Females

[elle628]

I've been reading a lot about owning a female veiled (on the site raisingkittytheveiled...) and still cant really find the answers to my questions. I know you can stop a female from laying eggs by temp and food change, but it also said it works in cooler climate but wasn't quite sure about warm climates. Has anyone been able to successfully stop a female from laying eggs thqt live in warm climates? And is it just easier to let her lay the infertile eggs? and if so when do you know to put her in the box with sand to lay them?

 

[kinyonga]

I wrote that article in Brad's blog...and the main reason I lower the temperature is to slow down their metabolism so that they won't be so hungry when they are fed less than they would eat if they ate what they wanted.

Obviously I can't answer your question about stopping a female in a warmer climate....I can only speculate.

You said..."is it just easier to let her lay the infertile eggs?"...I would still keep the feeding somewhat reduced if you want to let her lay eggs so that she won't lay large clutches. It might shorten her life....hard to tell since they can all live for a different amount of time...just like all other animals.

Also, overfeeding can push the chameleon towards constipation, impaction, egg issues, likely MBD and earlier death..so I wouldn't do that for sure.

You said.."when do you know to put her in the box with sand to lay them?" I put an opaque container of washed playsand in with any egglaying sexually mature female...and then you don't have to wonder since they always have a place to dig to show you when they need to lay eggs.

 

[Elizadolots]

What I got from raisingkitty was that even if you couldn't stop them from having infertile clutches, you could minimize the frequency and size of the clutches by controlling temps and food intake. Smaller, less frequent egg laying obviously being less stressful than laying 80+ eggs every 3 or 4 months (which I've seen people report happening).

If it gets really hot (and, where you are, I guess it does) you might have to take steps to cool down your chameleon's cage if you want to try to reduce or prevent eggs. Do you have an air conditioner? That would pretty well solve the problem. If not, there are portable air conditioners available. There are other options as well. Climate control is right up there on the list of challenges with chameleon ownership.

 

[elle628]

Ooooh. Now that you put it that way, it makes a lot more sense. I need to learn how to read between the lines better! Lol. thankyou both!