Sudden Edema after becoming Receptive

[cartycinema]

Hi all. This is my first time posting, as I've run into a strange situation with my beautiful female veiled, Daisy. She is about 7/8 months old (give or take a month), and I've had her since she was ~3-4 months old.

Three weeks ago, she began displaying her receptive colors. Shortly after, I noticed her throat began to puff up and stay puffed up. It appears to be edema, but I can't figure out if it is because of hormonal changes or if I have done something wrong on my end. I've read on these forums that it can happen when a female becomes gravid, but I haven't heard much about it happening during the receptive phase.

I'm planning on taking her to a vet regardless, but I was curious if anyone had any insight into what is currently happening with my little girl.

Your Chameleon - Female Veiled Chameleon, ~7/8 Months Old.
Handling - Twice a week for up to 5 minutes.
Feeding - Crickets and Dubia Roaches. She gets 7-10 appropriately sized insects a day. The feeders are all gut-loaded with carrots, sweet potatoes, and leafy greens. The feeders are dusted in ReptiCalcium (NO D3) daily, and a 2x a month in Repashy Calcium Plus LoD
Watering - Automatic mister. Sprayed 2x a day (7am and 7pm) for 30 seconds.
Fecal Description - White urates (no orange tip), solid brown poop.
History - I bought her in July when she was about ~3/4 months old. She has been very healthy since then. No parasites or any health issues so far.
Cage Type - 2'x2'x4' ReptiBreeze XL with 3 sides of insulation.
Lighting - Arcadia 6% (on mesh), Jungle Dawn (on mesh), and 75 W heat lamp (raised above cage).
Temperature - 72F (ambient), 85 (basking).
Humidity - 60% during the day, 85% at night.
Plants - Pothos, Money Tree, and Ficus.
Placement - In my bedroom, with very little foot traffic.
Location - North Carolina.

Here are pictures:

And here is a picture of my enclosure:

 

[nightanole]

Skip a feeding of Repashy Calcium Plus LoD. She might be getting a wee too much supplements, and a simple few weeks off may fix it. Also switch to feeding every other day, or even every three days (so 5 feedings every 2 weeks) since she is a female. Over feeding gives you lots of eggs.

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi and welcome. That’s a significant amount of edema, so a vet visit is a good idea to make sure your girl is healthy. It’s always a good idea to take a fresh poo for parasite testing also…even if she had a negative result previously. Do you by chance use bee pollen at all? Anecdotally that has been the cause of edema in some veileds. Has she laid any eggs yet? It’s hard for me to see, but does she have a lay bin? If not, she should. She is old enough now to reduce her feeding to just 3-4 feeders, 3 days per week. You’ll also want to reduce her basking temp down to a max of 80. This will help so she won’t produce a huge number of eggs. Here’s my blog in case you haven’t seen it yet. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/veiled-chameleon-laying-101.2488/

 

[cartycinema]

Do you by chance use bee pollen at all? Anecdotally that has been the cause of edema in some veileds.

No bee pollen. Was going to try it, but also read about edema issues.

Has she laid any eggs yet? It’s hard for me to see, but does she have a lay bin? If not, she should.

She hasn't laid yet, but she does indeed have a lay bin. 8 inches deep with a 50/50 mix of soil and play sand. She has a pothos plant root in there too.

Duly noted re: diet. Wasn't sure how soon to ween her off daily feeding.