When will she lay eggs?

[Bigsease30]

Hello all, This is my first actual post on the forum but I have been observing for a while now. I have a quick question. I am the new owner of a male and female veil chameleon and I know for a fact now that the female is prego... How long until she lays eggs??? I found the male and female mating on 11/15/2010 and have since seperated them into a new bigger cage. They were in a 18x18x36 screen cage and now they are in a custom cage that I build for them that is 24x24x48 each... I have pics to show the prego process..


The day we bought the female and brought her home.

Male and female mating 11/15/2010

7 days after mating she showed more brownish color.

14 days after mating i was intrigued by the colors so I took her out and feed her some superworms off my desk (her favorite)

after feeding her, she climbed my black scrub top and turned a black color after seeing the male. After reading the forums this means she is stressed?

My male (very happy if he is eating)

After I seen her turn a black color, I moved her to her new cage. this picture was take today 38 days after being inseminated. She has not shown any interest in digging or going to the bottom of the cage. (bottom is filled with eco-earth). I can see eggs in her belly????

The new cage

them in the cages

I am wondering how long do they usually wait to lay eggs? I dont want her to become egg bound. If you can tell me any information from the included pics and the time frames that I have given that would be very helpful..

I have the appropriate UVA and UVB, along with the heating lights. Temps are usually around 75-78 degrees.


Thanks
David

 

[jannb]

How old is your female? She looks young. Were they housed together? Also your temps are low if that's the basking temps. The male should be 88 or 89 and the female 80 or 81.

They normally lay right around 30 days after mating. She looks ready. I've attached my egg laying/laying bin blog for you below.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/jannb/345-egg-laying-laying-bin.html

 

[Bigsease30]

The female in about a year old. Yes, they shared a cage when I first got her because I was building the new cage.

Should I be worried that it has been 38 days?

 

[kinyonga]

Have you provided an appropriate egglaying container in her cage?

 

[Bigsease30]

the eco-earth is 8.5 inches deep and is moist enough to tunnel.

 

[Bigsease30]

Would it be best if I put in a 5 gallon bucket and play sand into the cage and put her in that manually?

What about food or the uv light? it would still be at the top of the cage?

 

[jannb]

I would give her 12 inches to dig in but no deeper. Normally they stop eating before laying but not always. If you have the laying bin in the cage then keep the normal light schedule.

 

[Bigsease30]

Thanks for the reply. Her eating habits the last couple of days have really slowed down...I will try the 5gal bucket with 12 inches of moist dig-able play sand

 

[kinyonga]

When/if she starts digging, its important that she doesn't see you watching her while she is digging. Its also important not to leave uneaten insects in the cage when she is laying her eggs...they might chew on her or the eggs. I hope she will lay them for you. 38 days is longer than mine ever take...so I hope she will lay them soon.

 

[Bigsease30]

Ok I went to walmart and got a huge plastic tupperware bin that is 24" deep and when I got home she was digging a hole in her plant. Should I let her dig in the plant or move her to the new bin?

 

[jannb]

How large is the plant? If it's not 10 to 12 inches deep, I would put her in the new bin and then give her total privacy.

 

[Bigsease30]

the plant is only 6"

 

[jannb]

the plant is only 6"

I would move her. If you start a new tunnel, in the new bin, she might use it.

 

[Bigsease30]

Will do. Thanks for the advice... I will let you know what happens.

 

[Bigsease30]

Ok, My baby made it through it. I was only expecting about 15-20 eggs from what I have read on the forum and the size of her. It turns out she had a whopping 56 eggs.

NEXT QUESTION?

Do I wash the eco-earth dirt from them before puting them in my container in the hova-bator?

I realize that these cups are way to small.... like I said, i was only expecting a few. My wife just left to get bigger deli cups.

 

[kinyonga]

There is said to be a protective coating on the eggs and if you wash them off it will likely be washed off too. At most I would gently brush the worst of it off without turning the eggs as you do it. I have never brushed any off, but I have always used sand....and it never causes any problems.

 

[Bigsease30]

Thanks for the reply... I didn't want to risk damaging the eggs but I wasn't sure if it would effect the outcome and dry the eggs.

 

[kinyonga]

Try not to turn the eggs when you are moving them. BTW..that's a lot of eggs...if you feed your female well for a couple of days then cut her feeding back you should end up with smaller clutches.

If you leave the eggs close together, they will likely all hatch at once. Spreading them an inch apart in all directions should make them hatch more individually.

 

[Bigsease30]

Thanks for the information. I have read not to turn them but I never did find an answer as to why not... (I did not turn my eggs in fear of losing them)

I chose to do an inch or so apart.

 

[Bigsease30]

Also I have read that they usually have a second batch of eggs as well 30-60 days after the first without reintroduction to the male. Is this true???