New to this need opinions

[mazurowsk1]

My husband and I have only had our Chams for 3 weeks now and all we have read still isn't enough. Can you please tell me if you think my female cham is gravid? We have cut back on her food but she still looks fat to us. What do you think? Any help would be appreciated.

 

[ColorCham427]

I don't see a picture? what species?

 

[mazurowsk1]

oops

forgot to add pic it is there now

 

[PantherVeileD]

what were you feeding her and how much? Also when you purchased her did you know what her age was?

 

[Julirs]

She looks a bit girthy and lumpy. Do you have a laying container for her?

 

[rob408]

I'm not a pro or anything, but she looks gravid...just for safety pre-caution, I would add a container with potting soil and observe to see if she digs...if so, then she can at least lay the eggs.

Do you know if she was paired with another cham from the person to got her from?

 

[Julirs]

Can you give us the rundown on your setups(you have them in separate cages right?) That way we can help you troubleshoot any problems...
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage construction (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
Lighting - What brand, model, and type of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
Location - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
Current Problem - The current problem that you are concerned about.

 

[mazurowsk1]

New to this

I don't know if she had been put in with the male for very long before i got her. We have the male but have not put them together since we have had them. She is approx 7mo old. We have been feeding her crickets and superworms. Up till last Thursday we were probably feeding her 5-10 crickets a day depending on how fast she ate and a couple superworms everyother day. Then we were told that that was too much so we cut back to 8 crickets every other day.

 

[AndrewH]

she looks gravid to me, can you feel for any of the eggs? Like Julirs mentioned you should put in an egg laying container for her. you can test to see if she is ready to dig by putting in a damp sandbox and looking for scratch marks. It is best to not observe her or handle her too much when shes preggo. Did you guys up her calcium intake?

 

[mazurowsk1]

No We are giving her the calcium dusting on the crickets we feed her but were trying to find ut if she was gravid first. My husband reminded me that she was housed at the reptile show in the same cage as the male. We are putting in a laying box for her to see. Thanks for the info.

 

[mazurowsk1]

Also are the laying procedures similiar to crocodiles where the eggs have to stay the way they were laid?

 

[AndrewH]

well in my experience of raising crocodiles in my bathtub and backyard kiddie pool I would have to say yes, i guess it would be a bit similar. hehe.

People recommend not moving or rotating the eggs after a few days (3-5) of them being laid. They like to remove the top layer of dirt until the eggs can be seen just to see if she has layed any eggs and gently brush around them.

Afterwards, most breeders will move them into an incubator or a mixture of peralite, sand and dirt for them to hatch.

Thats a great question though! congrats on all of your research!

 

[kinyonga]

The gravid female, when getting close to the point of laying the eggs will become restless and look for a place to dig to lay them. She will likely drink more and may eat less or not at all.

Its important to have a suitable place in her cage for her to start to dig to let you know she is getting ready to lay eggs. Failure to provide a place can lead to eggbinding.

She may dig several test holes and hopefully settle on one and dig until she is happy with the hole. It may take a couple of days.

While she is digging its important not to let her see you watching her. It may make her abandon the hole and if it happens often enough it can lead to eggbinding.

She should dig the hole, turn around bum down and lay the eggs, bury them and tamp the area down and return to the branches. At this point you can dig up the eggs. I do not recommend leaving them in place because its difficult to maintain the correct moisture and heat levels. I try not to turn/rotate them when moving them from where they are laid to the incubation container although there is a short window of time right after they are laid where it usually doesn't hurt them.

The eggs are placed in rows in small dents on slightly moistened coarse vermiculite in a shoebox sized plastic container. Put two tiny holes in the lid and put the lid on the container once the eggs are in it.

 

[Nicodemayo]

To be completely honest she does not appear gravid to me just overweight and i would give fl chams a call to verify her age. She doesnt look 7 months old to me either. Mike keeps great records of what he/his business sellsat shows. Keep a close watch on her appetite. i would continue your previous feeding regiment. Keep a laying bucket in her cage though. If you see her exploring around the bucket, bump the food intake up.

 

[FooL111394]

your right It seems like there would be an offness to her if she was gravid your right she just looks fat because her whole stomach wouldn't puff up that evenly or would it?

 

[mazurowsk1]

New Pics

We have put a laying bucket in her cage just in case. She goes in and out but no digging. Here are some new pics from a diffren angle and she is diffrent color. Fat???

 

[Nicodemayo]

she does look very fat but from that angle, but i have seen females like that that were just overweight. Her colors dont look very mature to me yet. Best way to tell would be to take the male and show it to her. If she turns the color of my female below, she is probably gravid.