Hey guys don't post much and as I write this it sounds like such a basic question that I should know it, but I don't. How does the egg cycle in female veileds and for that matter all egg laying chameleons work. Do they produce infertile eggs every so often whether you bread them or not. If this is true you then obviously have to offer them a egg laying spot for this to happen. Do they have a set number of clutches of eggs each year, does it matter on heat, health, food, and do they act gravid just like they do when they have fertilized eggs?? Will the female be non receptive to a male when she has a clutch of non fertile eggs or if you introduce the male do they then become fertilized. I just don't want to have a egg bound female. I have two female veilds that are going on two years of age never been with the male but look like they are holding eggs quite low in their belly. Not sure if they have been bred before or laid infertile clutches before. I have had them almost a year and they have laid nothing. Thanks for the responses and help
veiled egg laying
- Thread starter weeman
- Start date
mcleodschams
Established Member
hi there
first question you have: yes they do lay infertile eggs with or without a male
second: yes alaying bin is needed iin their cage from the age of about 7 months and on threw there whole lives.
your third questiion: temps and food intake will help you keep them from laying clutches for a longer period i have heard of up too twenty two moths without a clutch i believe it was??? if you keep lower temps mid to low 80's (basking spot) and less food like 3 crickets or the equivalent too, every day or 5-6 everyother day. should keep clutches at a good healthy size of 20 eggs or so.they do not have a set number of clutches.
fourth:if the female is non receptive never force them to breed wait till she is ready its the only way. i would put a laying bin in there asap 12x12x12 full of sand (playsand) and moss mix works well also potting soil (organic) hope this helps.....
You said..."How does the egg cycle in female veileds and for that matter all egg laying chameleons work"... the cycle for all of them is not the same. For infertile eggs in veiled chameleons it is thought to be about every 120 to 130 days to cycle.
You said..."Do they produce infertile eggs every so often whether you bread them or not. If this is true you then obviously have to offer them a egg laying spot for this to happen"...the veileds can but don't have to produce eggs 3 or 4 times a year if not mated....so I always recommend having an opaque container at least 12" deep by 12" x 8" filled with washed playsand in the female's cage from the time she is sexually mature to give her a place to dig to show you when she is ready/needs to lay eggs.
You said..."Do they have a set number of clutches of eggs each year, does it matter on heat, health, food"...the number of clutches seems to be affected by the health and the food supply...and the temperature likely plays a part in it too.
You said..."do they act gravid just like they do when they have fertilized eggs??"...yes.
You said..."Will the female be non receptive to a male when she has a clutch of non fertile eggs or if you introduce the male do they then become fertilized"...generally they will hiss, gape, rock back and forth, darken the background colors, etc. when they can see a male when they are gravid with either fertile or infertile eggs. There seems to have been the odd exception...the odd female will accept a male (not act as I just described) when she is gravid with non-fertile eggs and will actually mate. If the female shows any signs of rejecting the male (as I described) the should not be put together.
You said..."I just don't want to have a egg bound female"...most of the females that become eggbound seem to become eggbound as the result of poor husbandry, being watched when digging, lack of a suitable place to lay the eggs. However some will become eggbound due to physical abnormalities of the reproductive tract, deformed/fused eggs, etc....and some become eggbound due to follicular stasis. I don't think there has been any reason determined for certain about why follicular stasis occurs yet unfortunately.
You said..."I have two female veilds that are going on two years of age never been with the male but look like they are holding eggs quite low in their belly. Not sure if they have been bred before or laid infertile clutches before. I have had them almost a year and they have laid nothing"...its quite likely that if they were holding eggs for any length of time that should have been laid the chameleon would be dead by now.
You said..."Do they produce infertile eggs every so often whether you bread them or not. If this is true you then obviously have to offer them a egg laying spot for this to happen"...the veileds can but don't have to produce eggs 3 or 4 times a year if not mated....so I always recommend having an opaque container at least 12" deep by 12" x 8" filled with washed playsand in the female's cage from the time she is sexually mature to give her a place to dig to show you when she is ready/needs to lay eggs.
You said..."Do they have a set number of clutches of eggs each year, does it matter on heat, health, food"...the number of clutches seems to be affected by the health and the food supply...and the temperature likely plays a part in it too.
You said..."do they act gravid just like they do when they have fertilized eggs??"...yes.
You said..."Will the female be non receptive to a male when she has a clutch of non fertile eggs or if you introduce the male do they then become fertilized"...generally they will hiss, gape, rock back and forth, darken the background colors, etc. when they can see a male when they are gravid with either fertile or infertile eggs. There seems to have been the odd exception...the odd female will accept a male (not act as I just described) when she is gravid with non-fertile eggs and will actually mate. If the female shows any signs of rejecting the male (as I described) the should not be put together.
You said..."I just don't want to have a egg bound female"...most of the females that become eggbound seem to become eggbound as the result of poor husbandry, being watched when digging, lack of a suitable place to lay the eggs. However some will become eggbound due to physical abnormalities of the reproductive tract, deformed/fused eggs, etc....and some become eggbound due to follicular stasis. I don't think there has been any reason determined for certain about why follicular stasis occurs yet unfortunately.
You said..."I have two female veilds that are going on two years of age never been with the male but look like they are holding eggs quite low in their belly. Not sure if they have been bred before or laid infertile clutches before. I have had them almost a year and they have laid nothing"...its quite likely that if they were holding eggs for any length of time that should have been laid the chameleon would be dead by now.
Thanksalot for the replies. I have a egg laying bin in each of their enclosures. It is 14"x8"x6" deep. Maybe it is not deep enough from what you guys have recommended. I have had the small laying boxes in with them for the last month It is full of a mixture of playsand and potting soil, I think it is the right dampness as I can dig a hole on a angle to the bottom and it holds it shape. I have just built a large indoor/outdoor cage (6 foot high x3 foot wide x2 feet deep) that I was hoping I could maybe house them together(the 2 females) and I could put a much larger bin in there, but being together they might not lay also. They have been next to each other for the last six months with no barrier between them. So hoping they have gotten used to each other. Will see thanks for the help and if any other suggestions let me know.
