laying area for my female

[jacob]

since i just received a beautiful female...how should i construct a breeding/laying area for her?
50/50 peat /sand
5 gallon bucket
should it be in the normal enclosure? should i wait till she shows signs? any and all info will be greatly beneficial!!!!

sorry, i will not introduce a male for the next twelve months or so. this is strictly in case she lays unfertilized eggs.

 

[lbesok]

I usually make room for it in the normal enclosure, b/c this is where the female feels more comfortable. We use a 50/50 mix of organic top soil and play sand, though some people like to use peat moss. It's important to make sure the laying substrate is REALLY moist throughout before she goes down to lay, or else it could collapse on her while she is digging. My female panthers like to dig DEEP, like 10in. We use a clear, plastic, square, portable file folder container, that works out well. It is REALLY heavy and takes up most of the cage, which is why we don't choose to leave it in the entire time. I know people with large cages that leave it in all the time with no problems.
With that said all of our female cages do have live plants with good sized pots, so if their is any indication of digging in the plants, the laying bucket is introduced immediately.
IMHO the best way to tell she's getting ready to lay, would be to keep GOOD weight records on her, once you notice a significant increase of weight, in a small time (1 or 2 weeks) you know to provide lots of calcium and a nice laying place.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

The "just in case" laying bin does not need to be that big.
There are also lots of other cues to let you know she is cycling a clutch of eggs.
Have you read up on females here:
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/
Good luck with her!

-Brad

 

[jacob]

yeah i have been reading it up and down then also utilizing the e-zine link. not sure if i am navigating it correctly. ill just keep looking around those sites for more info. thanks for your inputs

 

[jacob]

does anyone have any photos of there "laying spot"? any links, etc.?

 

[lanceman]

We had a large container in ours but she totaly ignored it and only was interested in the small plant pots, go figure.