one soon! and i plan on getting more live plants! Perfect
Hope this all has been of some help to you. If you have any other questions or I wasn’t terribly clear on anything, just ask away. I’m very glad that you and Stitch found your way here.
Helpful hint - it’s much easier to attach Dragon Ledges, trellis or whatever else you may be using to hold branches and plants before putting the enclosure together.
lighting- a 75 watt basking bulb and a t5 linear light. Try a 60w basking bulb and see what temps that gives. 85 is a bit too warm. You don’t want her temps above 80. Also, what strength and band is your uvb? The standard is either Arcadia 6% or ReptiSun 5.0. I discourage all other brands as they have not proven to have adequate output. Only with a solarmeter 6.5 can one determine that, and since those are over $200, it’s easier to just buy reliable proven uvb brands. What is the distance between your basking area and the lights? This may be another cause for some climbing behavior…she may not be getting enough uvb and is climbing higher to try to get more. The ideal distance is around 8-9” below the lights.
temperature- her temps during the day are usually around 78-85 Just covered that. at the top and the bottom is probably low 70s. & at night her temp drops to low 60s. Perfect night temp drop!
humidity- during the day it’s around 40-50% and at night it gets around 80-100%. to maintain and keep her humidity where it needs to be i used aluminum foil on the back of the cage and on one of the sides and it actually works surprisingly well. Very good! You might want to consider (for aesthetics) swapping out the foil for either a printed background or a shower curtain. After trying different things, I finally settled on a shower curtain of a pale blue sky with clouds. Some get prints of forests and trees or whatever else they like. Just avoid things with other animals -especially birds.
plants, right now i have a mix of real and fake plants so she has more hiding room, i have 2 pothos & a succulent and the rest are fake but i plan on going all live plants soon but when i went plant shopping i only saw the pothos. Definitely you’ll want to replace the fake with safe live plants. You can hang the fake ones on the outside to give her a bit more privacy. Not sure how the succulent will fare with the amount of water. Keep looking for plants, specifically a taller one, like a schefflera, weeping fig/ficus benjamina or money tree. It took me over three years to find money trees that were taller than a foot high and I’m still waiting to find some weeping figs. I only ever found one and it’s grown too big. Schefflera are pretty common, so you should be able to find one of decent size. Do regularly take some clippings from your pothos and start new plants from them, so that you always have a couple extra. My girl devours her plants and I’m recently finding that my veiled boy is eating all the baby leaves off his.
placement- its on my dresser for height, although all the water is molding my dresser. its not near any vents, i do however have a ceiling fan but its not like right over the cage. ReptiBreeze makes substrate trays that you can place inside the enclosure. They have a lip so it’ll hold water. This is another option, but you’ll need to assemble it and seal the joints with silicone. https://www.diycages.com/collection...odel-vertical-screen-cages?variant=1079600969 Additionally, you may want to look at getting something to hold your enclosure if you have the space.
location- i’m in the east south, in kentucky. it’s in the 70s degrees wise but it’s only going to get colder as the months go on.
current problem - im worried about her colors. she’s been dark and spoty for like a week and some change now. Hope I’ve answered this well enough. Do refer back to my laying blog and get a lay bin set up asap. Plants and upgrades and all are wonderful and needed, but a lay bin is priority since we don’t know when she may need it and trying to guess that is tough.
PSA- i’m aware the temperature gauge i have right now is known for eventually giving wrong temps so i will be getting a digital one soon! and i plan on getting more live plants! Perfect
Hope this all has been of some help to you. If you have any other questions or I wasn’t terribly clear on anything, just ask away. I’m very glad that you and Stitch found your way here.
yes thank you so much for this! there just aren’t any vets or exotic animal vets in my area and with the government shutting down we are getting tight on money.. but her urates are a cream color& i notice her eyes are not sunken in also showing me she is getting hydrated, i hardly ever see her drink but i know they are shy drinkers but clearly she’s drinking so thats good. also so i should only be feeding her 6 insect feeders a day including treat bugs? and any time i spray her cage she literally runs away the only time she doesn’t is before lights come on. also how big should the bin be? the cage isn’t all that big, it’s the zoomed chamelon kit in large so whatever size that is 18x18x36” but her plants and branches are to touching the ground so i can’t imagine shell have much room. i might have to take out a plant til she lays her eggs? and is there any telling how long that process is? from
now to when she should lay?
now to when she should lay?
ehdee6
Avid Member
They tend to be secret drinkers. I've only seen my little girl drink once, and it was when I first brought her home. They don't like getting wet, so it's normal if she runs away. 
She looks healthy, but if you're super worried about dehydration the best way to tell is to look at their poop.
A healthy poop/urate looks like this: the white bit is the urate.
If it looks orange/golden like this, then you'll know she's dehydrated.
I followed the feeding guide per the age that @MissSkittles said in the blog fairly strictly, so will let her answer on how to start reducing her food intake at her age. My girl just started showing her big girl colors in August. She was roaming as you're describing too. But I weigh her every other week and she's not showing signs of egg development. I'm hoping with her limited food intake and colder heat, that she just won't develop eggs.
BUT she's had a lay bin in her cage since April, just in case. The bin should be at least 12” long and wide, and 8" deep. It's going to take up a considerable amount of space in your cage, if you're not able to upgrade to an XL cage, you can put a plant in the lay bin to try and maximize space, but make sure the roots don't take up more than 1/4 of the bin. She needs lots of space to dig, but some prefer to lay against the roots of a plant.
You can see my girls set up (and other cute pictures of my chams) here: https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/littlefoot-mr-jack-photo-dumps.194948/post-1826866
I think it's the zoomed stand specifically made for the reptibreeze. Alot of us use drain pans under our cages. I use this one from home Depot: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbil...ng-Machine-Drain-Pan-in-White-98244/307638946
She looks healthy, but if you're super worried about dehydration the best way to tell is to look at their poop.
A healthy poop/urate looks like this: the white bit is the urate.
If it looks orange/golden like this, then you'll know she's dehydrated.
I followed the feeding guide per the age that @MissSkittles said in the blog fairly strictly, so will let her answer on how to start reducing her food intake at her age. My girl just started showing her big girl colors in August. She was roaming as you're describing too. But I weigh her every other week and she's not showing signs of egg development. I'm hoping with her limited food intake and colder heat, that she just won't develop eggs.
BUT she's had a lay bin in her cage since April, just in case. The bin should be at least 12” long and wide, and 8" deep. It's going to take up a considerable amount of space in your cage, if you're not able to upgrade to an XL cage, you can put a plant in the lay bin to try and maximize space, but make sure the roots don't take up more than 1/4 of the bin. She needs lots of space to dig, but some prefer to lay against the roots of a plant.
You can see my girls set up (and other cute pictures of my chams) here: https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/littlefoot-mr-jack-photo-dumps.194948/post-1826866
I think it's the zoomed stand specifically made for the reptibreeze. Alot of us use drain pans under our cages. I use this one from home Depot: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbil...ng-Machine-Drain-Pan-in-White-98244/307638946
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