My gravid female ambilobe is MASSIVE

[Pooboodeltin]

My female used stored sperm to impregnate herself on and I noticed her gravid colors on 10/6 and now she is massive (it is currently 10/11). She had 41 eggs in her first ever clutch and this will be her second. I've heard sometimes with big enough clutches they end up not recovering. Here are some pics

 

[kinyonga]

@Pooboodeltin said..."I've heard sometimes with big enough clutches they end up not recovering"...large clutches can/do deplete their calcium stores and maybe other nutrients too...but it's more often that they don't even get through the egglaying more often than not recovering after. How much have you been feeding her per week?

 

[Brodybreaux25]

My female used stored sperm to impregnate herself

There is absolutely no way for you to know this.

 

[Pooboodeltin]

right

There is absolutely no way for you to know this.

You are absolutely correct. I was just assuming that's what happened because she mated on August 14 and laid her first clutch on September 3rd. I should've said I was just assuming. My fault.

 

[Brodybreaux25]

right
You are absolutely correct. I was just assuming that's what happened because she mated on August 14 and laid her first clutch on September 3rd. I should've said I was just assuming. My fault.

It’s absolutely possible she is, right about that.
They can usually get a full second clutch fertilized off of retained sperm but the success rate of the third clutch drops off drastically.

 

[Pooboodeltin]

@Pooboodeltin said..."I've heard sometimes with big enough clutches they end up not recovering"...large clutches can/do deplete their calcium stores and maybe other nutrients too...but it's more often that they don't even get through the egglaying more often than not recovering after. How much have you been feeding her per week?

That is far more worrying. I don't know what I'm going to do if she is unable to finish laying. I have been feeding her as much as she'd eat after she laid her eggs because I knew she needed nutrients and I had no idea she'd get another clutch so quickly. After doing a bit of research, I'm seeing that the more they eat, the more eggs they produce. I cannot believe I've done this to my girl. She may die because of my lack of knowledge and common sense. I guess there's not much I can really do about it now though..

 

[kinyonga]

Let's just hope she's strong enough and healthy enough to get through this. If she does...feed her well for s couple of days and then cut her back for a while until you know she's starting on another clutch. It's not easy to get a balance so you don't starve the chameleon but don't cause her reproductive issues.

 

[Brodybreaux25]

So why are you concerned? Any worrisome behavior or are just concerned with the overall size of the clutch?

I guess there's not much I can really do about it now though..

Respectfully, this is absolutely the wrong attitude to have right now, get it together before she starts going down hill. It’s never too late.