Update on camilla

[jonpat83]

When she is sleeping at night you could start a hole for her maybe about 3 or 4 inches deep and she may or may not decide that it seems quite nice and continue digging there. No harm done if she doesn't want to use that hole and by doing it at night when she is sleeping you wont disturb her. I have spoken to a couple of people who have tried this and had success.

 

[rob1468]

When she is sleeping at night you could start a hole for her maybe about 3 or 4 inches deep and she may or may not decide that it seems quite nice and continue digging there. No harm done if she doesn't want to use that hole and by doing it at night when she is sleeping you wont disturb her. I have spoken to a couple of people who have tried this and had success.

Thanks jon
tried that last week she went down in the morning had a look and went again , im going to fill it in again when i do the dempen and mix and will try again when she is sleeping and see if it works the second time , im sure she is just being stuborn as females are

rob

 

[Dyesub Dave]

Hey Rob,

Well according to your previous calculations it's only day 25 since mating. She just may not be ready yet. My female looked like she was going to explode before she started digging and she only laid 26 eggs. I can't even imagine how some of these chams look before they lay 50-70 eggs!!

I don't think you mentioned if her enclosure was mostly covered or not. They need an added sense of security when laying eggs. They want to be secretive and think that nobody knows where they're laying their eggs. I don't think I'd be too concerned unless it gets to day 30-35 and she still hasn't started digging.

Is she still eating occasionally? She likely won't eat much but should have something to keep her strength up. I was putting a bit of the calcium powder in the water I was spraying to help keep the eggs calcified.

They like to keep us waiting don't they!!

Dyesub Dave.

 

[rob1468]

Hey Rob,

Well according to your previous calculations it's only day 25 since mating. She just may not be ready yet. My female looked like she was going to explode before she started digging and she only laid 26 eggs. I can't even imagine how some of these chams look before they lay 50-70 eggs!!

I don't think you mentioned if her enclosure was mostly covered or not. They need an added sense of security when laying eggs. They want to be secretive and think that nobody knows where they're laying their eggs. I don't think I'd be too concerned unless it gets to day 30-35 and she still hasn't started digging.

Is she still eating occasionally? She likely won't eat much but should have something to keep her strength up. I was putting a bit of the calcium powder in the water I was spraying to help keep the eggs calcified.

They like to keep us waiting don't they!!

Dyesub Dave.

hi dave
yeh thanks i think its around the 25 days now give or take lol

she seems huge , as for her viv i have forgot to post a pic here it is

have the laying tub in the middle with greenery around it she is hidden on the left near the foliage lol
she is eating on and off and as you have done i am adding calypso to the spray water too
cheers rob

cheers rob

 

[jonpat83]

I would put another plant in front of her laying tub or even just a leafy branch to hide her when she goes down to the laying site. They generally hate to dig where they think someone can see them, even if she gets on well with you most of the time she will regard you as a predator when she is going to lay. A thick net curtain in front of her cage is handy when you want to check on her as you can look through to her but she shouldn't be able to see you too easily especially if you move slowly.

 

[rob1468]

thanks jon
have moved a few plants around and gave it a covering lol
but have a question

camilla was standing on the edge of the laying box today and seemed to be tasting the sand in there ??
could this be she is testing the sand ready to lay , or is she eating it ??, all the time its been in there she hasnt been near the sand itself untill today when i caught her doing this

would this cause a problem if she is eating it , its palysand by the way lol only other thing i can think of is that the leaves dripping water on the sand after spraying as i have added calypso to the water , could she be tasting the calcium ??
any advice greatfully received

cheers rob

 

[jonpat83]

She may have been testing the moisture level in the sand, I dont know if this is how they do it but mine did that too and it did her no harm and I just guessed thats what she was doing.

 

[Dyesub Dave]

Hey Rob,

Howz your female doing? Any digging or eggs yet?

Dyesub Dave.

 

[rob1468]

Hey Rob,

Howz your female doing? Any digging or eggs yet?

Dyesub Dave.

hi dave
no diggin or eggs yet but for the first time ever she went to the floor today , she is pacing the viv up and down and side to side , she has even fallen off her vines not far and not enough to hurt herself though , so hopefully its coming the time poor girl never seen her so restless , i have covered the laying box with vines and plants all the way around and have started a hole while she was sleeping but nothing yet , crossed fingers wont be long now

rob

 

[Julirs]

I would cover her cage all the way around so she cannot see anyone and leave her be except to mist or feed her. My girl stopped eating almost a week before she started digging. Good Luck!

 

[rob1468]

well update -----------
she has started to dig
she started about half an hour ago and is digging away happily , will update the thread as and when

thanks for you support guys so far ,

rob

 

[Julirs]

Hooray!

I know how stressful this is, Hopefully she won't dig for days like mine did!

 

[Dyesub Dave]

Yeah ... or for 7 DAYS like mine did !! LOL

Good news Rob!! Digging is a good sign of willingness to lay the eggs. Keep her well watered and if digging happens to take several days offer her a couple food items to keep her energy up!

Also if you haven't got your egg incubators/containers set up yet you might want to start. There are many threads on this forum regarding incubator setups/suggestions.

Good Luck!!

Dyesub Dave.

 

[rob1468]

Yeah ... or for 7 DAYS like mine did !! LOL

Good news Rob!! Digging is a good sign of willingness to lay the eggs. Keep her well watered and if digging happens to take several days offer her a couple food items to keep her energy up!

Also if you haven't got your egg incubators/containers set up yet you might want to start. There are many threads on this forum regarding incubator setups/suggestions.

Good Luck!!

Dyesub Dave.

thanks all

i have got a smallish glass tank which im going to put tupperware containers in with the vumiculite and a heat mat underneath , but not sure if i should insulate the tank with polystyrene , any thoughts ??

im happy now she has started to dig , should i mist the sand and hole when she comes out maybe to hold it firm ?also will she stay in there all night , will i have to stay up to check it doesnt fall in on her ??
im still worried as you can tell

cheers rob

 

[Dyesub Dave]

Hey Rob,

I'm not sure that the temps for the eggs need to be too high. There's various opinions on that. I currently have 18 of my eggs in a DIY incubator that stays close to 99% humidity and between 76- 82 deg. F. But I've also got 8 eggs in a margarine container with a few small pinholes poked in it. I have no idea of the temp or humidity in this container. The vermiculite/sand mixture was moist when I put it in there and the temps probably stay around room temp ... maybe a little higher! Some people put these non-incubated containers in closets however I've got my on top of a small gecko cage so that it gets a bit of extra warmth.

You can see my setups here: https://www.chameleonforums.com/veiled-chameleon-not-laying-6156/#post43873

I was very concerned about the same thing happening to my veiled ... the tunnel caving in on her. I misted about 3 times a day to ensure that she had enough water and she only spent the last night in her tunnel. The rest of the days she took little breaks from digging and also came up to her branch in the evening before the lights went out.

However ... logically thinking about it if the tunnel did cave in on her the substrate would be fairly loose and I'm sure she could dig her way out if she had to. Just keep a close (well hidden) eye on her and I'm sure everything will be fine!

Dyesub Dave.

 

[rob1468]

Hey Rob,

I'm not sure that the temps for the eggs need to be too high. There's various opinions on that. I currently have 18 of my eggs in a DIY incubator that stays close to 99% humidity and between 76- 82 deg. F. But I've also got 8 eggs in a margarine container with a few small pinholes poked in it. I have no idea of the temp or humidity in this container. The vermiculite/sand mixture was moist when I put it in there and the temps probably stay around room temp ... maybe a little higher! Some people put these non-incubated containers in closets however I've got my on top of a small gecko cage so that it gets a bit of extra warmth.

You can see my setups here: https://www.chameleonforums.com/veiled-chameleon-not-laying-6156/#post43873

I was very concerned about the same thing happening to my veiled ... the tunnel caving in on her. I misted about 3 times a day to ensure that she had enough water and she only spent the last night in her tunnel. The rest of the days she took little breaks from digging and also came up to her branch in the evening before the lights went out.

However ... logically thinking about it if the tunnel did cave in on her the substrate would be fairly loose and I'm sure she could dig her way out if she had to. Just keep a close (well hidden) eye on her and I'm sure everything will be fine!

Dyesub Dave.

thanks dave will look at your link , i have a towel accross the front and sides with enough of a gap for me to see in but she cant see me lol
will keep you all posted and once again thanks for the help

rob

 

[rob1468]

well she has dug a great big hole with a tunnel off it down in the container she is now out and back in her bedtime position so have sprayed the hole and tunnel and sprayed the plant above her and now switched the light out but kept the towel surrounding her on , hopefully tommorrow she will continue and possibly lay

cheers rob

 

[jonpat83]

I'm really excited for you! Not long to wait now and she sounds like she is doing well, tomorrow could be the day! Fingers crossed for you

 

[rob1468]

well no diggin today , she went in the hole for a short time , but is now going to the bottom of the viv on the floor all the time have picked her up twice and put her up in the branches but no inclination at all ??
any ideas

rob

 

[PardalisGirl]

Still a good sign.....

Well it's still a good sign that she did some digging the other day. She knows what to do.....the eggs are just not ready to come out. Don't worry. She will go for it again when she is ready. It's terrific that she does know what she needs to do. It's really hard waiting but don't worry. It's going to happen