Claudia Is Full of Eggs

[carbyville]

I was able to get a vet appointment this afternoon to have Claudia looked at. Her eating has stopped almost entirely and I was really getting worried. They looked her over, checked her weight (96g), listened to her breathing, looked for mouth rot, did a fecal check and determined that there was nothing at all wrong with her there. In fact, they even complimented me on my husbandry and how nice her skin was. That's when we went for the x-ray, and my suspicions were confirmed. The poor girl is full of eggs.

I was given some extra pointers and tips on getting her to use her laying bin, so I'm going to get it all set up for her in the morning (she's asleep now) and put her in a separate, secluded cage and let her do her thing, hopefully. The vet said if anything goes wrong or she's not laying, just give them a call and we'll go from there.

Keep your fingers crossed for Claudia, please? This will be her first clutch (infertile), and I just want it to go smoothly for her.

 

[AESara]

Good luck little Claudia!

 

[SocialNumb]

Sending good vibes Claudia's way.

 

[jannb]

Were the eggs round or oval shape? Can you post the x-ray?

 

[carbyville]

They looked oval to me. Unfortunately, I don't have the x-ray, it's still at the vet's office. I forgot my debit card there though so I have to go pick it up tomorrow, so I'll ask if there's any way I can take a quick picture of it so I can post it here.

 

[jannb]

If they are oval then it's getting close to time for her to lay. I hope all goes well for Claudia.

 

[carbyville]

Thank you so much, jannb. You've been a wealth of information leading up to this. Without you and this forum, I probably wouldn't have had a clue and ended up with a very sick little lady on my hands. I'm so glad there's a place like this to discuss our babies

 

[jannb]

Thank you so much, jannb. You've been a wealth of information leading up to this. Without you and this forum, I probably wouldn't have had a clue and ended up with a very sick little lady on my hands. I'm so glad there's a place like this to discuss our babies

Thank you very much for your kind words. I do what I can to try to help the chameleons. The female veileds have a special place in my heart. I have used the big trash can laying bin. You can see it in my blog. If you have not checked it out you might want to.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/jannb/345-egg-laying-laying-bin.html

 

[Wowbango]

Best of luck with everything! I'm sure everything will be just fine!

 

[junglefries]

Be patient with her and let her be. Most chams will lay their eggs during the day, however I have had a few weirdo veil females lay until midnight. Just cause the lights are off, don't assume she isn't putting in work.

 

[carbyville]

Thanks, everyone!

I was able to get a picture of the XRay today when I went to pick up my debit card. It's attached below. I went and got a 20 gallon garbage can and a camera to set up so I can look in on her without disturbing her. I'm in the process of getting it all set up for her now and I'll transfer her into the bin once I'm done getting everything situated.

I weighed her again and she's still 96g, so hopefully soon we'll have some eggs and a relieved and hungry (and tired of course) little lady to pamper.

 

[carbyville]

Here I am with another question! Hope you all aren't sick of me yet lol. So, I put her in the laying bin/garbage can earlier this afternoon, maybe around 3pm. I had the camera on and checked in on her from time to time but she really didn't do anything at all but walk around on the bedding and scratch against the side trying to climb. She's in there now, sleeping. Do I just leave her in there and leave her to it or should I take her out of there at some point and put her back into her cage? I feel so bad leaving her in there, but I'm not really sure what else to do.

Is it possible she's not ready to lay the eggs yet? Any tips/suggestions/etc are appreciated. I cannot even express how stressed and upset this has me

 

[Scout]

When my Pygmy chameleons were close to laying eggs I covered their cage and didn't check on them for a few days, to ensure they didn't feel threatened. Just try and make life as easy as possible for your girl.

 

[melble68]

My female has laid 3 infertile clutches this summer, but her enclosure is big enough to also house her laying bin. I also use wifi network cAmera and block off her enclosure so she doesn't notice me watching her. I have never used the separate trash bin approach but all I can say is patience. My girl went off food on a Friday and started digging holes thru the entire next week and wasn't u till that following Saturday u til she went butt first into a hole and dropped eggs. It was absolutely nerve racking. I just left her alone to do her natural thing. Patience is the only thing I can suggest.

Anyone have advice on the separate laying enclosure techniques?

 

[carbyville]

Thank you, all! She hasn't even showed signs of digging at all. I've made a few partially dug holes for her and she didn't even touch them (at least not at all when I checked in on the camera, which is about every 30 seconds lol). I feel so bad for her, being so big with eggs and sanctioned off to this garbage can. I definitely think I'm going to go for the Dragonstrand cage with the laying bin on the bottom as soon as I can.

My poor girl

 

[jannb]

My female veileds normally laid in the late afternoon. At least that's when they got started. So around three I'd put them in the bin and give then total privacy and by bed time if they showed no signs of digging I'd get them out and try again a couple days later. I had one spend the night in her hole.

 

[carbyville]

My female veileds normally laid in the late afternoon. At least that's when they got started. So around three I'd put them in the bin and give then total privacy and by bed time if they showed no signs of digging I'd get them out and try again a couple days later. I had one spend the night in her hole.

Thank you for this information, jannb! I've been wondering if I should just leave her in the bin or take her out, but since she's shown no signs of digging in two days I do have her back in her cage now, and she did eat a hornworm earlier.

Also, she gained a gram between yesterday and today from 96g to 97g, so I was wondering if maybe it's a sign that she's not quite ready to lay yet?

 

[kinyonga]

You said..."Do I just leave her in there and leave her to it or should I take her out of there at some point and put her back into her cage? I feel so bad leaving her in there, but I'm not really sure what else to do"....what I have always done is to put an opaque container of washed playsand at least 12" deep by 12" by 8" in the cage. This gives the chameleon a place to dig to show you when she needs to lay eggs. She could lay them in this container or she could be moved to the large bin. Once she is in the large bin I don't put her back in the cage until she's done laying as a rule.

Here's how the laying should go...the female may start to dig several holes in one or more days but should finally settle on one and dig it until she is happy with it. She should then turn around and lay the eggs. Usually this happens in the evening. Do not let her see you watching her while she is digging. It can make her abandon the hole and if it happens often enough it can lead to eggbinding and death.

Once she is done laying the eggs she will fill in the hole and tamp it down and return to the branches hungry and thirsty. It may happen in a short time or it might take all night.

You asked...."Is it possible she's not ready to lay the eggs yet?"...yes.
I can't see the xrays clearly. If the eggs are oval then it shouldn't be long before she lays the eggs.

Hope all goes well!

 

[carbyville]

Thank you, kinyonga! I did have a lay bin directly in the cage with washed play sand, but the only thing she did with it was eat the sand and that really worried me (her poop one morning was entirely sand) so I did take it out. I'm contemplating buying a Dragon Strand Laying Box so that there will always be a spot for her directly in the cage. I'm just waiting to hear back from them on if they know whether or not my current cage is compatible with it or not.

I really am leaning toward the idea that she may not be quite ready. I've been weighing her daily since I took her to the vet and she's gained another gram this morning, up to 98g from 96g on Thursday.

She's in the bin again right now, but seems more interested in getting out than doing anything. She's alone in the room, total privacy, and I'm watching her on the wifi camera.

 

[carbyville]

Today's update: No eggs, no signs of digging, but we are up to 100g. I've been keeping her in the bin daily until about an hour before lights out, and if there are no signs of digging then I put her back into her cage.

She's eating. Minimal amounts but she's still eating. And she's pooping and peeing on a normal schedule. So everything is operating as normal except for the big ol' belly full of eggs.