Eggs to soft to be laid???

[Alexinwonderland]

Xena, my almost one year old veiled cham, has had pneumonia for about a week now. She's been getting regular check-ups and nebulizations from the vet. After taking some X-rays, we learned that she was finally eggbound! However, her eggs pushing on her lungs is making her pneumonia hard for her. She's being treated with antibiotics though.
After an exam, the doctor fears that Xena's body will not be able to calcify the eggs and make the hard enough for her to lay, so after she recovers from her illness, they want to surgically remove her eggs. Unfortunately, I cannot afford this.... It's going to cost between $630-1000. Insane, right? I am considering to pay for it if I absolutely have to. I care about xena so much.
She will not be able to have the surgery until she's fully recovered, which will take about 3-4 weeks.
My question is- what can I do to help her body harden the eggs?? I want to try anything I can before I pay for a surgery. Are the eggs essentially rotting inside of her? I've been feeding her calcium dusted crickets, giving her plenty of water, and her UVB bulb is the correct size for her cage. She does have a nesting box, and I find her frequently crawling around in there and around the bottom of her cage. I'm not sure if she tries digging (I leave her alone when I see her in the nest and at the bottom of the cage). Please help me with any advice you have.

Ps, I do not know why her picture is upside down haha

 

[jannb]

Does she have a laying bin? Is the nesting box a laying bin? If so tell me about it.

 

[Alexinwonderland]

Does she have a laying bin? Is the nesting box a laying bin? If so tell me about it.

She does have a laying bin, but it had to be taken away from her because her X-rays showed she had some sand in her digestive track. I'm going to fill it with coconut substrate for her instead. When it was in her cage, all she would do was sit in it. She never really dug. I find her frequently ay the bottom of her cage just walking around too.

 

[kinyonga]

Can't see the photo clearly enough to tell much. You said there is sand in her digestive system....has she pooped sand out in her feces? How is the vet determining that the eggs will not shell properly? Are the "eggs" round or oval or what?

 

[jannb]

I find her frequently ay the bottom of her cage just walking around too.

That is a sign that she is looking for a place to lay. Het a laying bin in there ASAP.

 

[Mike Fisher]

Why did the vet suggest surgery before trying oxytocin? Chameleons can lay soft eggs....many infertile egg clutches are very soft.

She probably won't dig in the coconut husk. I'd get the sand back in there and dig a trench for her, than place a flat rock like flagstone over it so it doesn't collapse. Put her inside the hole so she knows it is there. Make sure the lights are dimmed way down.

I use a bucket of sand/peat mix with a dim bulb in the lid. Totally separate from the cage. When I see her restless and on the bottom of the enclosure, I transfer to the laying bucket with the pre-started hole. They always lay for me, just like clockwork.

Just what I'd do.

 

[kinyonga]

Not only can they lay soft shelled eggs but they can push out non shelled eggs sometimes. One of my females had her shelling gland destroyed and for years produced "yolkeria" as my vet called it.

 

[Alexinwonderland]

Why did the vet suggest surgery before trying oxytocin? Chameleons can lay soft eggs....many infertile egg clutches are very soft.

She probably won't dig in the coconut husk. I'd get the sand back in there and dig a trench for her, than place a flat rock like flagstone over it so it doesn't collapse. Put her inside the hole so she knows it is there. Make sure the lights are dimmed way down.

I use a bucket of sand/peat mix with a dim bulb in the lid. Totally separate from the cage. When I see her restless and on the bottom of the enclosure, I transfer to the laying bucket with the pre-started hole. They always lay for me, just like clockwork.

Just what I'd do.

Hmmmm, I didn't even think of that honestly. the vet thinks she's going to basically poop out her insides if she tried to lay. but for some reason, I find that hard to believe. You said something about the oxytocin, would that basically put her into labor? Tell me more about that.

Her x-ray did show small particles of something in her digestive system, and they said it was sand. Can this hurt her? I don't believe I've seen any in her waste.

also, do you have any further advice to stimulate egg-laying? will her eggs rot inside of her if she doesn't lay them? and is she not laying them because of her pneumonia?

 

[Alexinwonderland]

Can't see the photo clearly enough to tell much. You said there is sand in her digestive system....has she pooped sand out in her feces? How is the vet determining that the eggs will not shell properly? Are the "eggs" round or oval or what?

the only thing the vet really explained to me was that she would not be able to lay the eggs on her own because they are too soft and that the eggs will be rotting inside of because she refuses to lay them. I find that strange though, that just doesn't happen in nature...wont she lay them when she's ready?

I haven't seen any sand in her poop, and this particular x-ray doesn't do much justice for viewing the sand. but looking closely at it, you can she small circles inside of her that the vet suggested were either eggs or beginning growth cells of eggs.

I honestly have no idea how they are determining that her eggs are too soft. could you tell me a little more?

 

[Alexinwonderland]

Not only can they lay soft shelled eggs but they can push out non shelled eggs sometimes. One of my females had her shelling gland destroyed and for years produced "yolkeria" as my vet called it.

is that normal? was she refusing to lay? if so, how did you get her to do so? I cannot afford this surgery. even if I could, it would be my last resort for her. I want her to be able to have a normal cycle.

 

[kinyonga]

You said..."The only thing the vet really explained to me was that she would not be able to lay the eggs on her own because they are too soft and that the eggs will be rotting inside of because she refuses to lay them. I find that strange though, that just doesn't happen in nature...wont she lay them when she's ready? "...Chameleon eggs are not hard to begin with so unless the vet feels that their shell isn't formed I don't know why he/she thinks that. If they are eggs (not follicles) and she's not eggbound she should lay them on her own but I'm not a a vet so I can't be sure.

You said..."I haven't seen any sand in her poop, and this particular x-ray doesn't do much justice for viewing the sand. but looking closely at it, you can she small circles inside of her that the vet suggested were either eggs or beginning growth cells of eggs"....If the poop contained sand then likely the sand will pass through her. If the "eggs" are round then they should be follicles and likely haven't become eggs yet. If that's true she could either be in follicular stasis or early in the cycle and the follicles haven't had time to become eggs.

The female with the damaged shelling gland would produce some eggs and some yolk. She did this for over a year. I did nothing to make her lay..it was her normal cycle. A male had bitten her side and pulled hard on it and hats when she started producing "yolkeria".

I don't know what to tell you to do about this whole situation because I don't know if she's in stasis or early in her cycle or what.