Could use help and guidance - new veiled owner with new rescue

[wodesorel]

She was being insanely hissy today. I don't know if I caught her on a bad day or my gut feeling about the eggs are right, or if I wore the wrong colors (I even tried stripping to my skivvies to calm her down) or what. But I was redoing my Fat Tailed Gecko's tank this morning, and she kept making these little "kee-har" noises at me and when I would look at her she'd puff up or open her mouth. My feelings are hurt!

 

[Andee]

She could be close to shedding? Chameleons are notoriously grumpy when shedding.

 

[wodesorel]

Oooh! I never asked - how often they do they shed? She was still flaking when she came home, but she had been so dry that could have been from a month before. She should be shedding more than normal since she's gaining weight back. The poor leopard geckos were molting every two weeks there for a while!

 

[Andee]

Adults shed about every 3-4 months from my experience, but with her gaining weight and such I would say she could be shedding as often as once a month like a juvenile.

 

[wodesorel]

Timing would be about right then. That's a relief!

 

[wodesorel]

I've got waxworms and calciworms on the way. Should be here in a couple of days! Fingers crossed this works out alright. I have no idea what I'm doing with ordering feeders or if I can store them long enough to make it worthwhile.

 

[Andee]

Do not put the wax worms or calciworms in the fridge, it kills them faster and since you are feeding a chameleon you can just feed the moths and flies when they hatch out. They make great enrichment feeders.

 

[wodesorel]

Our PSP puts theirs in the fridge and kills them every time. I've got a spot cleared in the basement that should be around 60 degrees. I figure my momma scorpions could use the fat and calcium boost as well so I'm hoping there won't be any waste. Will try breeding some of the waxworms as well to save money in the future. Trying to decide if I want to try breeding the Soldier Flies indoors or not. Hubby might not go for that one.

 

[Andee]

Soldier Flies are supposedly pretty easy to breed but they take up a lot of space during the breeding process.

 

[wodesorel]

There's room in the laundry room. Hubby didn't seem too turned off by the idea.

Had a late night thought - are veileds usually active? Climbing around and hissy and whatnot? I've been comparing her current activity to what she had been doing, but it just occurred to me that what she had been doing before was being ill - laying around, not wanting to move, and sleeping constantly. Since we rescue pretty much all of our pets, I don't usually have a 'normal' to compare things to for when they start getting better. We start at sick and then get to see normal activity, and sometimes those changes can be a little alarming when they first start happening. I'm thinking I might be misreading healthy activity as something to be worried about?

 

[Andee]

Climbing around and being busy all day is pretty much a normal chameleon, whether they are hissy or not depends on the chameleon, though veileds can tend to veer toward that side of life more.

 

[jehovahgmolah]

Sleeping constantly is not a good sign. Sounds dehydrated.

 

[wodesorel]

Yeah, and starved and MBD and parasites - she was rescued and is under a vet's care.

 

[wodesorel]

Repotted the scheflerra today, which was good because it was soggy and molding. With luck the crickets can't tunnel into the bottom of this one. Also split up and added the pothos back in, and moved the dripper so I don't have to reach over her to adjust it. I'm trying to go for the full plant look I know they need, but I think I have to wait for the plants to fill in a bit on their own.

As a bonus I ended up with two pet millipedes from the pot! lol

 

[wodesorel]

Well.... hopefully she'll go back for more. Her first hit and she got like five at once and had a little trouble swallowing. I don't want to name her Piggy, but it's slowly turning out that way.

The waxworms from Grubco are perfect. Really really happy with them. The calciworms (from another place) on the other hand came in too small and short a couple hundred....

 

[Andee]

You might want to contact your calciworm supplier, but otherwise they will grow out, and you can feed them vegetable scraps to keep them gutloaded

 

[wodesorel]

The calciworm situation was dealt with. And it just so happens that the single egg from the rescued leopard geckos hatched today, so we're going to need teeny foods now.

Miss Piggy will eat both the calci and wax worms... but only if I put them in a little cup and hold it for her while she eats.... The milk jug feeding cup works for supers and crickets, though!

I'm assuming that due to her condition there is no such thing as overfeeding at this point? I spread it out over the day and she's eating the same amount as a juvenile.

And I'm still suspecting she's got eggs. Her belly is getting bigger by the day, and she's been resting and sleeping across branches so there isn't pressure on it.

 

[wodesorel]

Ugh, her timing is just spectacular. I'm thinking for sure now it's eggs? Was hoping to get her back up to speed first!



(She still gets exhausted easily. I had to move her cage today to get the 55 gallon that my snake was in out of the room. She got a little tuckered out from the stress and I think fell asleep because the lights were off for about a half-hour.)

 

[Andee]

You may have to help her dig a hole if she's so weak still, I would put her laying bin in right away and see if she shows interest in it. If she seems like she can dig then don't worry about it too much. However if she can't dig but still shows interest you may have to help her by starting a hole for her. However she will still not want to be watched I'm sure. I can't remember whose dealt with this in past. It's either Little Leaf or Jannb. I would send them a message on the site and see if they have any advice to offer. What are her temps? When she's done with eggs production I would lower to the cooler side of the veiled's temp range.

 

[wodesorel]

80-85. The weather is fluctuating and so is that room. Bin has been in since the end of the first week. I haven't found her low yet and she comes to her feeding spot for her cup feeding every morning still. This being her third set, she should be getting bigger still, right? Previous owner couldn't tell me when, just that it was twice over the past year or so and her last batch was like 70. (How? She had no heat?!) I don't think she's going to be a lucky one who slows down in low temps.