Infertile Egg Laying Veiled-Chameleon

[Kristen5150]

Hi!! My name is Kristen and I am new to this website! I have done a lot of research through here before but finally started an account recently . I had a few questions regarding my pet Veiled Chameleon that is currently undergoing her infertile egg laying process for the second time.

For some information regarding my pet, I have around a 1.5 year old female veiled chameleon that I bought from PetSmart, she is super friendly and healthy! She has laid around 30 infertile eggs a couple months ago, but I noticed she recently has gotten big again with some orange coloration that she had during the last time. I recently noticed that the other day when I gave her water, I believe she drank it wrong cause right after she started tilting her head up in the air. At first I thought it due to her swallowing the water, but it went on for a couple hours until I started panicking and took her to the vet immediately. The vet prescribed her an oral antibiotic that she has to take every 24 hours since they confirmed that she in fact had a respiratory infection as I had thought, and they also clarified that she definitely had eggs,

Fast forward to about a week later, her medications seem to be helping although she seems more worn out due to her eggs. She hasn't had much-to any appetite at all but has definitely been thirsty so I have been misting her cage and giving her water as well while monitoring it. Although she seems like she is taking longer to climb and wants to take her time. Today I put a bin in her enclosure to see if she will start to approach it. I used soil with sand mixed together compacted so that if she does dig down, it does not collapse on her. Her cage is also a screen cage that is well ventilated and is 5-6 ft tall with a lot of plants and climbing opportunities available. She also has a 10.0 uvb light.

Long story short, I was wondering if her acting in this way is normal? I have tried researching it but keep coming up to mixed emotions about it. I feel like it is just a tough situation considering that she is taking her medication after recently undergoing a RI, and is also in the process of egg laying, so I am not sure what is the exact reason that it may be.

Some other questions that I have that was wondering that could be answered is:

1. Should I keep my uvb light on during this egg laying process? If so for how long daily?
2. What would be the best temperature for her during this time? I heard 80 degrees F and below is good.
3. Do chameleons regularly get tired/worn out due to this process?

 

[Gloriawood]

Hello! I’m not experienced with females personally, but I think I can answer some of your questions.

Medication can definitely be hard on their little bodies. It sounds like this plus the egg laying is wearing her out a bit. Wouldn’t you be tired if you were not just laying eggs, but battling an illness on top of that? Egg laying alone can wear them out from what I see on here. Some medications can also affect thirst as well. There can be side effects like that just like there is with us. I would continue the extra hydration and closely monitor her urates to determine if she is staying hydrated. Again, I’m not personally familiar here, this is just what I gather from my own research. If someone more experienced has a different opinion, go with theirs.

Yes, you for sure need to keep the UVB on for her. Regular schedule is 12 hours on 12 off. Regarding that, is your bulb a screw in or the long tube like one?

I’ll leave the temp question to someone else because it differs for male and females.


Others may ask you a couple questions: what is her feeding schedule and how many bugs is she eating each time? What supplements are you using and how often? What is her regular basking temp? These things can all affect egg laying.

We are all super glad to have you here I didn’t see you mention your girls name? We’d also love to see photos!

 

[Beman]

Here is information for females specifically. NOTE this is broad info. With yours being sick and over the age we normally reduce their diet. You will wait to cut her back on feeding until she has cleared the infection and 1 week after she has laid her eggs.



As she matures you will have to start cutting back her food. By about 6-7 months she should be getting about 5-8 small feeders each day. At about 7-8 months you want to slowly reduce by cutting down feeder amounts so that she is on a feeding schedule of 3 days a week with 3 feeders. You want them to be on this schedule by the time they are 9-10 months old.


You will not ever want basking to be over 78-80 for her. Very important for females because as she ages she needs this temp no higher at basking to help control the amount of eggs she produces. The hotter the temp the more their metabolism speeds up so we have to keep the temp lower since we are doing lower food intake.

A lay bin should be added as a permanent fixture by the time they are 6 months old so they get used to it and it does not cause stress.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/laying-bin-set-up-educational-video.77225/

https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/veiled-chameleon-laying-101.2488/

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi and welcome. I’m just wondering if you’re still having to give her medication. Hard to say, but if so and she is currently feeling the urge to lay her eggs, that could cause a problem. Usually though, they get right down to digging as soon as they wake up, so hopefully you’ll know and be able to not disturb her. I like to cover the visible lower 1/3 of the enclosure when I know my girl is getting close to laying, just to give her the privacy to help her feel more secure.
I also wonder how you usually hydrate her. How is it that she aspirated? I know that some will use a dropper and put water directly in their chameleon’s mouth, which is not advisable because of the high risk for aspiration. Their airways is in the front of the mouth. Speaking of hydration, it would probably help her kidneys (from the effects of the antibiotic) to give her some hornworms or silkworms…plus they are yummy to chams.

 

[Kristen5150]

Hello! I’m not experienced with females personally, but I think I can answer some of your questions.

Medication can definitely be hard on their little bodies. It sounds like this plus the egg laying is wearing her out a bit. Wouldn’t you be tired if you were not just laying eggs, but battling an illness on top of that? Egg laying alone can wear them out from what I see on here. Some medications can also affect thirst as well. There can be side effects like that just like there is with us. I would continue the extra hydration and closely monitor her urates to determine if she is staying hydrated. Again, I’m not personally familiar here, this is just what I gather from my own research. If someone more experienced has a different opinion, go with theirs.

Yes, you for sure need to keep the UVB on for her. Regular schedule is 12 hours on 12 off. Regarding that, is your bulb a screw in or the long tube like one?

I’ll leave the temp question to someone else because it differs for male and females.


Others may ask you a couple questions: what is her feeding schedule and how many bugs is she eating each time? What supplements are you using and how often? What is her regular basking temp? These things can all affect egg laying.

We are all super glad to have you here I didn’t see you mention your girls name? We’d also love to see photos!

Hey Gloriawood!
I definitely agree that she must be worn out from this! She seems physically tired trying to catch up on her rest as much as she can. I usually spray her cage down for any humidity and for her to drink when she would like as well. I try not to spray her directly as I heard mixed emotions about that as well. She usually drinks from a direct spray bottle that I give her when she feels like it as well! Although I do feel like the medication I am giving her is affecting her thirst. She drank only a little bit yesterday and has not been eating much. Although she did poop yesterday and it was a little bit dry.

It just worries me considering the medication may be affecting her thirst as well as her needing water as much as possible due to egg laying as well. I even went out and bought a dripper from petsmart two days ago to ensure it can help her as well, she actually seems to like the thing, but like I said she only drank again yesterday and it was only a bit. What I would like to mention though is when I took her to the vet around a week ago, they did administer two fluid shots for her under the armpits and she definitely seemed a bit better from that point forward. I am also trying to look into homeade misting systems for her.

As for the lighting hours I will definitely keep that in mind! Her uvb is a long one and it actually burned out last week (what luck I have right? lol), so I bought her a new one as well so it seems bright and good for her! This is the bulb I am giving her currently.

As for her feeding schedule, she eats every couple of days consisting of different bugs (for example crickets, dubia roaches, mealworms, hornworms, and wax worms), the amount of bugs often changes every week depending on how hungry she is. For example she ate 2 small dubia roaches the other day. She also eats some vegetation at times and fruit as well. She lovessss kale and bananas (although I try to limit the bananas considering I heard too much can be bad for them), and she also eats apples and corn at times as well. I put calcium (alternating with and without D3) on her bugs each time. Her basking temp is around 75 degrees Fahrenheit at all times).

 

[Kristen5150]

Hello! I’m not experienced with females personally, but I think I can answer some of your questions.

Medication can definitely be hard on their little bodies. It sounds like this plus the egg laying is wearing her out a bit. Wouldn’t you be tired if you were not just laying eggs, but battling an illness on top of that? Egg laying alone can wear them out from what I see on here. Some medications can also affect thirst as well. There can be side effects like that just like there is with us. I would continue the extra hydration and closely monitor her urates to determine if she is staying hydrated. Again, I’m not personally familiar here, this is just what I gather from my own research. If someone more experienced has a different opinion, go with theirs.

Yes, you for sure need to keep the UVB on for her. Regular schedule is 12 hours on 12 off. Regarding that, is your bulb a screw in or the long tube like one?

I’ll leave the temp question to someone else because it differs for male and females.


Others may ask you a couple questions: what is her feeding schedule and how many bugs is she eating each time? What supplements are you using and how often? What is her regular basking temp? These things can all affect egg laying.

We are all super glad to have you here I didn’t see you mention your girls name? We’d also love to see photos!

Also her name is Green Bean haha! She is almost two years old and she is a super sweet and friendly girl. I will link some pictures of her down below

 

[Kristen5150]

Here is information for females specifically. NOTE this is broad info. With yours being sick and over the age we normally reduce their diet. You will wait to cut her back on feeding until she has cleared the infection and 1 week after she has laid her eggs.



As she matures you will have to start cutting back her food. By about 6-7 months she should be getting about 5-8 small feeders each day. At about 7-8 months you want to slowly reduce by cutting down feeder amounts so that she is on a feeding schedule of 3 days a week with 3 feeders. You want them to be on this schedule by the time they are 9-10 months old.


You will not ever want basking to be over 78-80 for her. Very important for females because as she ages she needs this temp no higher at basking to help control the amount of eggs she produces. The hotter the temp the more their metabolism speeds up so we have to keep the temp lower since we are doing lower food intake.

A lay bin should be added as a permanent fixture by the time they are 6 months old so they get used to it and it does not cause stress.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/laying-bin-set-up-educational-video.77225/

https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/veiled-chameleon-laying-101.2488/

View attachment 362796

Hey Beman!

I will definitely keep that in mind as I found out surprisingly that more food can make more eggs which surprised the heck out of me! She actually threw up this morning a bunch of food from what looks like what I fed her last week. She seemed a bit better after she had thrown up so I think she was having either some sort of digestive issues, or possibly a bad reaction to the medication. My chameleon eats quite a lot so I am definitely going to have to cut down some food for her.

I was also surprised of the fact of how fact these chameleons can produce eggs even due to basking temperatures. Since her cage is in my room that tends to get no traffic unless I come in there, it is quite cool. She hangs out in her cage around 75 degrees fahrenheit, feel free to let me know if that is too much or not. As for humidity I was wondering on what I can work on considering I mostly just mist her cage with a big spray bottle. Her cage has all sides with a screen so it is kind of hard to keep the humidity the same each time.

As for her laying bin, thank you so much for providing that picture! It definitely helped with a guide as to what I should do . My chameleon has laid around 25-30 eggs before a couple months ago and I used a very big tupperware bowl with padded down soil and she seemed to like it a lot. I noticed last time that she did show those types of signs of going down to the bottom of the cage and trying to dig, and as soon as I put that soil in there, she got right to it.

Although this time, when I put the bin in yesterday, she seems like she does not have much interest in it, so I am thinking that she may not be ready yet or something? So I am just going to let her wait it out and keep an eye on her. I also did provide some coverage like the picture had stated . It is not super covered but there is definitely some hiding spots for her. I made it around 5 inches deep so I was wondering if that was good enough? I was hearing that adding too much might cause a risk factor of it falling down on her as she digs down there?

I also had one last question. I would like to mention that my chameleon is the superrr friendly type to want to hang out on my hand more rather than her cage. As soon as she sees me go near the cage, she tries coming to me even if her screen door is closed. She loves to be handled and tries to climb on my hair and glasses, and even right now she likes being handled, although I was wondering if I should stop holding her completely during this time? I normally hold her for a couple hours straight cause it is what she likes, but ever since she has gotten sick, I have been keeping it to a minimum only to observe her and make sure everything is okay.

 

[Kristen5150]

Hi and welcome. I’m just wondering if you’re still having to give her medication. Hard to say, but if so and she is currently feeling the urge to lay her eggs, that could cause a problem. Usually though, they get right down to digging as soon as they wake up, so hopefully you’ll know and be able to not disturb her. I like to cover the visible lower 1/3 of the enclosure when I know my girl is getting close to laying, just to give her the privacy to help her feel more secure.
I also wonder how you usually hydrate her. How is it that she aspirated? I know that some will use a dropper and put water directly in their chameleon’s mouth, which is not advisable because of the high risk for aspiration. Their airways is in the front of the mouth. Speaking of hydration, it would probably help her kidneys (from the effects of the antibiotic) to give her some hornworms or silkworms…plus they are yummy to chams.

Hi MissSkittles! I have to ask lol, but is Miss Skittles your chameleons name? If so that is the absolute cutest thing ever!!

As for the medication, she still taking it, they gave me 14 syringes (she has to take one each 24 hours, for two weeks straight), and so far we are down to about 8. It seems to be working as her respiratory infection is gone, but just this egg laying process happening at the same time is throwing me off and starting to make me more worried than ever considering it is draining her. The medication they gave her was "Enrofloxacin".

I put the laying bin in her cage yesterday night, although today she seems like she just wants to hang around the top of the cage near her light. I was thinking that maybe she is still tired and just wants warmth, or she may not be ready to lay just yet. Although I have been keeping an eye on her nonetheless. I definitely made sure to give her some privacy in her bin as well by covering the top of it with some of the plants within her cage. I made it so where the light from the top of her cage, still dims down to the bottom but not fully.

As for her hydration method, I usually mist her cage with a spray bottle that I clean out each time, and sometimes give her water myself with the spray bottle when I see that she is interested in drinking it. I tend to let her drink at her own pace as well. Although these past couple days she has only been drinking very little water. I even went as far as buying a dripper and trying to look into making a homeade misting system for her as well. She actually threw up everything that I fed her from this week and last week, this morning which is what worried me quite a bit, although she seemed a little better after that but you can still tell that she is physically drained. It confuses me on whether it was caused by her medication, digestive issues, or her not being able to swallow everything right and maybe when I gave her water the night she went to the vet, it could have went in her nasal cavity instead (considering there was water coming out of her nose a couple hours later that day, and she was also tilting her head up in the air. I would also like to mention that she has stopped doing that since that day I took her to the vet). It is just so many numerous possibilities as to how that aspiration could have been caused which is what throws me off. Although I will definitely refrain from giving her water directly, since I did not know that was a risk factor so thank you so much for letting me know!

She absolutely loves both of those types of worms! I was actually thinking of giving her those but I was wondering if I should hold off on it as for now considering she threw up this morning, or if I should give it a shot?

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi MissSkittles! I have to ask lol, but is Miss Skittles your chameleons name? If so that is the absolute cutest thing ever!!

As for the medication, she still taking it, they gave me 14 syringes (she has to take one each 24 hours, for two weeks straight), and so far we are down to about 8. It seems to be working as her respiratory infection is gone, but just this egg laying process happening at the same time is throwing me off and starting to make me more worried than ever considering it is draining her. The medication they gave her was "Enrofloxacin".

I put the laying bin in her cage yesterday night, although today she seems like she just wants to hang around the top of the cage near her light. I was thinking that maybe she is still tired and just wants warmth, or she may not be ready to lay just yet. Although I have been keeping an eye on her nonetheless. I definitely made sure to give her some privacy in her bin as well by covering the top of it with some of the plants within her cage. I made it so where the light from the top of her cage, still dims down to the bottom but not fully.

As for her hydration method, I usually mist her cage with a spray bottle that I clean out each time, and sometimes give her water myself with the spray bottle when I see that she is interested in drinking it. I tend to let her drink at her own pace as well. Although these past couple days she has only been drinking very little water. I even went as far as buying a dripper and trying to look into making a homeade misting system for her as well. She actually threw up everything that I fed her from this week and last week, this morning which is what worried me quite a bit, although she seemed a little better after that but you can still tell that she is physically drained. It confuses me on whether it was caused by her medication, digestive issues, or her not being able to swallow everything right and maybe when I gave her water the night she went to the vet, it could have went in her nasal cavity instead (considering there was water coming out of her nose a couple hours later that day, and she was also tilting her head up in the air. I would also like to mention that she has stopped doing that since that day I took her to the vet). It is just so many numerous possibilities as to how that aspiration could have been caused which is what throws me off. Although I will definitely refrain from giving her water directly, since I did not know that was a risk factor so thank you so much for letting me know!

She absolutely loves both of those types of worms! I was actually thinking of giving her those but I was wondering if I should hold off on it as for now considering she threw up this morning, or if I should give it a shot?

I don’t like that she threw up. Has she been pooping recently? It may be an effect from the medication…I honestly don’t know. Perhaps @kinyonga can offer the best feedback on this. She should also be able to advise about the silk & hornworms. Sorry, but my knowledge is lacking here.
When I got my first chameleon, I had wanted to call her Skittles and so that became my screen name. However, the name didn’t suit her, so she became my sweet Grumpy.

 

[Gloriawood]

Also her name is Green Bean haha! She is almost two years old and she is a super sweet and friendly girl. I will link some pictures of her down below

She is adorable! And I love the name! The only suggestion I am going to make is to switch your bulb from the 10.0 to the 5.0. I THINK the 10.0 can work if the distance is correct but I’m not certain. I’m going to step out from here and let more experienced keepers help you. You have the best of the best giving you advice. Missskittles and Beman are fantastic and have loads of experience and knowledge. Good luck and keep us updated.

 

[kinyonga]

Welcome to the forum!

I don’t like that she threw up either. More in a few minutes…I want to re-read the posts.

 

[kinyonga]

If she laid eggs a couple of months ago she shouldn’t be ready to lay more for a few more months…but she could have retained eggs. I hope not.
Is she active during the day now? Does she sit low in the cage? Eyes shut at all during the day? Lethargic?

Did she bury the last batch of eggs? Lay them all in the hole? Fill the hole in and tamp it down and cover it up?

I would drop the banana from her food. There are better choices of things to let her eat. Are all the plants in your cage real and non-toxic?

Is she pooping?

You said you were alternating with the calcium and the calcium/D3..please explain. What specific supplements including vitamins d you use?

Basking should be 80F.

While on antibiotics, make sure she is well hydrated…they are hard in the kidneys.

BtW…don’t let her see you watching her while she’s digging or down in the hole. She might abandon the hole.

 

[Kristen5150]

I don’t like that she threw up. Has she been pooping recently? It may be an effect from the medication…I honestly don’t know. Perhaps @kinyonga can offer the best feedback on this. She should also be able to advise about the silk & hornworms. Sorry, but my knowledge is lacking here.
When I got my first chameleon, I had wanted to call her Skittles and so that became my screen name. However, the name didn’t suit her, so she became my sweet Grumpy.

It looks like she took a poop again yesterday but it still seems to be coming out a bit dry which is what worries me. I did give her more water today though so I will monitor how it comes out again for the next time. As an update, she still seems pretty worn out and is turning more of a darker color although I am not too sure if that is just from her lighting (which is what it normally is), but it is more of a darker green color. She still seems just a bit active when I hold her, but it doesn't look like she is interested in the lay bin I put in her cage yet .

As for your chameleons name I think grumpy is still super adorable lol! If you ever decide to get another chameleon you should definitely name it skittles lol! I just saw some vids today of a person who named their panther chameleon, sprinkles, which was hilarious

 

[Kristen5150]

She is adorable! And I love the name! The only suggestion I am going to make is to switch your bulb from the 10.0 to the 5.0. I THINK the 10.0 can work if the distance is correct but I’m not certain. I’m going to step out from here and let more experienced keepers help you. You have the best of the best giving you advice. Missskittles and Beman are fantastic and have loads of experience and knowledge. Good luck and keep us updated.

Thank you! Green bean says thank you too lol! I should definitely look into that uvb lighting you were talking about as well cause I recently also learned about thermal burns. I do not think my chameleon has them, but it is just another thing to look out for lol.

I have had lizards of all types since I was just about 5 years old, but man oh man I wish I did more research on chameleons before I got my baby. I thought I was experienced enough but everything that I come across makes me have my doubts. Yet I will do anything I can to help her haha. Also thank you again for the help!! It truly means a lot!

 

[Kristen5150]

If she laid eggs a couple of months ago she shouldn’t be ready to lay more for a few more months…but she could have retained eggs. I hope not.
Is she active during the day now? Does she sit low in the cage? Eyes shut at all during the day? Lethargic?

Did she bury the last batch of eggs? Lay them all in the hole? Fill the hole in and tamp it down and cover it up?

I would drop the banana from her food. There are better choices of things to let her eat. Are all the plants in your cage real and non-toxic?

Is she pooping?

You said you were alternating with the calcium and the calcium/D3..please explain. What specific supplements including vitamins d you use?

Basking should be 80F.

While on antibiotics, make sure she is well hydrated…they are hard in the kidneys.

BtW…don’t let her see you watching her while she’s digging or down in the hole. She might abandon the hole.

I have heard about retained eggs and egg binding and I sure hope that isn't the case! I see that she looks a little bigger as if she does have eggs, the vet also clarified that it is noticeable that she does, but I tried doing some closer observations and luckily they aren't super visible like they are with egg-binding.

She is somewhat active during the day. When it comes to her being in her cage she seems to like basking in the light more than anything, she has a specific place that she likes hanging out in that she occasionally walks around from, but sadly she has not been interested in the lay bin that I put her cage 2 days ago (so I am just hoping that maybe she isn't ready yet). When I handle her, she is usually super active where she likes to climb on my hair and classes or all over my arms. But recently it seems as though she just wants to lay on my hand or shoulder and sometimes tries to climb on my glasses.

She sits on the highest point of her cage (which is her favorite spot). As for her eyes, she barely closes her eyes, when she does it is for a small moment unless it is near the time of night where she usually sleeps, then after that she is out till the morning as usual haha. She seems to be closing her eyes less from when I last posted.

As for lethargy, she does seem more worn out than usual. The other day her eyes were sunken in a bit and I gave her some water and that seemed to do the trick to get her eyes back to normal. I did notice though that she is getting some discoloration of more of a darker green tone, and her usual white spots on her body turn black under the light and then go back to normal once I hold her. She did not want to eat today either which is another thing I would like to mention. She ate yesterday for 2 wax worms since my pet store was out of hornworms/silk worms so I am hoping that it is just her being full. She absolutely lovesss kale but she seems to still have no interest in it when I show it to her.

For her last batch of eggs, it was kind of weird because for the first half, she did lay her eggs in the hole, although since she loves being picked up so much, she usually sees me walk into the room (since you can see the cage from the doorways pov), and she instantly starts climbing on the screen and will not stop till I grab her. So when she started doing that for a couple days straight, I had figured that she had finished laying all the eggs in the hole, but when I was carrying her, I noticed that she would lay some of the eggs on me. I thought it was poop at first, but nope it was eggs. I wonder if maybe she did not have an interest for the lay bin or perhaps there was something wrong with it, but I did do research on everything during that time to ensure I did everything correctly. But when she did lay those eggs in the hole, she kind of left it as a tunnel way and never went back to it.

I was wondering what was wrong with bananas by any chance? She absolutely loved them but she hasn't eaten one in about a month or so luckily. And by any chance can you also give me a small list of other things I can feed her? As for her plants in the cage, they are all fake (which is super bad), I did try buying a pathos plant for her in the past, but she had interest in it when it was out of her cage and not in it for some odd reason. Luckily she does not eat any of the fake plants in her cage, although I am still looking into more real option plants.

She has pooped both yesterday and the day before that, they both seemed a little on the dry side which is what worries me considering I have been trying to hydrate her as much I possibly can, but I do have a feeling that the medication might be altering with how much she wants to drink.

What I meant by alternating the supplements, is that one week when I feed her, say crickets, I sprinkle some repti-calcium with d3, meanwhile the next week, I use repti-calcium without d3. I also recently bought the flukers liquid calcium but have not tried it yet cause I wanted to ask if that is a good thing I should use to get her calcium levels up? She seems good on calcium although her not wanting to eat today starts concerning me as to her lowering those levels soon.

For the basking temp, I will definitely keep that in mind. The reason why I had it so low is because I heard that having a lower basking temperature can decrease how often they produce eggs. I was wondering if that was true or not?

For her hydration, I am definitely trying , I want to get her hydrated more than anything so hopefully she wants to drink more soon!

As for the digging, I will definitely keep that in mind as well!

I also wanted to ask (cause it was stated in this thread earlier), if I should switch my 10.0 uvb lamp to a 5.0 one instead. It is a long ways lamp but I just want to see what was best for her, especially since she has a screen top that it sits on so I know that takes away some of the light from her as well.

 

[Gloriawood]

Thank you! Green bean says thank you too lol! I should definitely look into that uvb lighting you were talking about as well cause I recently also learned about thermal burns. I do not think my chameleon has them, but it is just another thing to look out for lol.

I have had lizards of all types since I was just about 5 years old, but man oh man I wish I did more research on chameleons before I got my baby. I thought I was experienced enough but everything that I come across makes me have my doubts. Yet I will do anything I can to help her haha. Also thank you again for the help!! It truly means a lot!

A lot of us were in the same boat when we came here. What’s important is that you are open to advice and willing to learn more

 

[Kristen5150]

A lot of us were in the same boat when we came here. What’s important is that you are open to advice and willing to learn more

Definitely!

 

[Kristen5150]

For an update for everyone, I would like to mention that I got on call with the vet again and she said that the medication that Green Bean is taking, often has a lot of side affects and that might be the reason she was acting like that.

I have been monitoring her nonstop, and it seems like she may have ingested something wrong which gave her the look that she may have had eggs. It seems as though after she threw up, she got a bit skinnier but the past couple days she has gotten back to her normal health! She is also eating as well which is great, especially without throwing up and she is active just like she used to be.

I am still administering her medication to her and she only has around 5 dosages left (5 days worth), and of course I am still keeping an eye on her as well just to make sure nothing else pops up!

But I thank everyone for helping! I will definitely take any advice that was given to me about how to upgrade her cage as well!

 

[kinyonga]

You said…”it seems like she may have ingested something wrong which gave her the look that she may have had eggs”…whatever it was that she ingested, if that really was the issue, I hope is still not around where she could eat more of it. Are all the plants and things in her cage non-toxic?

 

[MissSkittles]

I have heard about retained eggs and egg binding and I sure hope that isn't the case! I see that she looks a little bigger as if she does have eggs, the vet also clarified that it is noticeable that she does, but I tried doing some closer observations and luckily they aren't super visible like they are with egg-binding.

She is somewhat active during the day. When it comes to her being in her cage she seems to like basking in the light more than anything, she has a specific place that she likes hanging out in that she occasionally walks around from, but sadly she has not been interested in the lay bin that I put her cage 2 days ago (so I am just hoping that maybe she isn't ready yet). When I handle her, she is usually super active where she likes to climb on my hair and classes or all over my arms. But recently it seems as though she just wants to lay on my hand or shoulder and sometimes tries to climb on my glasses.

She sits on the highest point of her cage (which is her favorite spot). As for her eyes, she barely closes her eyes, when she does it is for a small moment unless it is near the time of night where she usually sleeps, then after that she is out till the morning as usual haha. She seems to be closing her eyes less from when I last posted.

As for lethargy, she does seem more worn out than usual. The other day her eyes were sunken in a bit and I gave her some water and that seemed to do the trick to get her eyes back to normal. I did notice though that she is getting some discoloration of more of a darker green tone, and her usual white spots on her body turn black under the light and then go back to normal once I hold her. She did not want to eat today either which is another thing I would like to mention. She ate yesterday for 2 wax worms since my pet store was out of hornworms/silk worms so I am hoping that it is just her being full. She absolutely lovesss kale but she seems to still have no interest in it when I show it to her.

For her last batch of eggs, it was kind of weird because for the first half, she did lay her eggs in the hole, although since she loves being picked up so much, she usually sees me walk into the room (since you can see the cage from the doorways pov), and she instantly starts climbing on the screen and will not stop till I grab her. So when she started doing that for a couple days straight, I had figured that she had finished laying all the eggs in the hole, but when I was carrying her, I noticed that she would lay some of the eggs on me. I thought it was poop at first, but nope it was eggs. I wonder if maybe she did not have an interest for the lay bin or perhaps there was something wrong with it, but I did do research on everything during that time to ensure I did everything correctly. But when she did lay those eggs in the hole, she kind of left it as a tunnel way and never went back to it.

I was wondering what was wrong with bananas by any chance? She absolutely loved them but she hasn't eaten one in about a month or so luckily. And by any chance can you also give me a small list of other things I can feed her? As for her plants in the cage, they are all fake (which is super bad), I did try buying a pathos plant for her in the past, but she had interest in it when it was out of her cage and not in it for some odd reason. Luckily she does not eat any of the fake plants in her cage, although I am still looking into more real option plants.

She has pooped both yesterday and the day before that, they both seemed a little on the dry side which is what worries me considering I have been trying to hydrate her as much I possibly can, but I do have a feeling that the medication might be altering with how much she wants to drink.

What I meant by alternating the supplements, is that one week when I feed her, say crickets, I sprinkle some repti-calcium with d3, meanwhile the next week, I use repti-calcium without d3. I also recently bought the flukers liquid calcium but have not tried it yet cause I wanted to ask if that is a good thing I should use to get her calcium levels up? She seems good on calcium although her not wanting to eat today starts concerning me as to her lowering those levels soon.

For the basking temp, I will definitely keep that in mind. The reason why I had it so low is because I heard that having a lower basking temperature can decrease how often they produce eggs. I was wondering if that was true or not?

For her hydration, I am definitely trying , I want to get her hydrated more than anything so hopefully she wants to drink more soon!

As for the digging, I will definitely keep that in mind as well!

I also wanted to ask (cause it was stated in this thread earlier), if I should switch my 10.0 uvb lamp to a 5.0 one instead. It is a long ways lamp but I just want to see what was best for her, especially since she has a screen top that it sits on so I know that takes away some of the light from her as well.

There’s a few things in here that give me pause, and lead me to believe you may have found outdated or incorrect husbandry info.
When a chameleon closes its eyes during the day, it’s a sign of illness usually.
When a veiled chameleon doesn’t want to eat, that’s a sign that something is going on. They are very opportunistic when it comes to food. Speaking of which, even though veileds will eat veggies and fruits, they have zero need for it and it’s said they lack the ability to properly digest it. They do enjoy eating their plants, but we have yet to figure out why. There are some keepers who will on rare occasion give a non-insect treat but it needs to be kept to the bare minimum and well chosen. Kale (and spinach) are not good choices due to they are high in oxalates, which bind to calcium. Bananas and any other fruits are very high in sugar and not good choices. A much better choice would be a hibiscus flower, and then only perhaps once a month or less. My girl goes crazy for her hibiscus and usually eats all the leaves off any hibiscus plants I put in her enclosure.
Perfect segue into plants. While fake ones are usually quite attractive and super easy, they are not good choices for our little leaf nibblers. It only takes eating one fake leaf to cause a potentially fatal bowel obstruction. Pothos is one of the best plants for chams. It’s safe if they eat it, needs no special lights, tolerant of brown thumbs, and grows big beautiful leaves to drink from, hide under, nibble and the vines provide additional little roads for mitten feet. If you place on on the floor of the enclosure and let it grow upwards, the leaves will grow huge the higher they get. There are several different varieties too, which give different pretty looks. Another bonus is they are very easy to start new plants from clippings. Tradescantia zebrina is another great and easy plant which provides a pop of color. It is nice to have a tall sturdy center plant, like a weeping fig tree, schefflera or money tree, but then you will need some sort of grow light. I hated to just throw my fake plants away, so I attach them to the outside of the enclosure doors to give my chams more privacy.
Another good segue! Once your little sweetheart starts digging to lay eggs, she needs absolute privacy. You do not want her to be able to see you or anyone else or she will stop her digging and can then become eggbound. The only times you would ever disturb a laying chameleon is when her life is in danger…the house is on fire, her tunnel collapsed on her, etc. Don’t worry about trying to feed her and to provide hydration, put a dripper on top (can be as simple as some ice cubes to melt) but not over the lay bin. Keep at least the lower third of the enclosure covered so she can’t see anyone or anything that may disturb her. Until she has laid all of her eggs, filled in her tunnel completely and any other test holes she may have dug and has returned on her own to her basking area, you do not do anything except wait. Definitely you do not want to be picking her up until she’s finished.
Which I think brings me to my last bit…with very unusual exception, adult veileds are not friendly and do not want anything to do with us that doesn’t involve food. If your sweetie is happy to come out to you, I hate to rain on your parade, but it means she is unhappy in her enclosure. Often it is that the enclosure is too small, but there are other causes too. Maybe she isn’t able to get close enough for her uvb or heat ideals, not enough plants or branches or maybe too many and the list can go on. I’m doing more than enough babbling here, so will direct you to do a search of the forum for one of the many enclosure threads. For the most correct and current husbandry, check out https://chameleonacademy.com/ and Neptune the chameleon on YouTube.
Stick with the 5.0 uvb bulb - provided the fixture is a T5HO and not a T8. The distance between your lights and basking area should then be around 8-9” for ideal uvb exposure/levels. Change your bulb at least every year (unless you invest in a solarmeter 6.5).
Hope all or some of this helps. Do continue to ask questions and share about your little cutie. I have a special fondness for our little green girls and always enjoy seeing them.