Still no eggs!!

[Silkyslim]

On July 3rd my female started throwing off gravid coloration for the first time. She has continued with the color even today, I can tell she has eggs in her but she has shown no interest in her laying bin or even the plants that are in the cage. I'm starting to get a little worried, I feel she should have laid them by now but as it is my first female and her first egg cycle I am in the dark.

Can anyone offer some tips/suggestions for her? Is it vet time.

 

[Lancecham]

Did she mate or just develop eggs. If the eggs are not fertile, they can hold the eggs a bit longer.
Is she still eating, drinking?
Are her eyes sunken in?
Tell us about your laying container?

 

[Silkyslim]

Nope I didn't mate her, this batch is infertile.

Her eyes are good, I caught her drinking the other day, she still eats very well, today was feeding time and she took out 5 adult crickets and 2 silkworms.

My laying bin is a blue recycle container that I filled with a bunch of moist play sand, I have a whole in there to help her but no interest. I don't know the exact dimensions off hand but its pretty large for a bin, perhaps 20 inches tall, the sand is roughly 3/4 filled.

Edit: I am at work right now, but when I get home Ill snap a pic of her enclosure/ laying bin. I read a lot about the laying bin from member blogs and used their knowledge in its construction. Debating getting a trash can and a bunch of sand and quarantine her until she lays.

 

[kinyonga]

What do you mean by gravid coloration?

 

[Silkyslim]

Well she turned an unusual color. I did a few posts about it and the general consensus was that she was gravid. As I said earlier I am still new to the female egg laying aspect. Here is a link to the pics from the first day she showed these colors.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/cleopatras-new-color-62207/

Actually the date posted was 6-30 so its even later than I'd though originally. I wouldn't be surprised if I am mixing up the terms gravid and receptive.

 

[kinyonga]

IMHO that's receptive coloration in that thread. Gravid/non-receptive females would show dark chocolate brown coloration.
They can drop the dark coloration sometimes though.

 

[Silkyslim]

Hmm thanks for the clarification.

So how long can she remain receptive before becoming gravid? I have read that the egg cycle is around 45 days but have been unable to find much more specifics.

Lately she has shown a little bit darker coloration from the thread (past 10 days or so). I am off the next 2 days, Ill snap pics of her for you guys as well and we can continue this further.

 

[kinyonga]

The cycle is 30 - 45 days if the female is mated. Its hard to determine when the first clutch will happen.

 

[Silkyslim]

So it sounds like she should be getting rid of them very very shortly. She hasn't shown much interest in her laying bins as I mentioned earlier, if by chance she doesn't lay them and I have to have a vet intervention, what sort of signs should I be aware of?

 

[Thompson]

So it sounds like she should be getting rid of them very very shortly. She hasn't shown much interest in her laying bins as I mentioned earlier, if by chance she doesn't lay them and I have to have a vet intervention, what sort of signs should I be aware of?

If she doesn't lay them and she is becoming lathargic, closing her eyes, and sitting low in the cage then take her to the vet because chances are she could be eggbound. Make sure once she does start digging that you give her privacy. Do not let her see you watching or she may abandon the hole and become eggbound from that. Goodluck!

 

[Silkyslim]

Yeah I been reading and worrying about that very fact. I have her cage covered with a beach towel that covers just about everything from her. She is kept in my room which I am rarely in as of late as I don't want to disturb her. I am really careful because she hates me so much I totally can see her givin up on the hole if she caught me peeking.

 

[Silkyslim]

Well I was going to post a few pics but I have seemed to have lost my phone usb link cable thingy.

On a positive note, today she was low low low in her cage and I saw her showing interest in the laying bin, she been skirting around the top lid of it so I am feeling more relieved and hopeful. Hopefully this will all be over soon!

 

[pssh]

If you think she is pushing her time, you can put her in a large laying bin with a branch and a fake plant so that the entire ground is usable digging space. As far as the length of time they are gravid, it varies a LOT! One of my crazy females took 55 or so days from gravid coloration (and even longer from actual mating!)