Laying bin

[Ag.parks]

Hi forums! I recently got a female cham and I finally set up a laying bin! What do y’all think? Is it too small? She’s 5 months old so she’s not that big. I’m never had a cham before so I want to make sure that I’m doing everything right I wanted it to be deep but not taking up too much space in the cage but I could be doing it all wrong. I put some playsand in it and I added some water so that it wouldn’t fall on her when she digs and some fake leaves to help her crawl out back on to the branches.

 

[CamrynTheCham22]

It looks good, nice and deep. I know that some chameleons like to dig multiple holes before they lay, so that could be a reason to use a wider laybin. I say play it by ear and see if she likes it when it comes time for her to lay. I would have a wider bin on standby in case she starts digging multiple holes and not laying her eggs. I don't know if this could even be an issue, and I'm not sure how common it is, so don't quote me on anything.

Does the rest of your setup have lots of horizontal walkways and a real plant along with the fake ones?

 

[JoXie411]

I would do a 50/50 of sand and dirt it will help hold form a lot better. Do you know the dimensions of the bin?

 

[Ag.parks]

It looks good, nice and deep. I know that some chameleons like to dig multiple holes before they lay, so that could be a reason to use a wider laybin. I say play it by ear and see if she likes it when it comes time for her to lay. I would have a wider bin on standby in case she starts digging multiple holes and not laying her eggs. I don't know if this could even be an issue, and I'm not sure how common it is, so don't quote me on anything.

Does the rest of your setup have lots of horizontal walkways and a real plant along with the fake ones?

Awesome! I actually just bought another one that’s wider and about the same height so that’s perfect! Thanks!
Also I what do you mean by horizontal walkways? Like branches and stuff?
And I do not have a real plant

 

[Ag.parks]

I would do a 50/50 of sand and dirt it will help hold form a lot better. Do you know the dimensions of the bin?

Alright I’ll try that! I don’t but I’ll measure it and message back

 

[JoXie411]

Alright I’ll try that! I don’t but I’ll measure it and message back

Also I would advise getting a kitchen scale to keep track of her weight for egg development. Pay attention to her colors, I feed high rich calcium feeders while receptive and gravid. BSFL and silkworms are great for egg development. You really don’t want her leeching Calcium from her bones to make eggs
Digital Food Scale Digital Weight Scale, Grams and Ounces by Greater Goods https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01JTDG084/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_p9qnDb5DMKYD3

 

[Ag.parks]

Also I would advise getting a kitchen scale to keep track of her weight for egg development. Pay attention to her colors, I feed high rich calcium feeders while receptive and gravid. BSFL and silkworms are great for egg development. You really don’t want her leeching Calcium from her bones to make eggs
Digital Food Scale Digital Weight Scale, Grams and Ounces by Greater Goods https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01JTDG084/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_p9qnDb5DMKYD3

Thank you so much for this! I’ve been really worried about the egg laying process and this really helped!

 

[JoXie411]

Thank you so much for this! I’ve been really worried about the egg laying process and this really helped!

Yes I was female egg laying can be hard but with the right info you can do it I believe in you. If you have questions I’m plz ask.

 

[bluulagoon]

We have been going through the same, we believe our Zilla is also ready for her laying bin so here is a picture of how we did it. Zilla still shows no interest in digging but now i have the piece of mind that we are ready when she is..
**She has not layed eggs yet to know if it has worked so if anyone has more suggestions or ideas please share, another keeper showed us this way that worked for her chameleon but may not work for all**

So we took the bottom flooring of our enclosure and laid it on top of a 16x16 pot with a. Mix of play sand and soil (it fits perfectly on top but not something secure so you can add some double sided tape to secure it more)
If anything looks confusing let me know and I can explain better.

 

[Ag.parks]

We have been going through the same, we believe our Zilla is also ready for her laying bin so here is a picture of how we did it. Zilla still shows no interest in digging but now i have the piece of mind that we are ready when she is..
**She has not layed eggs yet to know if it has worked so if anyone has more suggestions or ideas please share, another keeper showed us this way that worked for her chameleon but may not work for all**

So we took the bottom flooring of our enclosure and laid it on top of a 16x16 pot with a. Mix of play sand and soil (it fits perfectly on top but not something secure so you can add some double sided tape to secure it more)
If anything looks confusing let me know and I can explain better.


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That is so smart!! Unfortunately I don’t think I can do that because I know that I would make a mess on my carpet somehow I’m a little worried that my bin may be small because I keep seeing posts like this where the bin is huge and very deep while mine is a box in her viv. She is showing a lot of interest in it though, today she was walking all over it and just hanging out in that area. Thank you for posting this!
Edit: what are the dimensions of your cage btw?

 

[bluulagoon]

Oh of course! It can get heavy to move if you have to do it outside. Our cage is 16x16x30 for now.
If she’s showing interest let her do her thing but obvi keep an eye on her not laying the eggs Good luck!! So exciting

 

[Ag.parks]

Oh of course! It can get heavy to move if you have to do it outside. Our cage is 16x16x30 for now.
If she’s showing interest let her do her thing but obvi keep an eye on her not laying the eggs Good luck!! So exciting

Same as mine. Your cage set up is so nice by the way!
And yes I’m just watching her for now. Thank you!! And to you too!!

 

[CamrynTheCham22]

Also, make sure to have a real plant! All chameleons need AT LEAST one to really make the cage feel like home, and veiled chameleons love to munch on the leaves.
Here are some safe plants that you should look through:
Safe Plant List

 

[PlowShredder]

Hey @Ag.parks , any update, how is your girl?

 

[Ag.parks]

Hey @Ag.parks , any update, how is your girl?

She’s doing good! She still hasn’t developed her adult colors yet nor does she seem ready to lay yet, i guess that she’s younger than i thought. But she’s doing good! Thank you