how long until receptive female lays

[plant_birb]

How long after showing receptive colors does a female veiled chameleon generally lay her eggs?

My 9mo showed the first bit of teal Jan 3rd and then full coloration Jan 8th.

She was very restless (climbing all around her cage most of the day) until Jan 25th but since then has returned to her typical activity level (chilling out in a couple spots, exploring the lower part of her habitat a bit) and has very vivd teal & mustard yellow receptive colors.

I believe my husbandry and lay bin setup are all correct and there have been no negative changes in her behavior. I have a competent vet near by and I would take her there the second I saw signs of being egg bound.

 

[kinyonga]

Photos of her from today?

 

[plant_birb]

I do know she has eggs, just based on her size and the fat pads over her hips began to show. I just haven’t seen gravid colors from her yet.

 

[plant_birb]

I do know she has eggs, just based on her size and the fat pads over her hips began to show. I just haven’t seen gravid colors from her yet.
View attachment 291880View attachment 291881

But I also think she is slightly inflated in these pictures because I was handling her.

 

[kinyonga]

Beautiful girl!

It's 30 to 40 days generally from the gravid coloration until laying occurs for fertile eggs. When they're infertile it should be the same...but it also depends on how much you feed her and how warm you keep her so it's not as definite then.

Try not to bother her now...just feed and water her and leave her alone and give her privacy right now otherwise.
If she shows signs of going down hill...lethargy, eyes closed during the day, sitting low in the branches, etc then get her to a good chameleon vet ASAP.

Describe your laying bin please.

 

[plant_birb]

13in H x 15in W x 23in D black plastic bin with a 50/50 mixture of washed play sand & organic topsoil with a pothos plant. It can hold a tunnel, I’ve dug to the bottom. I also have @jannb ’s garbage can set up ready to go if needed.

 

[kinyonga]

Thanks...just checking!

 

[plant_birb]

Thanks...just checking!

Thank you for your help!

 

[plant_birb]

She started digging today! Should I mist her cage tonight or will that disturb her?

 

[kinyonga]

If she's in the hole digging, do not let her see you watching her.
Try not to disturb her at all.
The lights can still go off and on at the normal time. Is it a hand mister or automatic?

 

[kinyonga]

Here's how it should go...
She may dig one hole until she's happy with it ...or she may dig several test holes and then settle on one and dig it until she's happy with it. She may dig for a while and return to the branches and start again later ...or the next day even.

Once she's happy with the hole she will turn around butt down in the hole and lay the eggs...usually in the evening. It might take an hour or several hours. She may even sleep in the hole overnight.

When she's done laying them, she should fill the hole in and tamp it down and return to the branches ...hungry, thirsty, thin, dirty.

After she has finished and returned to the branches, you should dig up the eggs to see how many she laid so you will know if you're over feeding her.

If she's taking a break between digging you can feed her and water her...but try not to take too long to do both. Don't leave any insects in the cage.

If she doesn't do what I said above, then post on here again....and get her to the vet ASAP. For instance...if she's sitting low in the cage, sleeping during the day, lethargic, phantom lays, etc.
(Phantom laying is digging s hole, acting like she's laying the eggs, filling the hole in but when you dig it up there's nothing there).

 

[plant_birb]

Thank you so much for all the info! Sprout laid fifty eight eggs in ten hours. I didn’t disturb her at all as she dug and had a sheet over the cage. I only went in to dig up the eggs when she had filled the hole and was back up on a branch, thin & dirty. So it took forty-four days from first signs of receptive colors to laying. Then she ate eight small gutloaded & dusted dubias and drank straight from the hand mister. I will give her a hornworm and silks tomorrow. I’m pretty sure that’s a large first clutch and I’d definitely appreciate some guidance on feeding & temps for the future. I cut her food back a month or two ago but maybe I should’ve started earlier. This was very stressful for me but I think it went well and I only want to learn more so it‘s easier for her!

 

[kinyonga]

How did you get the xray?
50 eggs is too many IMHO. Are you going to cut her down more on the feeding an keep the temperatures at 80F in the basking area?

 

[plant_birb]

The vet took the X-ray last week. I will be cutting back on feeding, does 3-5 medium bugs every other day sound ok? Her basking temp has always been 80-85F.

 

[kinyonga]

That should cut the number of eggs down but if you want to stop the egglaying altogether you likely will have to cut it a bit more.
It can take a couple of clutches to get things to the point of control you're happy with.

 

[AmandaS]

I like to do 2-3 large feeders, 3 days a week. I feed on mon, wed, fri.
And we reduce the temps to 80max because it slows her metabolism so she doesnt feel as hungry.

What is your feeding schedule for female veileds, @kinyonga ?

 

[kinyonga]

What I have done for years with veiled females, is cut them down to 5 to 6 med feeders two or three times a week and if, in a couple of receptive times they are still producing eggs, they can be cut down a bit more. I keep the basking temps at 80F most of the year.
(I have used medium feeders because I've always had various sizes of lizards to feed and buying mediums was easier to provide for them and the bigger lizards. I've been doing this with veileds since about 1994.)

 

[plant_birb]

So Sprout has been great these past couple days, eating and drinking well. But she still goes down in the morning to the corner where she laid her eggs and digs to cover them up (I have removed them) for a bit. She has her back legs in the corner and is shoveling dirt backwards, she is not nose first digging down into the corner. Is it normal for them to keep covering a couple days after they lay?

 

[kinyonga]

I've seen the odd one go back to tamp the soils down more after the eggs are laid....but only once Asa rule.

 

[NashansCamos]

That should cut the number of eggs down but if you want to stop the egglaying altogether you likely will have to cut it a bit more.

wait you can do that??