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My Lizzie laid 84 eggs in January and now, end of April, she has laid and/or is still pregnant with a total of 85 eggs and this is causing serious problems.
The first time, she managed well. She was well over a year old, was strong an healthy and bigger than average (240g weight pregnant, 180g after laying). She dug a deep hole and did everything the way it should be, and also recovered quickly after laying. The eggs were not fertilised - so, sorry, there won't be any babies!
The second time it was very different. Last Tuesday (more than a week ago now) she laid 71 eggs. She had been very tired and exhausted two or three days before that and she did not dig a hole, but laid the eggs in a corner on top of the earth/soil mix provided for her in her very large, covered laying box. It was the same one which she had happily dug her hole in the first time. After that, she seemed extremely weak and tired, so I gave her especially nutritious food and good care. However, three days later she laid one more egg on the floor of her viv, and the day after another one, and her condition kept deteriorating. So I took her to the vet yesterday, paid £180 (about $235) for an ultrasound examination and some medicines, and learned that she still has 12 eggs in her belly. This time I'd expect that the eggs are fertilised as Lizzie has been with a healthy male (see Sherlock in my avatar), and I have invested in incubators and additional vivariums, as I would like to start breeding.
At the vet's: The specialised and highly recommended reptile lady vet from France did NOT induce labour to expel the remaining eggs, because my Lizzie seemed too weak to her; she suggested to get her back to strength first with 3x daily syringe feeding and water insertion, and to come back again in a few days if she does not pass naturally by then. That will be 10 or more days after her original laying date. The vet also said that if she injects a labour-inducing medicine then (I think she mentioned the name oxytoxin) and it does not help, she will have to perform a Caeserian (C-section) to get the eggs out. She recommended if I choose to do that we could have Lizzie spayed at the same time. I did not ask her about the cost for such a surgery, but I expect it to be very high.
Now my questions: Has anyone of you experienced such a case before? What did you do? Also, if anyone of you had such big clutches before - were subsequent clutches of the same female that big again or were they normal?
In the first case - if Lizzie has some disposition that makes her produce far too many eggs at once every three months - I would opt for spaying to save her life.
In the latter case - if the two huge clutches in a row were just bad luck - I would keep Lizzie for future breeding. But who can tell?
Last question: If I don't get her spayed - is there any way to prevent her from producing eggs within the next six months or so? Some sort of contraceptive for chameleons? I would like to give her plenty of time to recover before another pregnancy.
The first time, she managed well. She was well over a year old, was strong an healthy and bigger than average (240g weight pregnant, 180g after laying). She dug a deep hole and did everything the way it should be, and also recovered quickly after laying. The eggs were not fertilised - so, sorry, there won't be any babies!
The second time it was very different. Last Tuesday (more than a week ago now) she laid 71 eggs. She had been very tired and exhausted two or three days before that and she did not dig a hole, but laid the eggs in a corner on top of the earth/soil mix provided for her in her very large, covered laying box. It was the same one which she had happily dug her hole in the first time. After that, she seemed extremely weak and tired, so I gave her especially nutritious food and good care. However, three days later she laid one more egg on the floor of her viv, and the day after another one, and her condition kept deteriorating. So I took her to the vet yesterday, paid £180 (about $235) for an ultrasound examination and some medicines, and learned that she still has 12 eggs in her belly. This time I'd expect that the eggs are fertilised as Lizzie has been with a healthy male (see Sherlock in my avatar), and I have invested in incubators and additional vivariums, as I would like to start breeding.
At the vet's: The specialised and highly recommended reptile lady vet from France did NOT induce labour to expel the remaining eggs, because my Lizzie seemed too weak to her; she suggested to get her back to strength first with 3x daily syringe feeding and water insertion, and to come back again in a few days if she does not pass naturally by then. That will be 10 or more days after her original laying date. The vet also said that if she injects a labour-inducing medicine then (I think she mentioned the name oxytoxin) and it does not help, she will have to perform a Caeserian (C-section) to get the eggs out. She recommended if I choose to do that we could have Lizzie spayed at the same time. I did not ask her about the cost for such a surgery, but I expect it to be very high.
Now my questions: Has anyone of you experienced such a case before? What did you do? Also, if anyone of you had such big clutches before - were subsequent clutches of the same female that big again or were they normal?
In the first case - if Lizzie has some disposition that makes her produce far too many eggs at once every three months - I would opt for spaying to save her life.
In the latter case - if the two huge clutches in a row were just bad luck - I would keep Lizzie for future breeding. But who can tell?
Last question: If I don't get her spayed - is there any way to prevent her from producing eggs within the next six months or so? Some sort of contraceptive for chameleons? I would like to give her plenty of time to recover before another pregnancy.
