Unexpected female laying eggs
- Thread starter JodyD
- Start date
Yeah I would be happy to go over everything basic husbandry wise. But Kristen she is a big girl.. I am thinking she still has a lot of eggs left especially if she only laid 6. And since the girls are not my area maybe you can give more info there. lol. <3
Kristen Wilkins
Chameleon Enthusiast
I do not think she is done laying . Do you have her lay bin set up for her . Recover her cage if you have not already . I’m sorry if I’m repeating info , I’m at work .
Kristen Wilkins
Chameleon Enthusiast
She absolutely has eggs still we must been posting at same time . She needs a vet ASAP , bin needs to be in condo if she can’t get her there today . Dropping eggs is not good to begin with . I’m sorry if I sound short I’m at work . Thank you as always Becca
.
Kristen Wilkins
Chameleon Enthusiast
Not at all hun. Thank you. I agree lay bin now and Reptile Vet.
Brodybreaux25
Chameleon Enthusiast
She sill has retained eggs, you can expect 40-70 eggs given that she is obese.
Fertility is irrelevant, process for you and her is the same.
The only way fertility can be determined is by candleing from the outside is by looking for veins. However the veins will not start showing up until after the diapause period.
She is already dying, she just doesn’t know it yet. She needs a vet now, tomorrow could be too late.
Fertility is irrelevant, process for you and her is the same.
The only way fertility can be determined is by candleing from the outside is by looking for veins. However the veins will not start showing up until after the diapause period.
She is already dying, she just doesn’t know it yet. She needs a vet now, tomorrow could be too late.
jannb
Chameleon Enthusiast
If those pictures of your girl are from today, she doesn’t look bad yet. I’ll get you a list of reptile vets in MI and I’d get her an X-ray in the morning to see if she has more eggs. If she only laid six she probably has more eggs. The vet might give and injection of oxytocin and calcium to help her lay the rest.
Here’s a link to reptile vets in MI.
https://thereptilereport.com/michigan-reptile-veterinary-directory/
I ask a friend that use to live in MI that keeps chameleons and this is the vet she used.
Cedar Creek Veterinary Clinic (Williamston, MI) - 20 minute drive from East Lansing, 30 from Lansing, ~ 40-45 from Ann Arbor, ~ 1:20 from Grand Rapids (I know the Californians drive further!)
Accredited reptile vets Drs R Beasley and Nolan; Dr. C Beasley is a bird vet (small animal practice as well)
Chameleon experience; they do all the veterinary work for Preuss Pets, a good local petstore with a large reptile selection.
Here’s a link to reptile vets in MI.
https://thereptilereport.com/michigan-reptile-veterinary-directory/
I ask a friend that use to live in MI that keeps chameleons and this is the vet she used.
Cedar Creek Veterinary Clinic (Williamston, MI) - 20 minute drive from East Lansing, 30 from Lansing, ~ 40-45 from Ann Arbor, ~ 1:20 from Grand Rapids (I know the Californians drive further!)
Accredited reptile vets Drs R Beasley and Nolan; Dr. C Beasley is a bird vet (small animal practice as well)
Chameleon experience; they do all the veterinary work for Preuss Pets, a good local petstore with a large reptile selection.
Last edited:
I'd love a vet suggestion if you have one. Southeast Michigan.
That's quite a hike for me. I'll reach out in my community for some ideas.
Kristen Wilkins
Chameleon Enthusiast
They may have an idea for you community if you give them a call .
jannb
Chameleon Enthusiast
Did you check the link with all the MI reptile vets listed?
@JodyD ...you said..." I'm wondering if she had been digging in the plant" and " She seems smaller today, and there's no sign of egg bumps near her abdomen"... I'd be tempted to dig in the dirt in the pots to see if there were eggs. 6 would not be a full clutch so either she's retained the rest of the clutch or laid them somewhere in the cage. If she hasn't laid them all then she needs to see a vet to figure out what to do about it. In a couple of the photos it looks like she still might have eggs in her.
Concerning the husbandry...
She's definitely old enough that I would only be feeding her every other day now. If you want to keep her clutches small or even non existent after you get her through this egglaying you can keep her feeding low enough that she doesn't starve but not as high as would be needed to produce eggs.
Does the calcium powder have any D3 in it? Vitamin A from prEformed (palmitate, retinol, etc) sources?
There are many ways of supplementing. Many people use Repashy. I've never used it but only because what I do now works so why change it? What I do is dust lightly at almost every feeding with Rep-Cal phos free calcium powder. This ensures the chameleon gets the calcium needed for strong muscles and bones and other systems.i dust twice a month with Rep-Cal phos free calcium/D3 powder to ensure that the chameleon gets some D3 and leaving it to produce the rest from its exposure to the UVB light provided for the chameleon. D3 from supplements can build up in the system and lead to health issues but D3 produced from UVB light shouldn't as long as the chameleon can move in and out of the UVB at will. I dust lightly twice s month with Herptivite. It has a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A. PrOformed sources will not build up in the system like prEformed sources will so this leaves it up to you to decide when/if the chameleon needs some prEformed vitamin A.
I feed/gutload the crickets, locusts, super worms, etc a wide variety of greens (dandelions, kale, endive, escarole, collards, etc) and veggies (carrots, squash, zucchini, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, etc) and a small amount of fruit (berries, Apple, pear, melon, etc). These same hints can be offered to your chameleon too.
I use the long linear Repti-Sun 5.0 UVB light. I use a regular household incandescent bulb in a round hood placed to one side on the lid of the cage. I prefer this set up because it covers more of the cage area and the chameleon can chose to sit in an area where it's only under the UVB light or can bask and get UVB at the same time. One side of the cage is also warmer than the other this way too so it gives the chameleon more choices of temperature.
Kristen Wilkins mentioned the arms...they do look a little strange..swollen...and should be checked out.
Sorry this is so long.
Concerning the husbandry...
She's definitely old enough that I would only be feeding her every other day now. If you want to keep her clutches small or even non existent after you get her through this egglaying you can keep her feeding low enough that she doesn't starve but not as high as would be needed to produce eggs.
Does the calcium powder have any D3 in it? Vitamin A from prEformed (palmitate, retinol, etc) sources?
There are many ways of supplementing. Many people use Repashy. I've never used it but only because what I do now works so why change it? What I do is dust lightly at almost every feeding with Rep-Cal phos free calcium powder. This ensures the chameleon gets the calcium needed for strong muscles and bones and other systems.i dust twice a month with Rep-Cal phos free calcium/D3 powder to ensure that the chameleon gets some D3 and leaving it to produce the rest from its exposure to the UVB light provided for the chameleon. D3 from supplements can build up in the system and lead to health issues but D3 produced from UVB light shouldn't as long as the chameleon can move in and out of the UVB at will. I dust lightly twice s month with Herptivite. It has a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A. PrOformed sources will not build up in the system like prEformed sources will so this leaves it up to you to decide when/if the chameleon needs some prEformed vitamin A.
I feed/gutload the crickets, locusts, super worms, etc a wide variety of greens (dandelions, kale, endive, escarole, collards, etc) and veggies (carrots, squash, zucchini, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, etc) and a small amount of fruit (berries, Apple, pear, melon, etc). These same hints can be offered to your chameleon too.
I use the long linear Repti-Sun 5.0 UVB light. I use a regular household incandescent bulb in a round hood placed to one side on the lid of the cage. I prefer this set up because it covers more of the cage area and the chameleon can chose to sit in an area where it's only under the UVB light or can bask and get UVB at the same time. One side of the cage is also warmer than the other this way too so it gives the chameleon more choices of temperature.
Kristen Wilkins mentioned the arms...they do look a little strange..swollen...and should be checked out.
Sorry this is so long.
Brentholey
Established Member
Brentholey
Established Member
Brodybreaux25
Chameleon Enthusiast
We all know how good chams are at hiding illness and I do agree she looks ok for the moment. I just wanted to ensure these comments don’t persuade her into delaying the vet.
Kristen Wilkins
Chameleon Enthusiast
She most definitely needs a vet ASAP .
I thought I'd post an update. We took Camo to the vet last week. She said other than maybe being just a bit dehydrated, our veiled looked really good. An x-ray indicated about 15 eggs. The vet gave two RXs- a calcium supplement (2x/day for a month) and an anti-inflammatory (1x/day for 10 days). Since then, she's gradually dropped 8 more eggs, so we're patiently waiting for the rest. The vet said that as long as the eggs continue to be released, it's fine to be just dropped one or a few at a time, rather than buried and released all at once. Also, it's possible Camo will just reabsorb the last couple.
Thanks everyone for their help!
Thanks everyone for their help!
