HOW DO I KNOW??

[sammnadine]

right now I have a 2/3 month old female veiled chameleon and I was wondering how old they are when I should start to worry about her laying unfertilized eggs? so questions I would like Answered would be:

1. what age to worry about?

2. what set up should I have ready for her and when should I put it in her cage?

3. are there any changes I should make to ensure her safety and health in her egg laying?

any other tips would be nice!! (also What age does she look? from when I got her at the pet store January 16th, she was 3 weeks so she should be around 2 months but she looks big.) not sure though.

 

[Nicholasdeaan]

1. You should start to monitor her more closely at about 6 months of age. For now you have nothing to worry about. Just keep feeding her daily and let her eat as much as she wants. You're supplement schedule should be: Calcium phosphorus free every feeding, cal with D3 twice a month and a multivitamin twice a month on alternating days of the D3.
2. A large screen cage is best. Reptibreeze makes good cages along with Dragon Strand. A basking bulb along with a UVB bulb are both required. Baking temps should be about 82-86 degrees with an ambient temp of 70 degrees. Have plenty of live plants in it such as ficus, pothos, umbrella plants, etc. Plenty of horizontal and vertical perches and branches should be in ghere. If she isn't basking, you shouldn't be able to find her very easily. That's when you know you have enough coverage. You should keep a laying bin in it at all time that's an opaque container filled with washed playsand in her enclosure. It should take up just about the whole floor of the enclosure. The bigger the better. Especially being veileds are picky. Have 10 inch deep sand in it. Make sure there's a drainage system on the bottom to allow water to drain out of the cage. There's other threads on here about drainage systems.
3. Once she hits about 6 months of age or sexual maturity, start cutting back on her food to every other day. This helps to reduce the clutch size she lays and is easier on her body. Keeping her temps at 82-86 also helps in this area as well.

She looks to be about 3-4 months IMO. There's plenty of good people on here always willing to help! Good luck!

 

[sammnadine]

sh

1. You should start to monitor her more closely at about 6 months of age. For now you have nothing to worry about. Just keep feeding her daily and let her eat as much as she wants. You're supplement schedule should be: Calcium phosphorus free every feeding, cal with D3 twice a month and a multivitamin twice a month on alternating days of the D3.
2. A large screen cage is best. Reptibreeze makes good cages along with Dragon Strand. A basking bulb along with a UVB bulb are both required. Baking temps should be about 82-86 degrees with an ambient temp of 70 degrees. Have plenty of live plants in it such as ficus, pothos, umbrella plants, etc. Plenty of horizontal and vertical perches and branches should be in ghere. If she isn't basking, you shouldn't be able to find her very easily. That's when you know you have enough coverage. You should keep a laying bin in it at all time that's an opaque container filled with washed playsand in her enclosure. It should take up just about the whole floor of the enclosure. The bigger the better. Especially being veileds are picky. Have 10 inch deep sand in it. Make sure there's a drainage system on the bottom to allow water to drain out of the cage. There's other threads on here about drainage systems.
3. Once she hits about 6 months of age or sexual maturity, start cutting back on her food to every other day. This helps to reduce the clutch size she lays and is easier on her body. Keeping her temps at 82-86 also helps in this area as well.

She looks to be about 3-4 months IMO. There's plenty of good people on here always willing to help! Good luck!

she won't eat the sand...? I know I've heard about cham's eating sand/dirt/substrate and getting sick and stuff..

 

[Nicholasdeaan]

When they do that, it's usually from plants or when they're hunting and accidentally ingest some. That's why it's recommended to cover the soil of plants with large rocks. Everyone who owns a female cham typically has a laying bin in the enclosure. It's highly recommend. And if she does decide to eat a little sand, no biggie. She'll pass it. Most of them won't intentionally eat it. You won't need to give her a bin for a couple more months anyways.