Oustalet's chameleon burying herself as she digs tunnel: is this normal?

[jpricewood]

I have a gravid female Oustalet's chameleon that is burying herself as she digs her tunnel to lay eggs.

She is a adoptee from Florida where I am working on my Ph.D. on exotic reptiles (Niles and tegus). I have no idea how old she is or how long she has been in the wild. I have had her for about six weeks.

I put her in a laying bin two days ago. She spent all of the first day digging out the corners of an 18 gallon tub filled with a mixture of damp sand and topsoil before she began to tunnel around 10 pm. Through a small crack, I noticed her filling in the hole behind her as she excavated the tunnel. After she had disappeared. I excavated the opening with a spoon until I could see an opening. I guess I bumped her because she came out of the tunnel. I then put her back into her enclosure until the next morning when I placed her back into the laying bin. Again, she spent all day digging out the corners before beginning her tunnel around 10 pm again. I decided to leave her alone on an act of faith and would see how she was doing in the morning. The next morning, I awoke to an empty cage. I panicked and begin digging for her. I finally found her in a small opening at the bottom but there was no trace of a tunnel (the soil is damp enough to maintian its structure so that shouldn't be a factor). She seemed lifeless as I dug her out and put her back in her enclosure where I heated her up and watered her.

This time, I placed a smaller 10 in high by 5 in wide ceramic bowl in her enclosure and put a blanket around the outside. I'm hoping she lays in it without me having the fear of her burying herself. I know the bowl is smaller than what is recommended but I don't know what to do? I've never kept female chameleons before for this reason.

So, do I put her back in a large bin or leave her in her 60 gallon reptarium with a smaller bowl? I could order a larger enclosure that can handle a larger bin but don't think I have time before she lays. She hasn't eaten in five days and has been disrupted twice during nesting. If she dies from being eggbound, my wife is going to have a heart attack.

 

[Texas Panther Man]

I'd try using an old 1-2 gallon plastic planter filled about 3/4 of the way up with a mix of organic topsoil and playsand. Give her a day or two to lay in that. That wouldnt be such a deep bin if she tries to bury herself. If she continues to bury herself alive. I'd just go get her a shot of oxytocin. That way she'd most likely just drop the eggs from a perch or plant and there would be no worry of her accidentally killing herself. Oxy will not work if you wait to long though. So I wouldnt wait no more than a cpl of days to see if she'll go ahead and lay normally.

Oh yeah quit buggging her while shes in the bin. Try covering the cage and leave a small hole for viewing. She may be burying herself because she feels unprotected during her laying process. They dont like prying eyes while laying.

 

[allencg101]

and get her a bigger enclosure that 60 gallon is way to small for her. i'd suggest make a larger home i got a male and he is a big boy and still growing on me. i love oustaltes laid back additudes next to parsons they are the kings of the jungle!!!

 

[jpricewood]

Thanks for the info.

I spoke with some colleagues at the Miami Zoo and they seem to be having the same issue with their females burying themselves this year. This is weird.

I also ordered a 24x24x48 enclosure for her today.

 

[eriksorg]

My Oustalets have allways buried themselves...sometimes for days...I have allways used a two gallon bucket but I use play sand only slighty moist....When they are done laying thell come-up!!!

 

[jpricewood]

Thanks. I was looking for someone who had the same thing happen and was hoping it turned out OK. There is limited info on Oustalet's

 

[eriksorg]

I have been rasing and breeding Oustalets for 12++ years(on and off)....For me they have been the the most easy,to raise, and have a mellow temperment...

 

[VeiledChams]

Thanks. I was looking for someone who had the same thing happen and was hoping it turned out OK. There is limited info on Oustalet's

They lay eggs.. its basically the same thing for all oviparous chameleons, not just oustalets.

 

[jpricewood]

I am very aware they lay eggs. What is uncertain is why they allow their tunnels to be filled in behind them. It is fairly uncommon amongst reptiles. The advantages are physiologically intriguing in terms of what role it plays in the species fitness.

 

[jpricewood]

Well, she is back to digging in a 5 gallon bucket I placed in her enclosure. I'll take the advice and leave her be until she pops back up, whenever that may be.

Hopefully, this will shed some light on how the Florida Oustalet's nest to see if it differs from CB individuals or native ones.

Thanks for the help!

 

[VeiledChams]

They dig and if their don't find the tunnel good enough, they'll cover it and dig another one. this could be due to the sand being either too dry or too humid or other reasons.

 

[jpricewood]

Thank you for the info. I've read quite a bit about substrate moisture. The problem in this case is that as she digs she fills in the tunnel behind her effectively eliminating an exit. The substrate has been holding its shape, and she seems to like it because she usually settles on one deep tunnel. The guys at the zoo seem to think this is normal since Oustalet's dig very deep burrows. Scares me to death. Most reptiles I deal with keep well-ventilated burrows.

 

[jpricewood]

Well, you guys were right. She never created a tunnel but she did stay buried for about 35 hours. She laid 39 eggs last night and ate about 5 superworms and 5 huge crickets as soon as I got up around 7 am! I assume she is done. Thanks for your help.

 

[Josh Holbrook]

Hey man,

I'm one of the guys working with FWC on the Oustalet's down in Florida. I don't think you have anything to worry about: They literally dig several feet down here and are honestly good at breeding/laying and dang near impossible to kill.

-Josh