veiled wont lay

[craig]

My female was bred on Oct. 31 and she is real fat and can't seem to get her to lay. I got her to lay a previous clutch before in a big plastic tub filled with sand but I tried it with dirt and she won't lay now. I have a 12" by 6" container with 5" deep sand in her cage and she won't lay in that either. I want to know what are some of your methods of getting stubborn veileds to lay eggs? Any tips would be great. Thank you. Craig.

 

[toolband92]

Stubborn seems to suit my chameleon perfectly. She wouldn't dig at all in her cage...Maybe try getting a 32 gallon trashcan (you can get them at Wal-mart for like 12 bucks) and putting whatever medium you like in it. I used about a foot of damp sand (she wouldn't bother with anything else). Put a stick and some kind of plant like a pothos or something in there as well. I just left the lid off and put her UV light across the opening, and mounted her basking light so that she could climb the stick to bask and left her alone. I put her in one night before she went to bed, she fell asleep on the branch and when I turned the lights on in the morning, she warmed up and started digging immediately...14 hours of goodness. If you wait for a while (once she actually starts to dig), you can turn the basking light off that way it doesn't get too warm and dry the medium out along with further dehydrating her. Just make sure you don't look in all of the time, it spooks them...mine didn't mind too much, but I waited until her body was inside of her hole before I took pictures or anything. Hope this helps...or at least gives you a different approach.

 

[boothy]

see your problem was changing the substrate, some chameleons just wont dig if its not suitable for them , and you need it to be alot deeper then 5 inches , no less then 10 inches is my rule, but try mixing sand with top soil, i find my female just loves it and i know every chameleons different but if i was you i would go right back to the sand and if she doesnt lay then she will need to see a vet cause there is most likly a problem with her but if you dont have the cashflow for the 32 gallon bin just clean out your recycling box and fill that it will be perfect size

 

[craig]

Thank you for the replies everyone. I guess I will try sand again and go from there. I will let you know how it goes. Thanks. Craig.

 

[Chameleons Northwest]

https://www.chameleonforums.com/im-thinking-gravid-4305/

Craig. Please read this thread (linked above). It has some really great information from Kinyonga, and Will Hayward and others. I know the trashcan system really works for a hesitant female. And Boothy is right. You need deeper substrate. The shallowest we have used with our females is 10". The veileds seem to especially like to dig deep.[/B]

Thank you for the replies everyone. I guess I will try sand again and go from there. I will let you know how it goes. Thanks. Craig.

 

[craig]

Thank you. I keep her substrate in the big tub I put her in 10" but in her cage I have a container that is 5 or so inches. Thank you for that link, I will check it out. Craig.

 

[kinyonga]

Has she dug at all in the last few weeks?

If she has, have you let her see you when she was digging?

Have you been moving her back and forth from the cage to the container?

Does she show any signs of MBD?

 

[craig]

No. SHe hasn't tried to dig at all. I don't see the appearance of MBD. Iam going to try sand in the big tub today and see if that works.

 

[boothy]

Hey Craig if she doesnt dig for you today then i would get a lil worried and take her to the vet just be to be sure ,this way you know forsure if shes alright or not and its the best place she could ever be in but make sure its a vet that has delt with chameleons befor you take her in but again good luck with you craig and i hope she lays them for you

 

[craig]

Well I put her in the big bucket today with just sand and she hasn't dug so far. I even dug a hole for her but I am going to leave her in there all night and see what happens. Thanks. Craig.