Advice needed.

[pierce1987]

You said…”She hasn’t eaten for roughly 7 days”…it’s normal for a female to stop eating as the time to lay eggs approaches. Some do and some don’t.

Also, she looks like she is carrying/producing a large clutch of eggs. I hope she will be able to lay them all and is not headed for egg binding (and doesn’t have follicular stasis already).

In addition to having a proper egg laying bin, she needs privacy to lay her eggs…if she sees you watching her while she’s digging, she will likely abandon the hole she’s digging. If it happens too often, she will likely become eggbound. They only have a certain amount of time to lay the eggs before they reach the point that they can’t lay them.

Here’s the way it should go…she should dig a hole…she may dig a couple of test holes first, but should settle on one and dig it until she’s happy with it. She should then turn around, butt down in the hole and lay all her eggs at one sitting. This often happens in the evening. She should then fill in the hole and tamp down the substrate and return to the branches, thin, hungry and thirsty.

If it doesn’t go like this, if she’s lethargic, shuts her eyes during the day, sits low in the branches, etc… post on here right away for help.

There is no real way to know if the has laid all the eggs…so the same behaviour (sitting low, sleeping in the daytime, etc.) can indicate that she’s retaining eggs after she has laid most of them….and she will need to be spayed before she becomes too weak for this to happen.

Good luck with her!

She has started to eat and drink normally again with a change of food.
I put a cover around the enclosure to give her privacy but she becomes stressed and scratches at the glass to get out of the cover is there. So the last thing I want to do is cause her stress. So not sure what to do regarding that one. She has been digging down but that’s only because I’ve watched her on the camera doing it.
There is a large lay bin in their now with plenty of space for her to lay. She doesn’t seem interested in it. She is more bothered about getting out of her enclosure and doing what seems like looking for a mate.
I’ve literally done everything I can from the advice from the forum. She doesn’t seem to be struggling. I also know what I need to do after she lays them to ensure to keep the clutch number down.
I’ve registered her with the closest exotic / reptile vet with the best reviews regarding chameleons.
Because she is the first one I have it’s all a learning curve but I’ve made sure she has what she needs.
The only thing she doesn’t like is covering the tank so not sure how to go about it.

 

[kinyonga]

If she’s eating again, she may be past the point of laying eggs…and heading towards egg binding. I hope not…watch for signs and get her to a vet asap if you notice any of the signs (sitting low in the cage, sleeping during the day, lethargy, etc).

 

[pierce1987]

If she’s eating again, she may be past the point of laying eggs…and heading towards egg binding. I hope not…watch for signs and get her to a vet asap if you notice any of the signs (sitting low in the cage, sleeping during the day, lethargy, etc).

I honestly don’t think she is. I think I over panicked and we were at the start of the whole process. After reading all of the advice and info I think she is at the looking for a mate stage. Yes she is a little round. But she isn’t lumpy. She is very active most of her time is up high. She is actively seeking a mate. She is very restless. She goes back to the same branch when it’s night time. I do believe eggs will come but i thought the worst because I didn’t have the experience many already have. However everyone started somewhere before they had a great understanding and all knowledge shared helps towards better level of experience and confidence when working with chameleons. I do have a vet on hand if needed but I don’t think we’re at that stage. I think it was just an over protective panicking owner wanting the best for her new addition to the family.

 

[kinyonga]

IMHO, I think she’s full of eggs…the only other thing I would think that can be likely is that she’s very overweight. I hope you’re right and I’m wrong.