Is My Female Veiled Pregnant/Gravid?

[BrendenBilodeau]

This is Pascal! she's my female veiled chameleon. I don't know exactly how old she is, I'm guessing shes anywhere from 9-12 months (I got her from Petco as a baby and they didn't know the age). She recently started getting very colorful with yellows and blues, but has not lost her mainly green coloring. I'm wondering if she is starting to become pregnant/gravid? I have a laying bin set up with soil on the bottom of her cage about 12"(L)x12"(W)x8"(H). She hasn't been digging or anything lately but I'm worried she might get egg bound and not lay them even with her set up. What do you think?

Pascals Set-up:

She is very restless lately and has been roaming the bottom of the cage every 15 minutes or so and then will climb back up to the top. She has had her laying bin for a few months now so it's nothing new to her. She seems to like to go between the screen and the bin the most and doesn't seem to give the dirt any attention. Is this Gravid behavior?
I am also new to this site, so any help would be very appreciated!

 

[bobcochran]

She looks like she's displaying receptive colors, that is she's ready and wants to breed. It'll probably be somewhere around 5 weeks or so before she needs to lay eggs. Unless you get lucky and she doesn't cycle eggs.

 

[jajeanpierre]

She is very restless lately and has been roaming the bottom of the cage every 15 minutes or so and then will climb back up to the top. She has had her laying bin for a few months now so it's nothing new to her. She seems to like to go between the screen and the bin the most and doesn't seem to give the dirt any attention. Is this Gravid behavior?
I am also new to this site, so any help would be very appreciated!

She's very pretty!

I've found that some of my females get very restless when they are receptive--up and down and crawling around the bottom and trying to escape as soon as the door is opened. I've seen the same behavior when some--not all--are about to lay.

I think it will be rare for a female to become egg bound that isn't showing signs of trying to lay eggs first. I've had females up and down for days before they finally go about laying their eggs.

Usually the female will eat very little for the few days before she lays.

Egg laying, like birth, is a process. It often takes days for the body to prepare itself. Egg binding is also something that takes time to develop and it is always a judgement call on when to intervene. Often if we are patient enough and leave them alone in private, the animal will get on with their delivery. You do need to interfere, if only to get some subcutaneous fluids into her, if she starts to decline and dehydrate.

 

[BrendenBilodeau]

She's very pretty!

I've found that some of my females get very restless when they are receptive--up and down and crawling around the bottom and trying to escape as soon as the door is opened. I've seen the same behavior when some--not all--are about to lay.

I think it will be rare for a female to become egg bound that isn't showing signs of trying to lay eggs first. I've had females up and down for days before they finally go about laying their eggs.

Usually the female will eat very little for the few days before she lays.

Egg laying, like birth, is a process. It often takes days for the body to prepare itself. Egg binding is also something that takes time to develop and it is always a judgement call on when to intervene. Often if we are patient enough and leave them alone in private, the animal will get on with their delivery. You do need to interfere, if only to get some subcutaneous fluids into her, if she starts to decline and dehydrate.

Well that's a relief! I figured that was the case but It's nice hearing it come from someone with a lot more experience than me. This is my first chameleon and I really love the hobby a lot. I'm doing everything I can to succeed in creating a happy life for my Pascal

 

[BrendenBilodeau]

She looks like she's displaying receptive colors, that is she's ready and wants to breed. It'll probably be somewhere around 5 weeks or so before she needs to lay eggs. Unless you get lucky and she doesn't cycle eggs.

Excellent! Thank you for the advice!

 

[jajeanpierre]

Well that's a relief! I figured that was the case but It's nice hearing it come from someone with a lot more experience than me. This is my first chameleon and I really love the hobby a lot. I'm doing everything I can to succeed in creating a happy life for my Pascal

BrendonBilodeau, not a LOT more experience, just some more experience.

Be careful about advice you receive and follow from the internet because some of it is pure garbage. Unfortunately, there isn't a lot of factual information about chameleons published in books or scientific articles for a newcomer to refer to, so a keeper such as yourself is forced to rely on anecdotal information supplied by other well-meaning keepers. Just keep in mind, some of that information given is just plain wrong and dangerous.

 

[BrendenBilodeau]

BrendonBilodeau, not a LOT more experience, just some more experience.

Be careful about advice you receive and follow from the internet because some of it is pure garbage. Unfortunately, there isn't a lot of factual information about chameleons published in books or scientific articles for a newcomer to refer to, so a keeper such as yourself is forced to rely on anecdotal information supplied by other well-meaning keepers. Just keep in mind, some of that information given is just plain wrong and dangerous.

I understand that. I have some knowledge of chameleons from various articles on the internet and can kind of decipher what is real and what is satire. I also know that you wouldn't go out of your way to write me a lengthy advice post without the intention of helping me. Thank you for the warning though!

 

[jajeanpierre]

I understand that. I have some knowledge of chameleons from various articles on the internet and can kind of decipher what is real and what is satire. I also know that you wouldn't go out of your way to write me a lengthy advice post without the intention of helping me. Thank you for the warning though!

There are a lot of different motives for someone posting here, but yes, I do want to help you and share what I've learned.

Keep in mind from a recent study, a staggering 28.2% of chameleons die in their first year in the home. Average mortality rate for all reptiles is only 3.6%. The vast majority of the reptiles were captive bred (88.8%) not wild caught. It is a sobering study.

http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0141460

 

[JaniP]

It looks like you have all the advice you need but I just wanted to pop in and say that your girl is very pretty!! She looks great, good job

 

[yoda2014]

I have a question my friend has a pregnant veiled chameleon and it wont eat and she has laid on her side all night she wont eat and she just moved her to a separate tank away from the male cuz she thought she may be stressed out wouldnt lay them Mrs . chameleon is very round were the eggs are we need help

 

[brownie64]

I have a question my friend has a pregnant veiled chameleon and it wont eat and she has laid on her side all night she wont eat and she just moved her to a separate tank away from the male cuz she thought she may be stressed out wouldnt lay them Mrs . chameleon is very round were the eggs are we need help

It sounds like your girl could be in trouble. Could you go to the health clinic forum and fill out a ask for help form so we can try to help guide you through this. I will leave you a link to the ask for help form.https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/how-to-ask-for-help.66/