Dropping Eggs Not Using Bin

[Holly71]

Hi, long-time lurker, first time poster.

My husband bought a veiled chameleon in March of 2022 while I was out of town. He did ZERO research , so I watched a ton of videos, lurked on forums, etc.
So, he was told it was a male. Well, in January of this year, “he” layed eggs in one of her plants. I looked up what to do, etc. She had a large clutch of 51 eggs.
After this we got an egg laying bin, & she didn’t lay any eggs since January, even though for the past month or so she has been exhibiting egg laying behavior. She got into her bin, but kicked all the sand out & didn't lay any eggs. Last night before bed, I cleaned her enclosure. Her bin needed sand added to it, but I planned to do it this morning. Well I got up this morning & she apparently is dropping her eggs. The first one I found was on a leaf, then I found 2 on the bottom of the enclosure (but not at the same time) & 2 in the egg laying bin laying on top of the sand (also not at the same time). But she’s been chilling on her favorite branch all day. So these eggs are just dropping from her, not being properly laid.
Is this ok? I know it’s not normal, but is it problematic? I couldn’t find anything like this to answer my question.

Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to give some background.

Thanks in advance for any insight.

 

[elizaann2]

Eek, thats not a good sign. Tell me more about her lay bin. How big is it? What is the substrate? Is it moist enough to hold a tunnel if she were to dig? Can you share a picture of her enclosure and her lay bin?

I would keep a super close eye on her, I would worry she may get egg bound.

 

[Holly71]

Her becoming egg bound is exactly what I am worried about

Her bin is 5” deep & 8” long. It has moist sand in it.

We quit using substrate except for a light dusting of sand & her enclosure is is filled with plants except for the egg bin.

I just checked on her (it’s the middle of the night where I am) & she’s sleeping on the branch she normally sleeps on, but I saw two eggs on the floor of enclosure, which I’ll pick up once she’s awake because I don’t want to possibly disturb her.

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi and welcome. This is not good at all to be dropping eggs. There is only a certain amount of time that they have the urge to dig and lay their eggs and then they lose it and become egg bound. Your girl needs a vet asap. I’m not sure if something like a shot of pitocin can bring her urge back. 51 is a lot of eggs and if you didn’t reduce her diet, she could very well have the same amount again or even more. The more eggs they have, the higher their risks for problems with laying them.

 

[Holly71]

Oh no. I was so afraid of this being the case. I’ll need to find an emergency vet that also treats exotics.

Thanks for the replies. They confirm what I thought, unfortunately, I was hoping to be wrong.

 

[elizaann2]

I'm so sorry. Please keep us posted on how things go. Sending you prayers.

 

[Holly71]

None of the emergency vets around here take exotics. There is only 1 vet in my area that handles them & of course they’re closed today. But they open tomorrow at 7:30am, so I’ll be calling them in the morning.
I haven’t seen any more eggs since my last post, but we’re keeping a close eye on her. I tried palpating her & I could feel at least one egg on her right side (that’s what it felt like, at least). She did not like me touching her, which is typical for her. She only wants to be handled when she initiates contact, so she was not happy with me today.

 

[elizaann2]

None of the emergency vets around here take exotics. There is only 1 vet in my area that handles them & of course they’re closed today. But they open tomorrow at 7:30am, so I’ll be calling them in the morning.
I haven’t seen any more eggs since my last post, but we’re keeping a close eye on her. I tried palpating her & I could feel at least one egg on her right side (that’s what it felt like, at least). She did not like me touching her, which is typical for her. She only wants to be handled when she initiates contact, so she was not happy with me today.

My girl is the same way. Sending you prayers and hope you can get in first thing in the morning.

 

[jannb]

Are the eggs shelled? Do you have a picture of the ones she dropped?

 

[Holly71]

Here are all the eggs she’s dropped so far:

 

[jannb]

Three of them are not shelled. I agree with the others that she needs to see a good chameleon vet as soon as possible. Do you already have a vet?

 

[Holly71]

Three of them are not shelled. I agree with the others that she needs to see a good chameleon vet as soon as possible. Do you already have a vet?

The one we take our dogs to doesn’t take exotics, but there is one not too far that does, & I’m calling them tomorrow morning.

What does it mean if there’s no shell on the eggs?

 

[jannb]

If she has more eggs with no shell, she might not be able to lay them and need surgery. You would need a vet that can successfully do this surgery on a chameleon. Where do you live? I might be able to recommend a vet

 

[Holly71]

Deleted a double post

 

[Holly71]

Sorry for the delay in updating. I took her to the closest open vet that handles exotics, (over an hour each way) & they took x-rays & asked me a ton of questions about her enclosure, the humidity of it, what we feed her, the type of calcium we dust her crickets with, if we have a lay bin for her, what kinds of plants are in there, etc.

The vet said we are doing everything right & that she rarely says that; , & sadly almost every time when people come in with veils, they’re already too far gone to do anything else than to put them down .

She told me to to take her back home & keep an eye on her like I have been & to go to their sister clinic (half the distance from me) in a week for more x-rays to see if she needs surgical intervention, because even with x-ray it’s hard to tell exactly how many eggs are in there.

But as of right now, my girl has only dropped 4 more eggs since yesterday . So I’m going to call on Monday to get her in same day.

 

[elizaann2]

View attachment 347112Sorry for the delay in updating. I took her to the closest open vet that handles exotics, (over an hour each way) & they took x-rays & asked me a ton of questions about her enclosure, the humidity of it, what we feed her, the type of calcium we dust her crickets with, if we have a lay bin for her, what kinds of plants are in there, etc.

The vet said we are doing everything right & that she rarely says that; , & sadly almost every time when people come in with veils, they’re already too far gone to do anything else than to put them down .

She told me to to take her back home & keep an eye on her like I have been & to go to their sister clinic (half the distance from me) in a week for more x-rays to see if she needs surgical intervention, because even with x-ray it’s hard to tell exactly how many eggs are in there.

But as of right now, my girl has only dropped 4 more eggs since yesterday . So I’m going to call on Monday to get her in same day.

I. Sorry I think I don’t understand fully…So surgery or a shot to stimulate the egg laying process isn’t an option for your girl?

 

[jannb]

Thank you for the update. If she needs surgery, do not wait. The stronger they are the better chance they have to recover from surgery. I’ve had 6 girls spayed over my 15+ years of keeping.

 

[Holly71]

I. Sorry I think I don’t understand fully…So surgery or a shot to stimulate the egg laying process isn’t an option for your girl?

She didn’t make any recommendations. Just said to bring her home & keep an eye on her.

 

[elizaann2]

She didn’t make any recommendations. Just said to bring her home & keep an eye on her.

Got it. Do you know what to look for in terms of signs of distress?

 

[elizaann2]

Actually now that I think about it, it might be smart to get a second opinion since she is dropping eggs...