worried about my female veiled.

[Jimmy Filth]

Hey guys,

Little concerned about my female veiled, but first, do I need to do the whole 'ask for help' thing again?? I've followed everyones advice so far.

Roght, My girl seems to be getting a lot of really bright green spots all over her body, and seems a lot more subdued than normal. She keeps climbing right to the top and trying to get to the ultraviolet light. She still seems to be eating and drinking normally.

Also, when it comes to handling her, if i need to get her out of the cage she'll walk onto my hand and sit there. She'll rest on my hand, and she'll be green with bright green spots, but not try to get off me and will just sit there looking around. However, if anyone else goes near her she'll flair herself up, making herself as big as possible.

Should I stop worrying or look to consult a reptile vet in my area???

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Sounds like she is receptive to mating right now and that can cause some changes in normal behavior.
She will be cycling eggs soon whether you mate her or not and you need to be ready for that.
Have you read the article on keeping a female veiled here:

http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/

-Brad

 

[Jimmy Filth]

she's only a few months old as far as i was aware. I am aware of this and the problems that can be caused.

I know someone who has a male yemen and has already asked me whether or not I would be willing to participate.

well, not me personally, but my cham. haha

I'm really not sure though. Would it be better to breed her or just provide somewhere for her to lay the eggs and forget about it??? Anyone got personal experience of this?? How maternal are female yemens????

 

[Brad Ramsey]

I would not consider breeding until you know she is at least a year old.
Aside from instinct requiring them to find a safe place to bury their eggs, they are not maternal at all.

-Brad

 

[Jimmy Filth]

also, I have been researcing MBD, just so i know what to be aware of.

I stumbled across the following picture

Ignoring the obvious signs of MBD in this pic, the skin just behind the front legs, there is a patch that isn't as smooth as the rest of the cham in the picture, almost as if the scales are broken.

How normal is this, and is it a sign of problems??? My cham has the same 'broken' skin as that picture just behind the front legs.

 

[Jimmy Filth]

Cheers Brad.

 

[Miss Lily]

The skin behind the front legs looks normal to me. The scalation is different on different parts of the body. Here's a pic of Lily (my adult female veiled) showing her patch.

 

[Jimmy Filth]

ok, that's good news.

i don't need to worry... until the next time she does something that is new to me... haha

 

[kinyonga]

I would definitely provide a container for her to dig in to show you when she's ready to lay eggs. The minimum size the container should be is big enough when empty that she fits in it with a couple of inches to spare on all sides including above and below her. I would fill it 3/4 full with washed playsand that should be kept moist enough to hold a tunnel.