3 month old veiled digging in dirt...

[ctodaro]

I just bought a 3-month-old veiled and today she started digging in one of the potted plants I have for her....is she gravid? She is so young and looked fat when I got her...but I didn't think she was old enough to lay eggs.

 

[jajeanpierre]

Are you sure of her age? Make sure she has a laying bin and be prepared to support her with a lot of TLC. Good luck. Keep us posted.

 

[PsychoRep]

Have a pic of her??

 

[Spags]

Have a pic of her??

yes a picture would help

It could be misinformation on Petco's part, not telling you the correct age. Or it could just be a result of overheating. Send a picture of the tank as well. If the tank is too hot the chameleon might try to dig down to cooler areas. What temp are you constantly running in the basking spot and everywhere else.

 

[ctodaro]

I bought her from a breeder and he said she was 3-4 months old. Her temperature in the cage is around 80 degrees so I don't think it's too hot.

I don't want to take a picture of her right now I don't want to scare her. But she is the size of the palm of my hand (so pretty small)

 

[ctodaro]

She is also displaying a light green color with red and blue spots

 

[MoyaChan]

Mine started to show blue when she was receptive... Although not at 3 months

 

[ctodaro]

I just checked on her and she is digging in the pot again. She is like 8 inches deep....so I'm pretty sure she is going to lay eggs...

 

[oneillchameleons]

It may be best to give her some privacy for a day or so. She is definitely showing laying behaviour but 3 months is very young for her to be doing this. It is possible that she was over fed and kept very warm, or she may have been bred if she was kept with other juvenile males you never know. Either way give her some privacy.

 

[kinyonga]

Don't let her see you watching her while she is digging. It can make her stop and if it happens too often lead to eggbinding.

 

[PsychoRep]

Any update on her?

 

[ctodaro]

Well she dug almost a foot deep into the potted plant all last night and this morning, but she never dug the hole back up and is now digging on the glass floor of the cage.....She is also a dark color right now. What does this mean? Is she too stressed?

 

[Spags]

Well she dug almost a foot deep into the potted plant all last night and this morning, but she never dug the hole back up and is now digging on the glass floor of the cage.....She is also a dark color right now. What does this mean? Is she too stressed?

You say she is black, I believe that rules out overheating. Im pretty sure that when a chameleon turns too pale they are too hot. Is she opening her mouth/gaping. For the mean time, I would put a sheet or towel over the top of the cage to give her privacy for egg laying.

 

[jajeanpierre]

Well she dug almost a foot deep into the potted plant all last night and this morning, but she never dug the hole back up and is now digging on the glass floor of the cage.....She is also a dark color right now. What does this mean? Is she too stressed?

Mine turn very black when they are down digging, but they aren't the species you have.

I would be inclined to get a garbage bin, fill it one foot deep with the properly moistened soil, did her a couple of holes at the base of sticks stuck into the ground and leave her be in the bin until she lays.

Isn't this sort of thing covered in the resources section?

 

[ctodaro]

I have an older chameleon that just laid a fertile clutch of 35 eggs, but the one I am talking about is only 3-4 months old which is why I am confused. When I saw her digging in the plant I wanted to leave her be and put a towel over the cage, but now it looks like she dug all the way to the bottom and did not fill the hole back up. I think I am going to just put a new container of dirt for her moistened and place her in a bigger cage and give her privacy for now.

 

[ctodaro]

Well she finally laid her eggs and she laid 18 of them! I have a picture attached, I am not sure if they are fertile but they are very white and skinny. She is resting right now and I will give her a big dose of calcium and water tomorrow for her to recover.