MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
Genesis is a beautiful little lady. 
I have used both straight play sand and play sand mixed with some organic soil in my lay bins. I only have added the soil when I wanted to put a plant in the bin as some chams like to lay against root balls. My girls have preferred larger bins of at least 12” wide and long and very recently I learned at least one of mine prefers that tall as well. I only fill to about 5 - 6” with sand though, as they will dig all the way down to the bottom. To prevent water building up in the bin, I drill several small drainage holes in the bottom. It’s best to keep the bin as a permanent part of the enclosure to avoid having to guess when it’s needed and the stress of having a new item put into her home.
When our girls start to develop their pretty colors and patterns, you’ll know that they are reaching sexual maturity. First is the receptive period - you may notice her roaming endlessly all through her enclosure. She’s gotten all prettied up and is looking for a boy.
This can last up to a few weeks. As she’s starting to settle down again, you’ll see her starting to get plump and maybe even lumpy at her back end. Her colors may darken…sometimes the change is very subtle. When she’s getting close to laying, she may start to spend more time exploring, especially lower in her enclosure - looking for a place to lay. Her appetite may decrease, although nothing gets between my girls and eating. One day you’ll find she’s in her bin and starting to dig. Freeze! Slowly and quietly back away and then cover at least the bottom half of her enclosure with a light sheet. She will need absolute privacy! She’ll dig around a bit until she finds a suitable spot and then dig her tunnel, turn around and lay her eggs and then completely cover all holes she made. The whole process can take a couple of days. Hopefully you have an automatic mister. If not, you can set up a dripper (not over the bin) for hydration without disturbing her. She may sleep in her tunnel. When her holes are all covered and she’s basking, looking very dirty and much thinner, she’s done. Feed and hydrate her very well for a couple of days. Hornworms and silkworms are excellent to give at this time. Then you want to start her on a simple regimen to help reduce her egg production, which will lengthen her life. I feed my girls 3-4 feeders, 3 days a week (plus occasional treats) and keep basking temp at 80. This has worked amazingly well. My one girl hasn’t laid in over two years and my other has been laying once a year and I think that’s mainly because she and my male sneak peeks of each other at every opportunity (they share a secret forbidden love). After your girl has laid, you’ll want to remove and count the eggs. I sneak the bin out when she’s gone to sleep. Ideally she won’t lay many eggs…around 20 is an ideal number, 30’s is ok, 40’s is a bit much and anything over 50 is at a dangerous level. The more eggs they produce, the higher the risk of becoming egg bound.
While the whole egg laying thing can provoke crazy anxiety for us, it is a very natural process and our girls instinctively know what to do. As long as our husbandry is as perfect as possible, the risks of having any problems is greatly reduced. Hope this helped.
I have used both straight play sand and play sand mixed with some organic soil in my lay bins. I only have added the soil when I wanted to put a plant in the bin as some chams like to lay against root balls. My girls have preferred larger bins of at least 12” wide and long and very recently I learned at least one of mine prefers that tall as well. I only fill to about 5 - 6” with sand though, as they will dig all the way down to the bottom. To prevent water building up in the bin, I drill several small drainage holes in the bottom. It’s best to keep the bin as a permanent part of the enclosure to avoid having to guess when it’s needed and the stress of having a new item put into her home.When our girls start to develop their pretty colors and patterns, you’ll know that they are reaching sexual maturity. First is the receptive period - you may notice her roaming endlessly all through her enclosure. She’s gotten all prettied up and is looking for a boy.
This can last up to a few weeks. As she’s starting to settle down again, you’ll see her starting to get plump and maybe even lumpy at her back end. Her colors may darken…sometimes the change is very subtle. When she’s getting close to laying, she may start to spend more time exploring, especially lower in her enclosure - looking for a place to lay. Her appetite may decrease, although nothing gets between my girls and eating. One day you’ll find she’s in her bin and starting to dig. Freeze! Slowly and quietly back away and then cover at least the bottom half of her enclosure with a light sheet. She will need absolute privacy! She’ll dig around a bit until she finds a suitable spot and then dig her tunnel, turn around and lay her eggs and then completely cover all holes she made. The whole process can take a couple of days. Hopefully you have an automatic mister. If not, you can set up a dripper (not over the bin) for hydration without disturbing her. She may sleep in her tunnel. When her holes are all covered and she’s basking, looking very dirty and much thinner, she’s done. Feed and hydrate her very well for a couple of days. Hornworms and silkworms are excellent to give at this time. Then you want to start her on a simple regimen to help reduce her egg production, which will lengthen her life. I feed my girls 3-4 feeders, 3 days a week (plus occasional treats) and keep basking temp at 80. This has worked amazingly well. My one girl hasn’t laid in over two years and my other has been laying once a year and I think that’s mainly because she and my male sneak peeks of each other at every opportunity (they share a secret forbidden love). After your girl has laid, you’ll want to remove and count the eggs. I sneak the bin out when she’s gone to sleep. Ideally she won’t lay many eggs…around 20 is an ideal number, 30’s is ok, 40’s is a bit much and anything over 50 is at a dangerous level. The more eggs they produce, the higher the risk of becoming egg bound. While the whole egg laying thing can provoke crazy anxiety for us, it is a very natural process and our girls instinctively know what to do. As long as our husbandry is as perfect as possible, the risks of having any problems is greatly reduced. Hope this helped.
