Egg laying signs??

[JessG]

Ok, so my girl veiled is coming close to a year old now. She just got her yellow spots.
She usually stays in one or two spots during the day. She never wanders around her cage. Or tries to get out.
The passed few days, she’s been exploring more. And looking like she’s planning to escape lol.
I have felt her tummy slightly, and I do not feel any eggs or anything unusual. Is this a sign of her getting close to having eggs? I’m very paranoid about that part. I do have a lay bucket ready for her also!

 

[Brodybreaux25]

Yes, becoming restless is one of the early signs of getting ready to lay. Basking more and Eating and drinking less are also early signs.

Since it is the first time for both of you I’m going to recommend that you put her lay bin in her viv and leave it there. This eliminates the guesswork that is sure to come if you just try to time it right. Once she starts showing interest in the bin it’s time to bring out the curtain. Some cover the entire viv but I just wrap the bottom half so I can keep an eye on things.

 

[JessG]

Yes, becoming restless is one of the early signs of getting ready to lay. Basking more and Eating and drinking less are also early signs.

Since it is the first time for both of you I’m going to recommend that you put her lay bin in her viv and leave it there. This eliminates the guesswork that is sure to come if you just try to time it right. Once she starts showing interest in the bin it’s time to bring out the curtain. Some cover the entire viv but I just wrap the bottom half so I can keep an eye on things.

Wouldn’t I be able to feel some eggs. She’s not that chunky lol her cage is being cleaned tonight and bin will be put in!

 

[JessG]

Penelope.

 

[jannb]

She definitely looks overweight and could have eggs. How much are you feeding her? An x-ray is the only for sure way to know if they have eggs but I’d keep Penelope an egg laying bin in her enclosure at all times.

You might find my egg laying blog helpful. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/egg-laying-and-the-laying-bin.345/

 

[Brodybreaux25]

Wouldn’t I be able to feel some eggs. She’s not that chunky lol her cage is being cleaned tonight and bin will be put in!

No depending on the size of the clutch and the size of your girl you may not be able to feel them.

Hard to tell which it is from a single photo but she is defanitly gravid or fat. One or the other, maybe both. How much do you feed her?

 

[Brodybreaux25]

Wouldn’t I be able to feel some eggs. She’s not that chunky lol her cage is being cleaned tonight and bin will be put in!

Good call, a lay bin is a permanent part of my girls viv, gravid or not.

 

[Angelwolf]

Following.

 

[JessG]

I recently started feeding her every other day. About 10-12 large crickets. I’m not sure if it’s too much, but man she can really eat.

 

[JessG]

Her lay bin was permanent. But had to remove as I didn’t have the drainage aspect figured out. All the water was falling into her bucket of dirt!

 

[jannb]

I recently started feeding her every other day. About 10-12 large crickets. I’m not sure if it’s too much, but man she can really eat.

I feed my girls 3 days a week about 5 medium to large crickets at each feeding.

 

[Darthroastcoffee]

Her lay bin was permanent. But had to remove as I didn’t have the drainage aspect figured out. All the water was falling into her bucket of dirt!

Just drill small holes in the bottom of the lay bin. Kind of like a flower pot would have to let water flow through and not puddle up.

 

[JessG]

I feed my girls 3 days a week about 5 medium to large crickets at each feeding.

Oh wow. I’ve been feeding her sooo much then. She’s got an amazing feeding response. And like I said, can eat so much. I will cut down more.

 

[JessG]

Just drill small holes in the bottom of the lay bin. Kind of like a flower pot would have to let water flow through and not puddle up.

Thank you! Will be doing that tomorrow morning. Hopefully she shows interest in the bucket. I am reallllly nervous about this. Even though I’ve done a lot of reading on it.

 

[Angelwolf]

You are taking the advice of the others, which means you and your girlie will probably do just fine. Keep up the good and keep us posted!

 

[Brodybreaux25]

I’ve seen @jannb offering up her blog on females and how she manages their laying needs but up until now I’ve never taken the time to read it myself. It covers everything you need to know in a very detailed compact read, I defanitly recommend it.

Jann- I do have one question... you start off the second or third paragraph with “Sometimes keeping them cooler and cutting back on their food will not prevent them from laying eggs.“ Is it possible to completely shut down her egg production by limiting her food/temp? I’ve always heard this will decrease the size of the clutch but I’ve never heard you can eliminate it.

 

[Decadancin]

I’ve seen @jannb offering up her blog on females and how she manages their laying needs but up until now I’ve never taken the time to read it myself. It covers everything you need to know in a very detailed compact read, I defanitly recommend it.

Jann- I do have one question... you start off the second or third paragraph with “Sometimes keeping them cooler and cutting back on their food will not prevent them from laying eggs.“ Is it possible to completely shut down her egg production by limiting her food/temp? I’ve always heard this will decrease the size of the clutch but I’ve never heard you can eliminate it.

I'll let Jann answer, especially because she has quite a bit of experience with female chameleons, but I have heard of cases where the chameleon does not ever develop infertile eggs. Not sure if this is due to husbandry or genetics, or something else, but it is interesting! I recently saw something about captive vs. wild and the development of infertile clutches, but I don't know how often a wild female would not be driven to find a mate . (There are a few jokes there, I know, but I will not try to go there.. )

 

[jannb]

I’ve seen @jannb offering up her blog on females and how she manages their laying needs but up until now I’ve never taken the time to read it myself. It covers everything you need to know in a very detailed compact read, I defanitly recommend it.

Jann- I do have one question... you start off the second or third paragraph with “Sometimes keeping them cooler and cutting back on their food will not prevent them from laying eggs.“ Is it possible to completely shut down her egg production by limiting her food/temp? I’ve always heard this will decrease the size of the clutch but I’ve never heard you can eliminate it.

Many years ago Lynda Horgan devoleded this method of keeping females. Lynda has been keeping chameleons for more than 25 years. I’ll link her blog below. Also, in the wild females do not lay infertile clutch’s or at least it has never been documented. It’s something about the way we keep them in captivity that cause them to lay infertile clutches.
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/2007/12/keeping-female-veiled.html

 

[JessG]

Thank you everyone!
I have everything set up. I hope she likes her laying bin!
I am still nervous. As I have just recently lost my male ambilobe. (He was sick from the day I received him). So I am a little worried that things won’t go well... it wouldn’t be that bad if I had a vet close to here that knew about chameleons.
I will keep everyone posted. She’s not exploring too too much. But she is doing it way more than usual. As I said in the post. She has two spots she normally stays in lol