problems laying eggs...maybe

[gkirb77]

This is my first time ever posting so I'm sorry if this is the wrong forum. We got a veiled chameleon. My husband and I did a lot of research first. Then we built the enclosure, 4 foot tall screened in reptarium, misters on a timer to go on 5 times a day, UVB (Reptisun 5.0) is on a timer and is on from 7am to 7pm basking light is on 24hrs 150watt infrared bulb, live ficus and fake vines, drip water 2 to 3 times a day. We practiced and experimented with the enclosure with the kids for about a week before we went to the East Bay Vivarium to see about a chameleon. We ended up getting a female veiled chameleon that is a "few years old". Her name is Flo and she is super cool. We get her December 29th and she was being housed with a male at the vivarium. She was eating about 7 large crickets a day...sometimes from our hands. We only let the kids quietly hold her 2x a week. She stopped eating on the 11th. I continued to offer her crickets and she would eat 1 or 2 occasionally. She still drinks water. Yesterday she was on the bottom of her enclosure and roaming around. I noticed she had gotten bigger and she started digging in the ficus pot. I admit I freaked out. I called the vivarium and got a congratulations Flo is going to lay eggs. He told me to get a kitty litter pan and put damp sand in it and I did. Since then she has turned into a bag of marbles, she can barely maneuver the enclosure and she is no longer digging. I have kept everyone out of the room she is in for privacy. After reading posts I started to freak out about egg binding. I called the vet and he said to give it a few days and see what happens. She is now asleep on the floor of the enclosure. Can anyone give me a better timeline of when to worry or tell me to relax...just something please! Thanks

 

[carol5208]

how deep is the kitty litter box?. They should have a laying bin that is about 12 inches deep and the sand should be moist enough to hold a tunnel. 12 X 12 preferred size. You can also cover the cage for complete privacy. On another note you need to turn off the lights at night. There should never be lights on in the cage at night. Basking light should be on same amount of hours as uvb light. Not sure about the danger point in not laying. I am sure someone else can chime in on that. Good luck!

 

[gkirb77]

Litter box is not deep enough...I will fix that tomorrow. Our house drops to about 65 degrees at night so we kept basking light on. I'll try turning it off at night. Thanks!

 

[carol5208]

those temps are fine. They won't hurt her. I wish somone could let you know the time period for not laying and when it gets critical. I have read enough here on the forums, I should know the answer. You may have to remove her from the cage if she wont lay and try using something larger that she has to stay in. I am going to give you this blog from one of our members about egglaying and what to do. Here it is https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/jannb/345-egg-laying-laying-bin.html

 

[pssh]

Generally a month is the average. I had a female panther that took well over 50 days from beign gravid and over 56 days from mating to lay. If at any point she seems unwell, take her to the vet! If you are concerned at all, take her to the vet. I took the female in at day 54 or so just in case (she was acting normal but looked like a watermelon,) and the vet also said give it a few days before we try oxytocin. She laid a day or two later.