Tilly - A little bit plump or gravid?

[joeandsoph]

Still a little unsure on the situation with Tilly. Her colours have gone brighter (more orange than before). I have no idea if she is gravid or not as she is showing no signs (only her colour maybe). She's eating as normal, she's active and shown no interest in her laying bin. As this our first chameleon, we have no idea what to expect with her colours etc. Also we weighed her and she is arounf 50 grammes. Let me know what your opinions are.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

I would say she is going to lay eggs.
The orange markings usually show up when eggs are being cycled (fertile or not)
Keep an eye on her, monitor her eating and prepare a laying bin.

-Brad

 

[beeze]

Pretty female! She could have eggs. She looks a little wide in that last photo.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Notice also the little blue dots indicating that the cycle is still early and she is receptive to mating.
When it is time for her to lay she will know what to do as long as she has an acceptable place to do it.
She will give you clues when it's getting close ... not eating, restlessness, etc.

-Brad

 

[joeandsoph]

I was afraid she was ready :-(. How long would it usually take. I mean we're going on holiday Sunday as although she will be well looked after while were away it's still a little worrying.

Once the eggs are laid, do we remove them straight away? Also how big are they roughly and usually how many. And will she lay them in one go or come back and do a few at a time over a number of days?

Any help is very much appreciated.

 

[Miss Lily]

They may dig several test holes for a few days before they are happy with the hole. The whole clutch should be laid in one go, and after laying she will cover the hole and pat the sand back down so you won't be able to see where she's dug! Once she has finished covering she will return to the branches. That is when you can remove the bin and the eggs. She will also need a good mist/drink and some food dusted with calcium too.

Having said that, Lily returned to her bin the following day and carried on covering up the site as I had not removed the bin. She also dropped a single egg a couple of days before she laid the rest.

 

[joeandsoph]

Wow that many all in one go. Surely that must be quite hard on there little bodies. I hope it's not stressful for her :-(

 

[Miss Lily]

Yep, they lay them all at once - took Lily hours to pop out her 100+ eggs! Problems arise if they don't lay them all in one go. Once they've laid and returned to the branches they forget all about it and carry on as normal! They should also have a good appetite after laying too.

 

[joeandsoph]

Ok cool thanks. It's soooo scary for me. I want it to be as unstressful and easy for her lol

 

[joeandsoph]

Just ONE more thing hehe. As she is showing signs that she's ready or in the early stages...how long is left. Does the full process take a few days or a week or 2 weeks? What do I expect?

 

[Miss Lily]

I don't think there's a definite answer to that. I have asked the same before. Lily would have an 'off' day when she started to cycle her eggs (I noticed a pattern the second time) and her clutch was laid between 3 and 4 weeks after. On her 'off' day she would go brown/dark and cold to touch and seemed quite 'solid'/bloated, plus she would hide in her plants too which she never did otherwise. The diary I kept about her eating habits and behaviour has been invaluable.

 

[joeandsoph]

Ok well thank you loads. I think the only thing we can do is to leave the bin in there and wait! And just hope she saves them till we get back off holiday hehe! Thanks so much, bed time now hehe x