8 month veiled - sheding & signs of egg laying

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Hi everyone I was on reptileforums and was recommended to sign up here by a few members including miss lilly... had some good advice on there but i think i need to be on here...

As per the title i was wondering if any people could help me out with some advice... yes i have done a search on here and have also read the raising kitty info... but i just wanted to put some pics of my chammy up and be sure that im doing it right as i love this lil reptile and want her to have a good life...

ok here goes.... (sorry its a double question haha)

i got a femle veiled about 2 months ago and everything has been great. i had a prob about a month ago when her body shed but her tail stayed on but eventually shed a week later.... same time this month her body shed exactly 1 month then the previous time but her tail is still to shed and its now been nearly 2 weeks past.... i make sure the humidity is around 60 - 90 and spray at least 3 times a day and also have a dripper set up. I also have applied zoomed shedding aid a couple of times. The temps are 28oc - 30oc basking spot and the middle to bottom temp is around 22 - 24oc tho over the hot weather we had in the uk the basking spot was around 32oc. I have good ventilltion in the room also.

any help would be great or am i just worrying too much?

ok the egg laying.....

over the past week she has climbed down to the bottom of her cage walked to the other side and climbs back up. not all the time tho and she doesnt hang about on the bottom. i have noticed she has started to develop the mustard spots on the veiled and top part of her body and also patches by her front legs... She has still got a mad appertite and every time i go in to see her she will run down and see me (she only thinks im gonna feed her tho) her colors are mostly bright green especially after eating but she will go a darker green when shes basking sometimes. I was feeding her 10 to 15 locust a day until i read the raising kitty info that miss lilly showed me. Im slowly reducing her food. she is now on 7 a day and has a little bit of mellon and bananna every other day and 1 wax worm every 3 days. She also drinks from a dropper which i do every day about 3-4 drops and i also see her drinking from the leaves/dripper. I have provided a laying pot in her cage which is a fairly large plant pot with moist sand and soil about 12inches deep. i have tried to put her in it but she dont wanna know. i have also just put up a sheet over the cage so she cant be seen so hopefully that will help..... but my question is am i worrying too much or is she ready to lay?

Im not sure what other info you will need to know but i have attached some pics of my set up and her and any help will be so appreciated..... my last resort will be to take her to the vet for a check up but im concered about the journy there and back with her....

thanks in advance guys! an sorry you have had to read so much.

 

[Jonasburns]

Im new so i hesitate to answer. buuut im a nerd and love to learn.

Is the bin to small? Janbb is using a trash bin for hers.


Janbb's bin

As for signs of a clutch. Any guess is as good as mine, which is no good at all. =/

 

[laurie]

First hello and welcome to the forum. Any friend of Miss Lily is a friend of mine Now get ready cause I ask lots of questions. First I will do the easy stuff and after you tell me that we will go on to the next step.

First what kind of UVB do you use, is it the compact (swirly) or the long tube style? What is the brand name and how old is it?

What size heat light do you use?

Are the plants in the cage all fake or are part of them real?

What are you doing for supplements, what kind, how much & how often?

Have you weighted your chameleon and is she gaining weight?

If you can answer these I will know more how to help you.

 

[PedroANDAshley]

Well the bin should be pretty deep I think the recommended size is like 1-2ft and it needs to be wider because they like to dig at a diagonal and the
sand in the picture (i may be wrong) doesn't look moist. You should keep it moist so when shes ready to dig the hole wont collapse on her.

 

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First hello and welcome to the forum. Any friend of Miss Lily is a friend of mine Now get ready cause I ask lots of questions. First I will do the easy stuff and after you tell me that we will go on to the next step.

First what kind of UVB do you use, is it the compact (swirly) or the long tube style? What is the brand name and how old is it?

What size heat light do you use?

Are the plants in the cage all fake or are part of them real?

What are you doing for supplements, what kind, how much & how often?

Have you weighted your chameleon and is she gaining weight?

If you can answer these I will know more how to help you.

Hi and thanks for the welcome!! and a quick reply!!

the light im using is the zoomed powersun uv 160w (seld ballasted mercury vapor uvb lamp) its only 2 months old. its siting about an inch off the top of the repti breeze cage aso in total its sitting about 10 inches from top of her ledge.

the plants hanging are fake and i have 2o real plants both non toxic ones a weeping fig ficus and the others a croton yellow.

supplements im using eurorep repton - not sure if you know this one but was recommended to me by the seller... i dust the locust everytime i feed her.

for the water i use reptisafe water conditioner...

i havent weigh her but she has deff got bigger / fatter... just from seeing her i can tell this.... the lights are all off now so i can weight her tomorrow if you want to know?

thanks so much for your help!

 

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also i know the bins kinda small in the cage but this is just a temp one for her, i was going to get a bin sized one and put a plant in it and put her in that.....

 

[CleaTheChameleon]

Can you tell us just how deep the bin is? Also my female NEVER stopped eating before laying a clutch. Whether the eggs were fertile or not. Some do but mine did not. She does look like she may be ready to develop eggs already if she has not already. Also the 160 watt bulb is to hot i would say. Some people like myself use a regular 25-40 watt house bulb Good luck.

im assuming you are using this...?
http://www.reptilesupply.com/product.php?products_id=340

You should find something like this
http://www.google.com/products/cata...log_result&ct=image&resnum=2&ved=0CDAQ8gIwAQ#

Maybe even the repti glo. Not sure what they have in the UK

 

[solosigns]

you could use that bulb for 4 foot cages but get the 100w light next time you get one. for now back it off a foot or so, that light can reach 6' in deapth. your bulb is great for tall cages and you dont need to use any other light since it gives uva and uvb light. I have seen many people use them to save space on top of the cages

 

[laurie]

Hi sorry it took me so long to get back. If she is just starting to show weight gain you still have a while. I wouldn't put her in the laying bin until she looks pretty much like a football with feet.

I think from the dome that and the size of light she may be a bit hot, How hot is the top of the cage & the bottom? i use a 60 watt bulb and have basking at the hottest about 85 with the low in the bottom part 70 to 75. That seems to work for me, but different ones of us use different temps. mostly watch your chameleon to see if it is at the top a lot or at the bottom and adjust temps to make the chameleon be ok in both areas, or at least that is how I do it.

Shedding easy one, mist, mist & mist some more. They will shed on their own schedule and all you can do to help is mist them. I personally have never used a shedding aid of any kind, just good old water.

Other wise to are doing fine and you know to get the needed size of bin ready so you are on the way.

 

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Can you tell us just how deep the bin is? Also my female NEVER stopped eating before laying a clutch. Whether the eggs were fertile or not. Some do but mine did not. She does look like she may be ready to develop eggs already if she has not already. Also the 160 watt bulb is to hot i would say. Some people like myself use a regular 25-40 watt house bulb Good luck.

im assuming you are using this...?
http://www.reptilesupply.com/product.php?products_id=340

You should find something like this
http://www.google.com/products/cata...log_result&ct=image&resnum=2&ved=0CDAQ8gIwAQ#

Maybe even the repti glo. Not sure what they have in the UK

yes thats the light i have....thanks for the advice really appreciate it

 

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you could use that bulb for 4 foot cages but get the 100w light next time you get one. for now back it off a foot or so, that light can reach 6' in deapth. your bulb is great for tall cages and you dont need to use any other light since it gives uva and uvb light. I have seen many people use them to save space on top of the cages

hi thank you for replying..... my cage is 61cm x 61cm base unit x 122cm high so it is a 4 foot high...

i brought another one of them bulbs for a back up incase the one i have ever broke so i will swap that for a 100 watt one for next time. the light is currently sitting from her top perch by about 10-13 inches which is a foot....

yes i like this bulb the fact it does both uv and heat.... saves room for sure..

thanks again for your advice

 

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Hi sorry it took me so long to get back. If she is just starting to show weight gain you still have a while. I wouldn't put her in the laying bin until she looks pretty much like a football with feet.

I think from the dome that and the size of light she may be a bit hot, How hot is the top of the cage & the bottom? i use a 60 watt bulb and have basking at the hottest about 85 with the low in the bottom part 70 to 75. That seems to work for me, but different ones of us use different temps. mostly watch your chameleon to see if it is at the top a lot or at the bottom and adjust temps to make the chameleon be ok in both areas, or at least that is how I do it.

Shedding easy one, mist, mist & mist some more. They will shed on their own schedule and all you can do to help is mist them. I personally have never used a shedding aid of any kind, just good old water.

Other wise to are doing fine and you know to get the needed size of bin ready so you are on the way.

hi laurie thanks for the reply!!

ok thanks for the info.... i got a laying bin today and filled it with moist playsand and soil mixed and put a weeping fig in the middle so its all ready for her.....

yea she deff does look like a football with feet yet

the bulb is about 10 to 13 inches off her depending if shes sit on her top perch as there is another perch 3 inches lower which shes normally on.... my temps are around 28 - 30dc (82 - 86f) and lower down it sits at 24dc (75f)

i do moniter her quite alot and lost of the time she is at the top. but i have noticed she gaps a bit which i beleive is down to the heat.... i will rasie the light slighly more.

yep i mist her a fair amount and will continue too.... thanks so much for your help and replying so quick.....

 

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Hi everyone!!

Thought i would give an update on my chammy after this thread i put up....

Ok she has got alot fatter now and over this last week she has developed blue and orange spots. Does this mean she is now looking for a male to mate with? She is still eating like its her last meal

Am i right in thinking it will be a matter of weeks now before she is ready to lay?

I have a nice laying bin ready for her but dont want to put her in it too early...

Thanks guys!!!

 

[carol5208]

I don't know anything about the egg laying but wanted to say she is a beautiful girl!!!

 

[jannb]

Welcome to the forums. Tiff (Miss Lily is a favorite on here). Your female is lovely. She does look fat. How much are you feeding her? Another important question; how hot is her basking spot? I have attacted a blog that will be helpful for you with your female and the egg laying.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/jannb/345-egg-laying-laying-bin.html

 

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Thanks Carol5208

Thanks for replying jannb.... i have read the raising kitty info and before I had I was feeding her 15 a day she was 6-7 months old then.... she is now around 9 months old and gets 7 a day but there fairly small locust.... I also give her mellon, bannana and grapes around 2 - 3 bits every other day and she also drinks daily from a dropper.... she also has a wax worm every 4-5 days.

I have the basking spot generally at 28-29c (82-84f)

thanks for the blog I will have a read through

 

[kinyonga]

I always recommend putting a smaller container (12" x 12"deep x 8"wide) of washed playsand in the cage for the female to dig in so that you don't miss the often subtle indications that she is ready to lay eggs. Once she starts digging in this container, then you can move her to the larger one.

 

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kinyonga,

yes I have a smaller container in her cage its in my pics on the first page

thanks for your reply!!

 

[jannb]

I would recommend feeding her everyother day and lower the basking temps to 80 or 81.

 

[BocaJan]

She looks marvelous. Just the right size for an 8 month old. I don't see any signs of eggs, so you are still ok in that respect. Keep up the good work.