Egg laying

[tyco49]

I have a gravid female, veiled chameleon who seems to be well into her pregnancy (any way to tell for sure??) and I put a 12"x8"x6" tub into her cage filled with vermiculite. Is eight inches of depth enough? Has anyone had any luck with a container this small?

-Matt
Cage type: Screen enclosure
UVB
80-90
Humidity: 60%-70% mist only
Plants: No live, fake vines and leaves

Feeding: Superworms 2 or 3 /day
Watering: Spray/drip
Supplements: Repto-Cal in dish

 

[Will Hayward]

Matt, in short:

Expand on the diet, though not nessescarily more food, but rather a more nutritious meal with better variety.

This is important- Vermiculite is NOT for laying in! it is for incubating the eggs in AFTER they are laid. I personally use a mixture of moistend Sand, Soil and Coco Fiber is a 2:1:1 equal parts ratio. It holds well, both moisture and for tunneling.

I personally give my pardalis females almost 18" and they seem to use all of it. To do this, I bought the largest rubbermaid garbage pail I could find. por the mixture in, and put a small tree plant inside low enough so they cant reach the lid. Cut a circle in the lid for a lamp. on the opposite side of the lid, cut a hole for air, fairly large, this can be covered with a light fabric for privacy. Dont use a HIGH wattage bulb as the bin heats faster and hotter than a mesh cage.

Chameleon tend to stop laying if they see you watching them. Give them privacy or they will retain the clutch if disurbed.

 

[kinyonga]

I have been keeping veileds for a long time and some of them will lay eggs in a small container. Others need to be moved to a bigger one to get them to lay the eggs. I still leave the small container in the cage though because it gives them a place to start digging...which shows you that they are getting ready to lay eggs.

Will has given you a good description of the type of egglaying set-up to use...and he's right about the vermiculite. I worry about vermiculite causing impaction if the female ingests it.

Letting the chameleon see you when she is digging the hole to lay her eggs causes the female to abandon the hole...if she abandons it often enough, it leads to eggbinding and death. A female may dig more than one hole or dig in the same hole more than once before she lays the eggs (when not being watched) and that is perfectly normal.

A couple of comments about what you said...
You said ..."Plants: No live, fake vines and leaves"...I don't recommend the use of fake plants with veiled chameleons because they are omnivores once they reach about 6 monts of age and I worry about them eating/trying to eat the leaves of fake plants. The plants in a veiled's cage should be non-toxic and well washed (both sides of the leaves). Like Will said, there should be more variety in the chameleon's diet...silkworms, superworms, butter worms, and once in a while, waxworms (they are fatty), etc. and you can give her greens (dandelion greens, kale, collards, endive, ROMAINE lettuce, etc.) and veggies (sweet red peppers, squash, zucchini, sweet potato, shredded carrot, etc.) and fruit (apple, pear, melon, berries, etc.). The insects should be well gut-loaded with an appropriate diet before given to the chameleon.

You said..."Supplements: Repto-Cal in dish"....Do you mean Rep-cal? Does your chameleon eat it out of the dish? You should dust the insects with a calcium powder several times a week. I use a vitamin/mineral powder a couple of times a month too, and because my chameleon gets no direct sun, I use a calcium/D3 powder lightly a couple of times a month.

After a veiled female lays her eggs, I feed and water her well for a couple of days. I then cut her diet back a bit until I know she is producing eggs again. If you feed them too much they produce larger clutches of eggs which IMHO is harder on them and shortens their lives.

Hope all goes well with the egglaying!

 

[Will Hayward]

Thanks K, as always for elaborating. Good to see another somone here with honest opinions and much experience added intot he mix. You still owe me that tour! Teasing.

Not Rep-Cal. Repto-cal is also a brand that contains Cal. and VitD3 together. It seems to be a cheaper brand made by... "Fauna----" something or other.

 

[kinyonga]

I know that you want to see my critters, but I still have all that mess going on here.

Thanks for the nice comments! I'm still no expert...and never will consider myself to be one. There's always more to learn...as you know!

 

[Jordan]

I use a 12" round flower pot, filled about 10" deep with 1/2 sand and 1/2 peat moss mix. I only filled it 3/4 of the way deep so if I come in while she is digging she will not see me and I will know where she is at. Make sure what ever you use that you give her easy access in and out as she will be very tired after the whole ordeal. I gave her a shower afterwards. It helps get the mud off and they are usually very dehydrated. This will give you time to get the eggs out while she is occupied. Make sure the water is luke warm and keep checking on her.

 

[tyco49]

Thanks for the great advice, its good to have an honest opinion! Will update on laying status.