I have a veiled female which i dont know any of the background information on because she was left in a parking lot when i found her. Im not new to reptiles but im new to having a female chameleon. I built her a large cage with a umbrella plant inside. She normal would stay at the top and climb around a lot but the past 3 days ive been hearing her dig at the bottom of the cage and today she dug a huge whole in the plant pot. I know females can get Gravid and ive been looking into that when i first got her but she hasnt been showing any color changes or anything. Could she be laying eggs? Could it be something else? Should I move her and fill the hole back? Any advice would be really appreciated.
Veiled Female Digging
- Thread starter lilchan92
- Start date
jannb
Chameleon Enthusiast
Welcome to the forums. It sounds like she need to lay eggs. Do you have a laying bin for her? It's possible she might lay in the potted plant. Once they start digging they need complete privacy or they could abandon their hole and become egg bound. A few blogs you might find helpful.
General care: https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-keepers-young-veiled-panther-chameleons.html
Female care: http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/2007/12/keeping-female-veiled.html
Egg laying and the laying bin: https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/jannb/345-egg-laying-laying-bin.html#comment2073
How to make a laying bin: https://www.chameleonforums.com/laying-bin-set-up-educational-video-77225/
More chameleon info: https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/chameleons
General care: https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-keepers-young-veiled-panther-chameleons.html
Female care: http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/2007/12/keeping-female-veiled.html
Egg laying and the laying bin: https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/jannb/345-egg-laying-laying-bin.html#comment2073
How to make a laying bin: https://www.chameleonforums.com/laying-bin-set-up-educational-video-77225/
More chameleon info: https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/chameleons
She doesn't have a laying bin but the plant is in a large pot that is about 10 inches deep which is where she dug her hole. shes still in the pot now and i haven't touched her or anything cause I did read about her leaving the whole. I know a lot of people say to get something that is at least a foot deep. Would it be better to give her a bucket that is deeper and interrupt her digging now or just let her dig and do her thing in what she has now?
Lpsouth1978
Avid Member
If she filled in the hole and abandoned it, there are probably eggs at the bottom of the hole. You will want to remove the plant, dig up the eggs, and, if fertile, incubate them, otherwise dispose of them.
Also make sure to give your girl lots of water and food. She is sure to be hungry and probably a little dehydrated.
Also make sure to give your girl lots of water and food. She is sure to be hungry and probably a little dehydrated.
thanks for the advice yeah I found her in January and shes been drinking lots of water from the dripper and ive been giving her a lot of nice food. Im trying to get her a little fatter cause she seems a bit thin to me.
Thats from when i first found her
Someone left her outside in the middle of winter in a macy's bag in a shopping cart. she was in a little 5 gal tank(in picture)
I built her this so shed be more comfortable and happier in her last few years.
She seems to be doing alright.
Thats from when i first found her
Someone left her outside in the middle of winter in a macy's bag in a shopping cart. she was in a little 5 gal tank(in picture)
I built her this so shed be more comfortable and happier in her last few years.
She seems to be doing alright.
Lpsouth1978
Avid Member
It looks like she is doing MUCH better with you. She was very skinny in that first picture. That second picture definitely looks like a gravid girl. Did you dig up any eggs?
If I were to make any suggestion, I would recommend adding more foliage to her cage, even if its fake. She will feel safer and more secure with more foliage to hide behind when needed. Otherwise, great job bringing her back to health and giving her a better life!
If I were to make any suggestion, I would recommend adding more foliage to her cage, even if its fake. She will feel safer and more secure with more foliage to hide behind when needed. Otherwise, great job bringing her back to health and giving her a better life!
yeah i have a golden pothos in there as well and im planning on tacking some fake plants though out so she has more climbing space. I didn't know thats what she looks like when shes gravid shes kinda like that all the time. i thought it was her normal color since thats all ive seen since ive had her im about to dig up the plant now to see if she layed anything and my shipment of worms just got in today so ill give her some hornworms and/or silkworms later.
Are you going to incubate them? If so do it quickly. Can't be sure but they may be fertile.
You need some vermiculite moistened so if you take a handful and squeeze it you can only squeeze a drop of water out. Half fill the containers and lay the eggs in rows about an inch apart on the vermiculite and put the lids on the containers. Put them somewhere where the temperature will be about 74F.
You need some vermiculite moistened so if you take a handful and squeeze it you can only squeeze a drop of water out. Half fill the containers and lay the eggs in rows about an inch apart on the vermiculite and put the lids on the containers. Put them somewhere where the temperature will be about 74F.
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