Laying eggs!

[emersonc]

My cham is laying her eggs right now. She is digging at the bottom of my ficus plant i have in there. The soil is very tough and i think that she is haveing some trouble digging. I put in a pot with nothing in it but dirt and she didnt want to use that. It is really cool, she is all back and busyily digging away. How long does this type of thing usually take, all day? couple of hours?

And when she is done, i know that she will be very tired and most likely dehydrated so i figure i will give her a shower and then make sure she has a lot of food, but untill she is completly done im letting her be, any tips would be great!

 

[Will Hayward]

Chameleons tend to dig and lay under plant root balls. For future times I suggest taking the plant out of the pot and burying the root ball in the tub of laying soil.

Don't let her see you while she is digging/laying. She could abandon the holes, not lay, and eventually become eggbound.

It can take hours or days. Ive had chameleons stay underground for over a full 24 hours.

 

[emersonc]

Wow so it can take a long time then, i will not bother her. it has been about seven hours since she has started, so she might have a long time to go.

Did you do anyting special after a female lays her eggs. Should i alter her supplements?

 

[Will Hayward]

Increase suppliments, especially calcium absorption with UV. In addition and equily important, provide increased water intake and drinking stimulation. Offer healthy feeders, and more feeders with high liquid/water content likw soft worms.

 

[Jordan]

I would stick her in the shower when she is done. She will be muddy and thirsty. It will kill to birds with one stone.

 

[emersonc]

I will take your advice and giver her a shower. I checked today and she did indeed lay her eggs ast the base of the ficus tree. she laid 24 eggs.
Now for my new questions, is 24 a common number? and when should i expect her to lay her next batch???

 

[Will Hayward]

In my opinion, with a panther chameleon you should actually be aiming for 20-25 eggs or fewer. I don't remember what species you are keeping though. Fewer eggs generally means a safer birth for the female. Less draw on calcium, less pressure on her body and internal organs, allows her to eat well into the egg development. You can help control the amount of eggs she produces by altering her diet.

If you regulate her diet AFTER she lays, you can make it so that she will have less of a chance to become gravid again. Which allows her to rest and recuperate longer instead of laying again immediately.

 

[emersonc]

I have a nosy be panther chameleon, and she is about a yuear and a half old.
her diet is about three crickets a day, i dont want to feed her less then that, in fact i was thinking about feeding her more, but how much do you feed you chams?

 

[kinyonga]

I usually feed mine more for a couple of days after they lay eggs and then cut back again to try to prevent her from making too many eggs. With veileds I can control/stop the egglaying...but with panthers, all that seems to be accomplished is that they can be slowed down.