veiled digging

[kevindenning]

hi my cham has been digging for about 3 days and she slept in her hole last nyt is that normal? and how deep should the sand be? and how long will it be until she lays? she hasent mated so they are infertile eggs and shes about a year old and its her first lot

 

[kinyonga]

Word of advice....you now have 3 posts/threads about your chameleon and egglaying...it would be better to keep it all in one so we can follow what's been going on!

If she slept in the hole last night BUTT DOWN, then she may very well be laying the eggs today or already. When she's done laying the eggs, she should fill in the hole and tamp it down and return to the branches, hungry and thirsty and thinner. Once she's done, it would be good to know how many eggs she laid. How long have you had her? If there's any chance of the eggs being fertile, I would incubate them.

Its normal for them to take a few days to dig the hole to their satisfaction. They usually return to the branches in between but sleep in the hole when they are ready to lay them.

 

[kevindenning]

thanks for this she slept head down last night and is looking like she is going to do the same tonight we have had her for about 8 months she dug one hole but covered it up and has dug another one and is still digging it at the moment

 

[kinyonga]

Don't let her see you watching her or she may abandon the hole. Patience is a virtue! If she returns to the branches and doesn't dig any more then post again...or shows any other signs of going down hill.

 

[kevindenning]

still digging

she layed 57 eggs last night and we put her back in her cage to warm her up and rehydrate her this morning shes realy skinny but has still been digging anyone know why?

 

[kinyonga]

Did she fill the hole in? Did you let her finish filling it in?
Are you sure she's digging and not filling the hole in (or thinking that she is filling it in)?

 

[kevindenning]

yer she filled in the hole and yer we let her finish it but it all seems fine today as she hasnt been digging anymore and she has started eating so all good cheers

 

[Miss Lily]

I will add my experience of this - when I had my first female, she too would carry on digging even after she had finished covering her eggs completely. I asked on here and was told that it is the digging reflex, (rather like a dog's swim reflex when held above water), and can take a while to wear off. My poor girl had trouble using her feet/legs properly for a few hours after.

I don't know how good their sense of smell is, but with both my females I have noticed that they will lay and cover them up and usually finish late at night, yet the following morning they would both go down to the bin and carry on with shifting the dirt again. This behaviour stopped once I had removed the egg bin from their cages.