Urgent !!!! Help !!!! Egg laying !!!!

[ssutton]

my female veiled chameleon dug her hole today about 3pm
the was there laying her eggs for about 3-4 hours,
she was very cold and fell asleep so i thought she ad finished,
i moved her to near the top of the vivarium and removed the eggs to my incubator 80 in total, but when i looked back she started to lay again,
she only lay another one,
i put her egg laying box back in the original place and put her back where she was,
she aint doing a lot now only sleeping,
she has soem clear liquid stuff lightly near her back end,

any suggestions on what to do next
this is my first attempt of breeding chameleons!
HELP PLAESE

 

[jannb]

That might be all the eggs. Will she eat? I always give my female an extra long very warm misting and feeders dusted with extra calcium after laying. If you have any liquid calcium give her a drop.

 

[ssutton]

That might be all the eggs. Will she eat? I always give my female an extra long very warm misting and feeders dusted with extra calcium after laying. If you have any liquid calcium give her a drop.

i haven't sprayed her yet as i dont want to disturb her any more that i have, but i think i will try, i havent tryed her with any food yet either!
should i move her back to the top in the warm as all she is doing is sleeping in the same spot at the bottom??

 

[kinyonga]

One thing that you should never do is disturb a female when she is laying eggs. She should lay the eggs and fill in the hole and return to the branches without being disturbed. You may have put her in a position of not being able to lay the rest or she may hold them in.

You said..."she aint doing a lot now only sleeping"...sounds like she"s in trouble and it might be time to see a vet.

 

[ssutton]

yeah she is still in the same spot i left her in,
but even before i disturbed her she was sleeping over the eggs for well over an hour, thats why i moved her becaue i thought she ad finished

 

[jannb]

I would get her to the vets ASAP.

 

[heloderm]

Now you know for next time to just leave her be. When she's done she'll burry the eggs. I've disturbed females from time to time and they will always finish what they started. I have plants in their enclosures but if I catch them digging I move them to a 5gal bucket to do their business in. Honestly I wouldn't worry. I'd leave her alone, mist her alot and offer her food. Try not to bother her besides that. After a day or two I would palpate her to see if you could feel any more eggs inside her. As long as the females don't hold them in for a long time they should be ok.

Best of luck!

 

[kinyonga]

If she remains in the hole and doesn't finish the job or come out of the hole then its indicating that something is wrong and leaving her alone as heloderm has suggested under those circumstances will lead to her death.

If she stays in the hole for very long and does nothing then IMHO you need to take her to a vet.

 

[ssutton]

OK great info everyone,
through the night she filled in the hole and returned to her favorite branch she's turned back to her normal lime green color and drinking plenty of water with liquid calcium,
i checked her egg laying box and found one more egg about the size of a baked bean, but she seems OK,
just got to wait see if she eats anything now!! will give her a few days and check see if i can feel anything remaining

 

[kinyonga]

Let's hope all is well. Please post when she eats.

 

[heloderm]

Sounds good, Leaving a female alone isn't going to kill her. She will be just fine for a day or two. Keep checking on her and she will become stressed and that could cause them not to lay. Beyond a day or two I would worry, it didn't come to that though!

 

[kinyonga]

Leaving a female chameleon just sitting there alone in her hole for longer than a day if she isn't doing "anything" could mean that she was sitting there because she didn't have the energy to finish the job. If she was that weak that she couldn't finish, then there is a good chance that she could die.

"Luckily" she finished the job....now lets hope she eats.
If she shows any signs of going down hill, get her to a vet!
ssutton...how many eggs did she lay?

 

[heloderm]

I guess my experiences have been different.

 

[veiledfan]

I like to make a suggestion. It is very common for a female that lays a large batch to die. I would go to your local pet store and buy some vitamin products. There is one that is designed to help give her electrolites and hydration and another one that is a high vitamin food. It might help get her through this. I had a female that laid 50 and she past away on me. This is just a suggestion. I know it broke my heart.

 

[kinyonga]

ssutton...did she eat yet?

 

[ssutton]

yes she has started eating now not loads just few black crickets and few giant mario worms (she loves them) dusted with calcium
shes drinking plenty of water,
she looking a good green color now and seems to be fine, cant feel any eggs inside her,

she layed 81 in total, (quite big for her first batch)
the smallest egg was bout the size of a baked bean and the largest about 2cm
im incubating them at 81* in vermiculite,

cheers for all the great info every one!!!!

 

[jannb]

Glad to hear that she's ok. 81 eggs is allot! You might want to lower the heat to low 80's and in a week or two when her appetite gets back to normal cut back on the food.

 

[ssutton]

ok cheers

ill lower it to 80*
this is my first attempt in breading reptiles, hope it goes well!!

 

[kinyonga]

Lowering the temperature is intended to slow down the metabolism a bit so that the lowered diet won't leave the chameleon quite so hungry. I cut the diet down after feeding it well for a couple of days after laying the eggs in the hope that less follicles will ovulate.