Strange behavior from Veiled Chameleon while laying eggs, please advise!

[FathomsBelow]

Well I guess that's good then?

Do you know if chameleons could develop eggs and hold on to them if they feel the conditions aren't safe to lay in?
The reason I bring this up, is that for most of her life she was in the same room with our pet rabbits, and while they were at different corners of the room and it was difficult to see each other, the bunnies still make a fair amount of noise throughout the day. Well we recently moved and finished remodeling our pet room and now Juniper is by herself in my office. It was only a couple days after this change that she started to lay for the first time. I have no idea if this is a thing, could she have been holding onto the eggs, or the need to lay eggs, for so long that it was about time to lay again?
Maybe it just comes down to us not limiting the food and heat?

 

[kinyonga]

Some have said that the females can hold onto the eggs for a while...but to me, even if it's true it's not a good thing because I think the eggs continue to grow and eventually the female wouldn't be able to lay them...just my opinion...no real proof yet.

Chameleons have a limited range of hearing and I don't think th bunnies making noise would bother her.

Not controlling the food and temperatures will likely lead to large clutches and egg laying issues..and can even lead to MBD and prolapsing, etc too...depending on what you're feeding her and the temperatures IMHO.

 

[FathomsBelow]

I think you may underestimate the noise a few critters can make haha, either way, I agree that it was a long shot.
Currently, we are continuing with normal temperatures and feedings till her course of calcium is up in another two weeks, under the assumption she will lay eggs soon.
If she does lay eggs we will immediately be adjusting the temp and start cutting back on food.
We plan to take her back to the vet at the end of the two weeks if she has not laid eggs, or sooner if her health starts to decrease rapidly.
She has started to bask a bit more throughout the day than a week or two ago, but she still looks hydrated and is very attentive to any crickets that escaped her feeder.

 

[Joeskier]

Yes, based on what you had mentioned I'm not anticipating for them to be reabsorbed.
Our vet didn't mention anything about them being round and from what my untrained eye could see they looked a little more on the oval side.
What would a round egg be a sign of?

Please continue your updates- this is very interesting- thank you

 

[FathomsBelow]

Please continue your updates- this is very interesting- thank you

Thanks for your interest and apologies for the lack of updates.
When she finished her course of calcium we had a virtual appointment with our vet, no changes in behavior what so ever. Still a great appetite, moving around like usual and positive coloring.
As far as the vet could see based on that call and the previous visits there was no reason to be concerned and we were advised to just keep a close eye on her. Skip forward a couple more weeks and still no changes. Just today I noticed her being a bit restless, similar to the first time she laid eggs, but being the first time I'm catching it I cant say for sure she'll be laying soon.

For now, she's back to her regular supplements and all is good. I think the next step is getting her diet more under control since we were a bit naive to portion control.
I've been giving her 5 medium crickets every morning (used to be 8ish) and she gets a few pieces of fresh greens at night. If she doesn't get greens she'll start eating all the plant life in her cage haha.
For supplements, she gets calcium without D-3 five days a week, on Saturday we rotate back and forth between calcium with D-3 and Reptivite and no supplements on Sunday.

If anyone has recommendations or links to a good meal plan I would definitely appreciate that!

 

[cham girl]

Love your name are you a diver? also I Have two females that will eat more then the others ,all you give them, they did have the pudge that sticks out past the belly rib lines ( see your 1st pics of her) after their 3rd lay she went a a diet, and her next 3 clutch sizes reduced and so did their bellies. You are doing a fantastic job for her, Its tough were they act like they are hungry.

 

[FathomsBelow]

Thank you! Haha, yeah I do a little bit of diving, good guess!
It's nice to hear from someone in a similar situation. We have a crested gecko who will just deny food when full and we always like to pride ourselves on treating our pets well, hence the overfeeding, but just didn't know how important it would be to restrict her diet as she aged. With all of our research, I'm not sure how something like that was overlooked. I am very happy she seems to be doing well, and is starting to get into little spells of being restless so here's to hoping she will have that second clutch soon.

 

[cham girl]

Scuba my second addiction So they are picky on the laybin keep it moist maybe add some sand or dirt and very private, or add small plant to part of it, if they are disturbed they will abandon the holes or bin as they think it's not safe ,i no longer take pics at this time and i notice they like to bask more too,

 

[FathomsBelow]

It's funny I actually got into diving through my career, I love it I just wish I had more time to do it haha.
Her enclosure is planted so it has a dirt layer that's about 18 inches deep with some small trees for seclusion.
The first time she laid eggs we had a substrate that was more soil and plant matter but a few weeks ago I did mix a new batch that had sand so hopefully, that will help.
And like you said we're keeping it moist as well. She's now doing laps around her enclosure and dying to get out so I think we're on the right path.