Was digging but now not??

[CatJ]

Hello! Me again needing your help please.

So after following all possible advice on my previous post (just a couple bits left to do) I seemed to have a healthy girl. So much so that she got fat and started digging. She has never been mated and is only approx 9mths old.
Everything was looking good. I wrapped cardboard around the base of her viv and have kept the living room closed, so she has complete privacy. But! She's stopped digging and isn't eating much either. Ive checked the viv and shes not laid her eggs. Her hydration is good, the ambient temp is approx 23oC.

Is something wrong? Could she have been digging without having eggs to lay in the first place?

 

[elizaann2]

Hello! Is she just digging in the substrate or does she have a lay bin?

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi. What is the substrate? Is it soil, coco coir, etc? She may not be happy with the texture or something else about it. You only have a few days until she loses the urge to dig/lay and then becomes eggbound. I’m going to say to get a true lay bin of at least 12” long & wide and fill to 4-6” deep with play sand moistened enough to hold a tunnel. Make sure to make some tiny holes in the bottom so water can drain and it won’t become a muddy mess. This is the bin that my girls have preferred. I just pop the pink lid things off.

 

[CatJ]

Hi both, thank you for the quick replies.
The substrate she has is coco brick, the type that you soak to expand. She had this in her viv already from day 1 as I was advised to do this. I was told she wouldn't need a lay bin. However, when she started digging without laying, I added a tub and made the substrate firm at the bottom with slightly less firm in the middle (but still tunnellable). Stupidly tho I used the same material!!! Could this be why she isn't laying any eggs? She started digging a week ago so I'm really worried now.
Sizes:
Main substrate in viv is 8" x 15" x 4"deep
Tub is 8 x 6 x 4"deep

Do I need to go buy a different tub and play sand immediately? I added the tub but didn't do much else as all guidelines are to leave her alone

 

[CatJ]

More pics for reference

 

[CatJ]

Ps I've just read on another thread that it could be she's receptive rather than actually having eggs? She's pacing round her viv, reduced appetite, but ive not actually seen her digging for a couple of days. Does any of this sound normal?! Ps I'm watching her via a camara, not disturbing her every 5 mins

 

[MissSkittles]

Last year one of my girls who is in a fully bioactive enclosure spent a week very restless and constantly on the move, starting to dig here and there, but she didn’t like any of her laying options. It wasn’t until I put her regular lay bin back in that she wasted no more time and got her eggs out. She had real soil substrate, she even tried her plant pots and I found that she tried digging in the faux background she had. Better to be safe than sorry and put the bin I suggest in.

 

[kinyonga]

In my experience, chameleons see to prefer washed playsand to lay their eggs in…but others have used other soil/sand substrates too with success I think.

It’s important to get it right so she’s happy with it asap because there is only so long that she will have the desire to dig before she could become egg bound.

 

[elizaann2]

Check out this video, this may help you create a good lay bin for her. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dy6sIPvNGUw&t=646s

 

[CatJ]

Hi, OK so I've got sand and have replaced the box with a larger box. Not quite as big as 13x13" though cos I can't fit that in her viv. But I've read other threads where eggs have been laid in plant pots and tubs which haven't been very big. So I'm really hoping by combining those comments with these on here, I can find a way to make my girl happy! So she now has the option of a large area of deep coco brick material, a tub containing a soil and sand mix. (Approx 1/3 soil and 2/3 sand which seems to hold its shape when tunnelled into).

How will I know if she becomes egg bound? I'm convinced she has eggs but what if I'm wrong? What if she's pacing and restless because she's receptive? Do they dig during such time or only when they have eggs to lay?

 

[CatJ]

Pics of sand and the soil/sand mix attached

 

[Beman]

Pics of sand and the soil/sand mix attached

Do a test tunnel in it... It should be moist enough to hold a tunnel but not soggy.

 

[MissSkittles]

How will I know if she becomes egg bound? I'm convinced she has eggs but what if I'm wrong? What if she's pacing and restless because she's receptive? Do they dig during such time or only when they have eggs to lay?

While anything is possible, to the best of my knowledge they do not dig when receptive. Usually it is when gravid and ready/needing to lay their eggs. The warning signs you want to be alert for are lethargy, staying low in the enclosure or not basking, eyes closed during the day, not eating, and anything else that just doesn’t seem right. Hopefully she’ll find the new substrate and bin to her liking and lay her eggs. If she starts digging anywhere, it’s absolutely essential that she does not see you or any other human or animal as it can cause her to stop digging. She doesn’t understand that her eggs aren’t fertile and is still going to do all she can to lay them in a safe area.

 

[CatJ]

Do a test tunnel in it... It should be moist enough to hold a tunnel but not soggy.

Tested and does hold a tunnel at lots of angles, doesn't collapse so I'm hoping it's ok

 

[CatJ]

Hi everyone,
Little update, still no eggs! She's now completely stopped digging too. She's looking rather rounded, but I can't see or feel any egg shapes. And shes spending lots of time under her heat lamp despite the viv being at 24oC (75oF ish?) Really baffled by her. Has anyone else had this?!
If anyone has any pics of healthy weight female panther chams, approx 9-10mths old, I'd be grateful to see them for comparison too?

 

[CatJ]

 

[kinyonga]

She looks like she is full of eggs to me.
How much have you been feeding her each week in the last couple of months? What have the basking temperatures been?
Has seen seen you watching her dig at all?

 

[Beman]

Can you take a picture of her entire set up so we can see how everything is positioned?

 

[CatJ]

 

[CatJ]

This is her literally right now