Chameleon layed eggs.

[Khayward014]

I was doing a full clean of my chameleons enclosure today and when I was removing the old substrate I noticed that there were eggs. She was showing signs of needing to lay around a month or two ago and I left her for a week to lay, but I never thought she did, couldn't find any and people were telling me she was too young.

Her eggs were nicely packed into the corner of her tank so no wonder I couldn't find them... I took them all out and counted 47 of them. Is this a good number of eggs for a chameleon to be be laying? It may be important to note that this is her first time laying.

 

[kinyonga]

Good that she laid them!

47 is quite a bit higher than I like to see for a veiled. About 25 would be better IMHO.

I would cut her feeding back to 4 or 5 large crickets every 2 or 3 days (or equal value of other insects). Also I would keep the basking temperature at 80F.

 

[Lindasjackson]

I seem to remember your post about her never laying them. I’m glad she did and I would follow @kinyonga s advice.

 

[HypercolorChameleons]

Agree with @kinyonga 47 is a fairly large clutch. Such a lot of energy being wasted on infertile eggs. Try and find that sweet spot of feeding her. For the longevity of her life and health.

 

[Khayward014]

Good that she laid them!

47 is quite a bit higher than I like to see for a veiled. About 25 would be better IMHO.

I would cut her feeding back to 4 or 5 large crickets every 2 or 3 days (or equal value of other insects). Also I would keep the basking temperature at 80F.

I'll definitely cut her feeding back and her basking light at the minute is a 60watt. I'm not sure what that would be in Fahrenheit. Also, how long will it be before she lays her next batch?

 

[Khayward014]

Agree with @kinyonga 47 is a fairly large clutch. Such a lot of energy being wasted on infertile eggs. Try and find that sweet spot of feeding her. For the longevity of her life and health.

Okay, will do. Thank you.

 

[Khayward014]

I seem to remember your post about her never laying them. I’m glad she did and I would follow @kinyonga s advice.

Yeah, that was me. And I definitely will

 

[AnamCara]

I'll definitely cut her feeding back and her basking light at the minute is a 60watt. I'm not sure what that would be in Fahrenheit. Also, how long will it be before she lays her next batch?

You'll want a probe to measure her basking area. A digital thermometer with a probe that can control the temperature at basking like a herpstat, although there are cheaper options.

She will lay more often if you feed her to much and have higher temps. My last girl would lay once a year but some lay multiple times a year. My current girl has been with me two years and not laid once. I feed her 3 times a week and her basking is at 79-80 degrees. I, personally, think that once they've started laying / egg production they will continue to do so. Keeping the temps and feeding low will also help reduce the amount of eggs they lay.

 

[Thatcher]

I was doing a full clean of my chameleons enclosure today and when I was removing the old substrate I noticed that there were eggs. She was showing signs of needing to lay around a month or two ago and I left her for a week to lay, but I never thought she did, couldn't find any and people were telling me she was too young.

Her eggs were nicely packed into the corner of her tank so no wonder I couldn't find them... I took them all out and counted 47 of them. Is this a good number of eggs for a chameleon to be be laying? It may be important to note that this is her first time laying.

What "tank" is she in?

 

[kinyonga]

I'll definitely cut her feeding back and her basking light at the minute is a 60watt. I'm not sure what that would be in Fahrenheit. Also, how long will it be before she lays her next batch?

You need a thermometer to measure the temperature where she sits under the basking light at the closest spot to it....knowing the wattage won't tell you the temperature. You also want to test the basking area to make sure it won't burn her.

It's typically 120 to 130 days from one infertile clutch to the next one when not controlled by the diet and temperatures.
With the diet, you can stop the egglaying altogether eventually or at least make it less frequent or less eggs in the clutch.
You want to do it slowly so you don't end up causing her other health issues.

 

[Khayward014]

You'll want a probe to measure her basking area. A digital thermometer with a probe that can control the temperature at basking like a herpstat, although there are cheaper options.

She will lay more often if you feed her to much and have higher temps. My last girl would lay once a year but some lay multiple times a year. My current girl has been with me two years and not laid once. I feed her 3 times a week and her basking is at 79-80 degrees. I, personally, think that once they've started laying / egg production they will continue to do so. Keeping the temps and feeding low will also help reduce the amount of eggs they lay.

I'll look into getting one of those and I had no idea that her temperature contributed to her laying at all so thank you so much!

 

[Khayward014]

You need a thermometer to measure the temperature where she sits under the basking light at the closest spot to it....knowing the wattage won't tell you the temperature. You also want to test the basking area to make sure it won't burn her.

It's typically 120 to 130 days from one infertile clutch to the next one when not controlled by the diet and temperatures.
With the diet, you can stop the egglaying altogether eventually or at least make it less frequent or less eggs in the clutch.
You want to do it slowly so you don't end up causing her other health issues.

I'll get a thermometer as soon as possible but I don't think her light is hot enough to burn her as she doesn't have any burn marks and can sit there for hours but I don't want it to be too low for her.

 

[Khayward014]

What "tank" is she in?

An exoterra one. I'm out at the minute but I'll supply some pictures when I'm at home. I have been told her tank too small for her but I've also heard that she doesn't need a big one.