Is my chameleon Egg Bound?

[Boba_The_Cham]

Hey everybody,

First of all, here is background, setup, and feeding regimen:

• Cham INFO: Veiled chameleon (female), 10-11 months old, and has been in my care for roughly 7 months
  • Handling: Once a week I handle and put her outside for a few hours ( weather permitting)
  • Location: Houston, Texas so weather is typically perfect for humidity and heat levels
• Feeding/Supplements:
  • Feeding: 2-3 feeder per day (size dependent) currently trying to cut back
  • Feeders: Mixture of Dubia (medium), soldier Flies & larvae, superworms, occasional hornworms for hydration and wax worm or moths for a treat.
  • Supplements: All feeders are lightly dusted with Rep-Cal (NO PHOS/D3) daily
    • Reptivite on Sundays
    • Rep-Cal (PHOS/D3) on Saturdays
• Cage Info:
  • 18" x 18" x 36" screened cage with T5 high output Reptisun UVB buld and Heat Bulb.
    • Temps and Humidity: 82 F and consistent 50% humidity during day (70% at night)
  • Automatic Mister (every 4 hrs) and dripper
  • Laying bin: (16" x 12" x 10") with mixture of play sand and peat moss. It holds mold and allows for proper digging.
  • Cocofiber siding: I use this to help retain humidity levels in the enclosure.
  • Currently No real Plants: This will change soon. I currently am in a process of moving for a new job.

Now to the real reason I am posting this thread! lol So just these past few weeks my veiled has been showing very vivid colors. I knew at some point she was going to become receptive so I have always had the laying bin inside the enclosure and documented her color changes. However, now she no longer is receptive and has NEVER shown any interest in digging or searching for a place to lay her eggs. I even covered her enclosure and only checked on her when feeding for a full week and she not once (that I noticed) went down to her laying bin. As you could assume, I of course am now terrified that she may be egg bound OR soon will be. For all of this week she has shown very dark (or what I would assume to be gravid colors) and still no sign of needing to lay. I will attach photos of my enclosure, her resting colors, receptive/questionable colors, and current colors for better understanding.

I guess I have resorted to this thread to see if anyone has had this happen before, or maybe insight into how I should handle the situation.

For clarification, she has never shown any serious sign of MBD or health issues to my knowledge, and her initial fecal test came out negative for parasites.

Let me know what you guys think!!

 

[AnamCara]

She does look plump. I'd remove the peat moss and go with a 50/50 play sand to organic potting soil mixture. You only want to give the vitamins and D3 twice a month.

@kinyonga how long between being receptive a ready to lay?

 

[Boba_The_Cham]

Normal Colors. This was taken just days before she started showing the dots.

 

[Boba_The_Cham]

She does look plump. I'd remove the peat moss and go with a 50/50 play sand to organic potting soil mixture. You only want to give the vitamins and D3 twice a month.

@kinyonga how long between being receptive a ready to lay?

So The pictures are dated Oct 16th and 17th. But starting around the 24th/25th she turned more gravid.

 

[kinyonga]

IMHO you need to make some changes to the cage ASAP.
I would get all the coco fiber out of the cage so there won't be any danger of her ingesting it.

It's important to get rid of all the fake plants and replace them with non toxic well washed (bith sides of the leaves) real plants.

I only use washed playsand produced by Kings as a substrate in the lay bins...it has never caused an impaction issue and holds a tunnel well.

I'm not positive, but it looks like she might have some MBD. It might just be the photos.

As for eggs...she looks quite plump. I think I would try not to disturb her too much now and hope she can lay the eggs. I'd watch for signs of eggbinding too...sitting low in the cage, lethargic, sleeping during the day, etc.

If a chameleon is mated, the time from mating to laying is 30 to 35 days. It's harder to say when it's a virgin laying.

 

[Gingero]

I would try and use just washed playsand and see if she likes that more. Some females are picky.

Also your supplements are a bit off. Multivitamin and calcium with D3 should be alternated every other week so you're overdoing it by using it weekly. Also at her age she should only be fed 3-4 bugs every 2-3 days to help reduce the number of eggs she lays. What is the strength of your T5 -- 5.0 or 10.0?

 

[Boba_The_Cham]

The T5 is a 5.0

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi. Your husbandry looks ok. The Reptivite and D3 should be alternated weekly so that she is getting them each only twice a month. It’s already been said that you need to get rid of the plastic plants and get all safe live ones. It’s also been said about using only play sand for the lay bin and getting rid of the coco coir.

I'm not positive, but it looks like she might have some MBD.

I too am seeing signs of mbd in her limbs though, which is concerning. From what you say, she shouldn’t have any mbd. What is the distance of your uvb to basking area? How old is your uvb bulb? Is there plastic or anything else between the uvb bulb and the screen? @kinyonga have you heard of any reptiles not being able to properly absorb or use calcium/D3? I know it can occur in humans.

 

[kinyonga]

@MissSkittles said..." @kinyonga have you heard of any reptiles not being able to properly absorb or use calcium/D3? I know it can occur in humans"....I haven't heard of it happening. However, if their husbandry and diet isn't right and the care of the parents wasn't right....then developing MBD can happen more easily and is almost always what happens if the chameleon is overfed and is too fat... and the chameleon develops follicular stasis and eggbinding.
Not sure if I explained this clearly enough.

 

[Beman]

Yes, I am seeing MBD as well in her limbs....

When did you get the T5HO fixture? Can you take pictures of the lights on top down so we can see the exact placement?

 

[Boba_The_Cham]

All is well now. I replaced laying bin with 50/50 mixture and she laid 34 eggs within 24 hrs of doing so. Thanks all for the clarification!

 

[redhorse]

I read you have had her for about 7 months and she could be 10 or 11..

Do you know her background?
Was she ever with a male?
Can you share a picture when you first received her? Thanks!

 

[MissSkittles]

Now that she’s laid her eggs, you’ll want to feed her well for a couple of days. As egg production and laying significantly shorten the lives of our girls, we limit temps and food to help curb egg production. You’ll want to keep her basking temps no higher than 80f and feed her 3-4 feeders, 3 days a week (plus occasional treats). While it’s not an exact or scientifically proven method, it has worked very well for me and many others.