is my cham ok

[joe keenan]

hi everyone i have a five month old vield female cham, and this morning she started digging in her cage like she was going to lay eggs. she has been there ever since she is brething nomally but not moving. i am very concerned and need help. and she is sleeping i think.

 

[ChromaChameleons]

sounds like she may be ready to lay a clutch of eggs.

HAs she stopped eating recently?

Does she have a bucket of dirt at least 10 inches deep to lay eggs in?

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Joe,

She is certainly at an age where she could be laying.
Tell us about her diet. My guess is it's time to scale back (after she deposits her eggs and recovers of course)......and on that note I let Kinyonga take the stage.

-Brad

 

[joe keenan]

um she hasn't eatin in a couple of days, and she does have a bucket filled with dirt in her cage but shes digging in the shallow part of her cage. and is it normal for them to fall asleep during this.

 

[ChromaChameleons]

chams will often dig test holes before decidedly depositing their eggs. THey often will rest between digging . Be sure the dirt is sufficiently moist so any tunnels she digs won't collapse, but not too wet. Also , don't disturb her. If she sees you watching , she may abandon her attempt.

If she stopped eating several days ago, I would bet she is gravid and ready to lay eggs within the next few days if not sooner.

 

[kinyonga]

Is this the first time you have seen her digging?

You should provide her with an appropriate place to dig in to lay her eggs. I usually have a container that, when empty, is big enough for the female to fit into with a couple of inches to spare on all sides of her. I fill it about2/3rds full of washed sandbox sand. This gives her a place to start to dig to show you that she is ready to lay eggs. When she is intent on laying them, then I move her to a 65 liter rubbermaid container that I have filled about half full of washed sandbox sand that is moistened so that it will hold a tunnel. I put a branch in the container so she has somewhere to sit when she's not digging/done. I cut a large hole in the lid and cover it with screen so that I can put a light over it when she is in the container. I put the chameleon in and put the lid on and the light over it. Don't forget that a closed container like this can get hotter than a cage, so don't make the light too big a wattage. I leave her there until she has laid the eggs and buried them. She can be fed and watered in this container....but be sure not to leave any insects there that she didn't eat...they could chew on her or the eggs.
Don't let the female see you while she is digging...it will cause her to abandon the hole. If she does this often enough she can become eggbound.

Concerning what Brad said about scaling back (thanks, Brad)...I have female veileds that are over 5 years old that have never laid a single egg. It seems that if you control their diet and keep the basking area just a couple of degrees cooler, they don't lay/produce eggs. You don't want to starve them...just keep them on a mild diet. Once the chameleon has laid her eggs, I feed her well for a few days and then I start to cut back. This seems to prevent the egg follicles from growing. I keep the female on this diet until I want to mate her at which time I increase the basking temperature and the amount of food I am feeding her.

Hope the egglaying goes well!

 

[joe keenan]

hay yall weel this is not the first time ive seen her dig, when i first got her she started digging the next day but no eggs. i am not interested in breeding her at this time ,but i might somtime later. i thank you all for the help you guys are awsome i dont know what id do w/out yall thnx.

 

[Dave Weldon]

Howdy Joe,

The main reference site for Chameleon News:
http://www.chameleonnews.com/ref.html

Nesting:
http://www.chameleonnews.com/year2003/jan2003/nesting/nesting.html

Laying etc.
http://www.chameleonnews.com/year2003/mar2003/eggs/egg_incubation.html

 

[joe keenan]

should i still mist like normal wile shes in this nesting stage?

 

[Dave Weldon]

should i still mist like normal wile shes in this nesting stage?

HOwdy,

See if you can get water to her without soaking the nest box. Wait for her to return to her basking spot. If the soil gets wetter than she wants then she won't continue to dig. Avoid disturbing her when she is working the nesting box...

 

[joe keenan]

oh alright will do