When is it time

[lotus]

Hello, I am fairly new to this and I have a pregnant female veiled chameleon. We are not exactly sure when she mated with the male but we think it is close to a month ago. They were in the same cage as the pet store didn't advise us to keep them apart. She is very round, is still eating but her colour is dark. The past two mornings she has been on the lower part of her cage, and I am not sure if she is looking for crickets or she is looking for a place to lay her eggs. She remains perfectly still if I go into the room to observe, and I stayed for fifteen minutes like a manequinn. During the day she goes back up by her lights and just stays there.

I have been reading alot about egg binding and I am fearing this could happen, and it simply cannot as this is my four year old son's pet and he already lost one earlier this year from putting a Vick's vapourizor in his room.

If anyone one could tell me more specific signs to watch for, or should I just put her into a rubbermaid container with sand and see what happens?

Thanking you all in advance for your assistance.
Sharon

 

[lbesok]

Sharon, I would go ahead and put her in a container with half soil and half playsand for her to lay in. The time frame is usually about a month, and usually a laying bin is placed in the cage after copulation, as an extra precaution. Sometimes they don't always stop eating. If you notice the slightest decline in health I would take her to the vet ASAP to get a shot to help induce labor. As you already said, you don't want her to become egg bound. Also at this stage of the game it's prob not a good idea to keep them together. You should consider getting them their individual cages.... Good luck with her!

 

[lotus]

Thanks for the advice, I separated them about a week ago. I have also noticed that her colour appears pretty dark, could this be a sign? I will put her into the egg laying container and see what happens.

 

[lbesok]

The dark coloration just means that she is gravid, not necessarily how close she is to laying though. I always try to put some branches in the laying bin to make them feel more at home.

 

[ChrisnLisa]

I would definitely put her in a laying bin. If she is at the bottom of the enclosure she is most likely looking for a place to lay. Our girl just layed 20 days after mating so yours is probably about due. Just make sure not to bother or watch her while she digs, as she may abandon her hole. This is one way to lead to eggbinding. There are a lot of really great threads on laying so use the search and check it out. You should be able to find a plethora of information. Good luck and keep us posted on her progress.