Worries on laying eggs

[New cham owner]

That is a lot of eggs. Without a vet visit, all you can do is monitor her.

i am, i am making sure she is eating and drinking and isn’t lethargic or looking swollen, she only looks bigger when she is up in her corner “scrunched” up, when she is walking normally she looks pretty good in my opinion

 

[kinyonga]

no she only did that yesterday morning for a little, now she is at the top and moving around her branches, i gave her some crickets and worms but i think she ate the crickets i’m not sure

I hope she has no more eggs and is going to be ok.

 

[New cham owner]

I hope she has no more eggs and is going to be ok.

my parents agreed that if she isn’t back to normal by Monday or so then we will take her to the vet, rn it’s Friday so i’m just going to keep a close watch

 

[MissSkittles]

How is your lady doing?

 

[Anisa.corp]

When you lady does recover there are a couple things you should change in her enclosure just so that nothing else happens to her health she's going to been live plants (a pothos plant would work great!), horizontal sticks (you can just get those from outside), and most important just make sure she has the t5 HO linear uvb

 

[New cham owner]

How is your lady doing?

Hi there! I think my chameleon is doing a lot better now. Kiwi (her name) is roaming around her cage, she eats well and drinks a lot, and she looks actually pretty skinny (in a good way), she doesn’t look swollen or puffy anymore. she is light green also!

 

[New cham owner]

When you lady does recover there are a couple things you should change in her enclosure just so that nothing else happens to her health she's going to been live plants (a pothos plant would work great!), horizontal sticks (you can just get those from outside), and most important just make sure she has the t5 HO linear uvb

Hi there! Kiwi actually does have a plant in there that is on the safe list but i forgot what it’s called. I’m actually ordering some more leaves and branches for her but i’m a bit confused on the lighting part, right now (was recommended by my pet store so i’m not sure sure if this is the best but) she has a 25 watt uvb lamp fixed over her basking spot, and the other heat lamp (not sure if it’s called that but it’s the white light)

 

[MissSkittles]

So glad to hear that she’s doing better.
In order to prevent any future problems with her health and especially egg laying, I really think having your husbandry reviewed would be a great idea. Any things that are off can be identified and suggestions for corrections given. I’d suggest starting a new post, but here is fine too. Just copy and paste.
Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
• Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
• Location - Where are you geographically located?

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.

--------------

Please Note:

1. The more details you provide the better and more accurate help you will receive.
2. Photos can be very helpful.

 

[New cham owner]

Kiwi is a veiled chameleon and is a female. I have had her for almost five months (got her May 28th). I handle her a few times a week (only when she lets me or wants to come out). I feed kiwi 2 large crickets in the morning, and another 2 large ones at night along with meal worms as a treat. I was giving her a calcium powder with D3 (given to me by the pet store), but I am getting one without it. I have a machine that mists the cage on a timer (15 seconds every 3 hours or when needed). Her droppings are a normal dark brown and they are a dry or a little moist I guess you could say (they seem to be normal). My chameleon did have the egg laying issue but she seems to be doing very well now! I have a mesh screen cage that is a 16x16x36 size, she seems to be pretty happy in there as she has a lot of space and she is light green. I use the zilla 25 watt day time uvb light as recommended by the pet store, it is fixed a few inches over her basking area. She also has her heat lamp and I keep the temperature around 80F. Her humidity levels are around 50%. I use a live plant, it is on the veiled chameleon safe plant list (I checked when buying), but im not sure what it is called. My cage is placed on a low table about 2 feet off the ground far from any vents but I do occasionally turn the fan on in my room. I have been trying to get my hands on other insects to feed her but I haven't been able to so far

 

[New cham owner]

Kiwi is a veiled chameleon and is a female. I have had her for almost five months (got her May 28th). I handle her a few times a week (only when she lets me or wants to come out). I feed kiwi 2 large crickets in the morning, and another 2 large ones at night along with meal worms as a treat. I was giving her a calcium powder with D3 (given to me by the pet store), but I am getting one without it. I have a machine that mists the cage on a timer (15 seconds every 3 hours or when needed). Her droppings are a normal dark brown and they are a dry or a little moist I guess you could say (they seem to be normal). My chameleon did have the egg laying issue but she seems to be doing very well now! I have a mesh screen cage that is a 16x16x36 size, she seems to be pretty happy in there as she has a lot of space and she is light green. I use the zilla 25 watt day time uvb light as recommended by the pet store, it is fixed a few inches over her basking area. She also has her heat lamp and I keep the temperature around 80F. Her humidity levels are around 50%. I use a live plant, it is on the veiled chameleon safe plant list (I checked when buying), but im not sure what it is called. My cage is placed on a low table about 2 feet off the ground far from any vents but I do occasionally turn the fan on in my room. I have been trying to get my hands on other insects to feed her but I haven't been able to so far

@MissSkittles

 

[MissSkittles]

Wonderful! Putting my feed back in red.
Kiwi is a veiled chameleon and is a female. I have had her for almost five months (got her May 28th). I handle her a few times a week (only when she lets me or wants to come out). I feed kiwi 2 large crickets in the morning, and another 2 large ones at night along with meal worms as a treat. A few things here to change. It’s better to feed just once early in the day so that she has time to bask and digest. To better help reduce her laying, you should reduce her feedings to every other day. I feed both of my ladies 3 feeders 3 days a week and they are a healthy weight. I do give occasional treats like pupated bsf. Which is next...mealworms aren’t suggested at all for chams. Attaching the feeder sheet as well as the ‘gutload’ sheet, although it is really more of how to feed your bugs properly. I was giving her a calcium powder with D3 (given to me by the pet store), but I am getting one without it. I hate to tell you, but most pet stores really have either no or wrong info about correct chameleon husbandry. You should be using a calcium without D3 at every feeding except one per week. One week you’ll use calcium with D3 for that one feeding and the next week use a multivitamin. There are several ways to supplement, but this is the basic one. I have a machine that mists the cage on a timer (15 seconds every 3 hours or when needed). This is a little too often and for not long enough. Ideally you’d mist for about 2 minutes either just before or just after lights go on and then right before lights go off. You could add a mid day misting or use a dripper for about 20 minutes. You want the enclosure to dry out between misting. Her droppings are a normal dark brown and they are a dry or a little moist I guess you could say (they seem to be normal). My chameleon did have the egg laying issue but she seems to be doing very well now! I have a mesh screen cage that is a 16x16x36 size, she seems to be pretty happy in there as she has a lot of space and she is light green. This is a bit small. Suggested size for adult chams is a minimum of 2x2x4’ or equivalent. It better enables various gradients of temps, uvb and humidity so your cham can move to what she needs at the moment. I use the zilla 25 watt day time uvb light as recommended by the pet store, Again, the pet store misled you. You need a linear T5 fixture with a 5.0 or 6% uvb bulb. It needs to be long enough to span the width of your enclosure. The bulb that the pet store sold you isn’t able to provide adequate uvb levels except at a very close and narrow range. I believe the only thing that may have ‘saved’ your girl from being egg bound is also the pet stores wrong advice to give too much D3. it is fixed a few inches over her basking area. You really want the lights to be 8-9” away from basking area to give proper uvb levels. She also has her heat lamp and I keep the temperature around 80F. Perfect temp! Her humidity levels are around 50%. Perfect humidity! 30-50% is the ideal range. I use a live plant, it is on the veiled chameleon safe plant list (I checked when buying), but im not sure what it is called. Great! The more safe live plants, the better. Pothos is always a favorite as it doesn’t need special lighting, grows fast and the vines create more little roads for cham to travel. Make it a goal to get rid of any fake plants you may have. Since veileds nibble their plants, fake ones are an impact ion risk. My cage is placed on a low table about 2 feet off the ground far from any vents but I do occasionally turn the fan on in my room. It’s a bit low. Chams feel safest when able to look down upon us and their world. I have been trying to get my hands on other insects to feed her but I haven't been able to so far Many of the feeders aren’t available in local pet stores and you’ll need to order on line or start breeding your own. Bsfl, superworms and hornworms are usually available in local stores. Roaches and silkworms are not. Check out the forum sponsors for where to buy feeders on line. Silkworms are occasionally hard to find, so check Mori Feeders...he may have them more than some other vendors.
So while I have given you several things to change, the most important ones to prioritize are the correct supplementation and correct uvb. These really need to be changed ASAP. After that, you’ll want to start working on reducing laying frequency and number of eggs. Laying takes a great deal out of them and shortens their lives. You have no idea how glad I am that your little Kiwi is ok now. Let’s do all we can to keep her thriving so that you have many happy and healthy years together. Any questions, just ask.

 

[New cham owner]

Wonderful! Putting my feed back in red.
Kiwi is a veiled chameleon and is a female. I have had her for almost five months (got her May 28th). I handle her a few times a week (only when she lets me or wants to come out). I feed kiwi 2 large crickets in the morning, and another 2 large ones at night along with meal worms as a treat. A few things here to change. It’s better to feed just once early in the day so that she has time to bask and digest. To better help reduce her laying, you should reduce her feedings to every other day. I feed both of my ladies 3 feeders 3 days a week and they are a healthy weight. I do give occasional treats like pupated bsf. Which is next...mealworms aren’t suggested at all for chams. Attaching the feeder sheet as well as the ‘gutload’ sheet, although it is really more of how to feed your bugs properly. I was giving her a calcium powder with D3 (given to me by the pet store), but I am getting one without it. I hate to tell you, but most pet stores really have either no or wrong info about correct chameleon husbandry. You should be using a calcium without D3 at every feeding except one per week. One week you’ll use calcium with D3 for that one feeding and the next week use a multivitamin. There are several ways to supplement, but this is the basic one. I have a machine that mists the cage on a timer (15 seconds every 3 hours or when needed). This is a little too often and for not long enough. Ideally you’d mist for about 2 minutes either just before or just after lights go on and then right before lights go off. You could add a mid day misting or use a dripper for about 20 minutes. You want the enclosure to dry out between misting. Her droppings are a normal dark brown and they are a dry or a little moist I guess you could say (they seem to be normal). My chameleon did have the egg laying issue but she seems to be doing very well now! I have a mesh screen cage that is a 16x16x36 size, she seems to be pretty happy in there as she has a lot of space and she is light green. This is a bit small. Suggested size for adult chams is a minimum of 2x2x4’ or equivalent. It better enables various gradients of temps, uvb and humidity so your cham can move to what she needs at the moment. I use the zilla 25 watt day time uvb light as recommended by the pet store, Again, the pet store misled you. You need a linear T5 fixture with a 5.0 or 6% uvb bulb. It needs to be long enough to span the width of your enclosure. The bulb that the pet store sold you isn’t able to provide adequate uvb levels except at a very close and narrow range. I believe the only thing that may have ‘saved’ your girl from being egg bound is also the pet stores wrong advice to give too much D3. it is fixed a few inches over her basking area. You really want the lights to be 8-9” away from basking area to give proper uvb levels. She also has her heat lamp and I keep the temperature around 80F. Perfect temp! Her humidity levels are around 50%. Perfect humidity! 30-50% is the ideal range. I use a live plant, it is on the veiled chameleon safe plant list (I checked when buying), but im not sure what it is called. Great! The more safe live plants, the better. Pothos is always a favorite as it doesn’t need special lighting, grows fast and the vines create more little roads for cham to travel. Make it a goal to get rid of any fake plants you may have. Since veileds nibble their plants, fake ones are an impact ion risk. My cage is placed on a low table about 2 feet off the ground far from any vents but I do occasionally turn the fan on in my room. It’s a bit low. Chams feel safest when able to look down upon us and their world. I have been trying to get my hands on other insects to feed her but I haven't been able to so far Many of the feeders aren’t available in local pet stores and you’ll need to order on line or start breeding your own. Bsfl, superworms and hornworms are usually available in local stores. Roaches and silkworms are not. Check out the forum sponsors for where to buy feeders on line. Silkworms are occasionally hard to find, so check Mori Feeders...he may have them more than some other vendors.
So while I have given you several things to change, the most important ones to prioritize are the correct supplementation and correct uvb. These really need to be changed ASAP. After that, you’ll want to start working on reducing laying frequency and number of eggs. Laying takes a great deal out of them and shortens their lives. You have no idea how glad I am that your little Kiwi is ok now. Let’s do all we can to keep her thriving so that you have many happy and healthy years together. Any questions, just ask. View attachment 280514View attachment 280515

View attachment 280514View attachment 280515

Thank you so much for the info! I can get the super worms or wax worms but how often should I give her that? also im not able to get a bigger cage and she doesn't seem to be having any issues with that, also the lighting part is confusing for me, is there any links or pictures you can attach so I know what im looking for? also is 4 large crickets every other day still okay?

 

[Anisa.corp]

Thank you so much for the info! I can get the super worms or wax worms but how often should I give her that? also im not able to get a bigger cage and she doesn't seem to be having any issues with that, also the lighting part is confusing for me, is there any links or pictures you can attach so I know what im looking for? also is 4 large crickets every other day still okay?

I would start reducing her feeders to at most 3 or else she will lay a lot of eggs which is very stressful on the chameleon and can lead to a shorter life I will go find you a link give me one secind

 

[New cham owner]

I would start reducing her feeders to at most 3 or else she will lay a lot of eggs which is very stressful on the chameleon and can lead to a shorter life I will go find you a link give me one secind

Okay, so 3 large crickets every other day, and the super or wax worms how often?

 

[Anisa.corp]

Okay, so 3 large crickets every other day, and the super or wax worms how often?

Um I would probably limit those a lot excpecially of you are try to get her to lose weight but just as treats 2 times a week is what I would say https://www.pangeareptile.com/store/t5-uvb-light-fixture.html here the link for the light fixture you will need ad here is the actual lightZoo Med ReptiSun 5.0 UVB T5 HO Lamp, 24 Watts https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AQU8GF0/ref=cm_sw_r_em_apa_i_SOZJFb4RHJ488
you will need to replace this light every 6 months

 

[New cham owner]

Um I would probably limit those a lot excpecially of you are try to get her to lose weight but just as treats 2 times a week is what I would say https://www.pangeareptile.com/store/t5-uvb-light-fixture.html here the link for the light fixture you will need ad here is the actual lightZoo Med ReptiSun 5.0 UVB T5 HO Lamp, 24 Watts https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AQU8GF0/ref=cm_sw_r_em_apa_i_SOZJFb4RHJ488
you will need to replace this light every 6 months

so I can keep the other heat lamp and just change the uvb one, or do I need to change both?

 

[Anisa.corp]

so I can keep the other heat lamp and just change the uvb one, or do I need to change both?

Yes you can keep the heat one just change the uvb

 

[MissSkittles]

so I can keep the other heat lamp and just change the uvb one, or do I need to change both?

You probably have a double dome fixture I’m guessing. You can keep the one side for basking and leave the other empty, or you could add a plant grow bulb. The uvb will be a separate long fixture and bulb. It looks something like this.

 

[MissSkittles]

Do you still have the calcium with D3?

 

[New cham owner]

Do you still have the calcium with D3?

Yes but later today after I finish my school stuff, I'm going to go and get one without D3.