Why am i so bad when they lay

[Toothless the cham]

So to start...
Leafa has died. When I woke up and looked into her enclosure, to my dismay she had been dead. She was fine the past two days. She was in the lay bin, she dug a hole, she tried to lay. But alas she did not make it to the third. ALL I WANT TO KNOW IS WHAT I AM DOING WRONG! there is pictures of the entire setup here.
Someone please help.why is it only when they get eggs to lay. Am I on an unlucky streak or am I just not good enough. All I want to know is why? Why can I not keep a female chameleon alive for more than 1 year? Why am I so bad at taking care of them? Why can't I keep that safe from themselves? Somebody help me please! Up until today she was fine laying here eggs. What do I need to do to fix the enclosure and my own care taking skills. I know I am going on a rant so I'll stop here. But I really thought she would make it.

 

[Toothless the cham]

I wanted many critiques as possable

 

[Graves923]

Whats your feeding schedule and supplement schedule? Supplement brands? Cage temps?

Is the cage in a high traffic area of your home? If so, did you put something up around the cage for the chams privacy? Sometimes if the cham doesn't feel safe they will abandon the laying bin which is why some keepers put a sheet or something around the cage.

 

[Redman]

I am sure you will get many different opinions, but I would like you to bear something in mind... Living creatures die. Sometimes due to nothing we can control, and nothing we have done, physiological events happen. Females can have eggs and/or follicles rupture inside them. They can have organ failure because of pressure caused by eggs. Without costly medical post mortem evaluation there is no way to be sure sometimes, and even then you could be left with guesses.

It's hard when you care about your pets, of course, but it happens to every form of life, even humans. How many times have we heard the stories of even the healthiest person suddenly dropping dead from a heart attack or for no apparent reason? And that is with the benefit of hundreds of years of research, medicine, and focused effort by a multitude of people.

I am in no way condemning your search for answers or for what you could do better next time. We ALL have room for improvement, and the quest for such is one of the better traits of our species.

Just please don't beat yourself up too much. Life (and death) happens.

 

[MissSkittles]

I’m so very sorry that Leafa passed.

 

[Tony_S]

All I can say is sorry for your loss. The egg laying process scares the crap out of me, which is why I ended up finding a new home for Coza/Peri, so that I could get my feet wet with a male chameleon instead.

 

[cyberlocc]

I'm very sorry for your Loss .

 

[The Wild One]

Sorry for your loss

 

[Toothless the cham]

Whats your feeding schedule and supplement schedule? Supplement brands? Cage temps?

Is the cage in a high traffic area of your home? If so, did you put something up around the cage for the chams privacy? Sometimes if the cham doesn't feel safe they will abandon the laying bin which is why some keepers put a sheet or something around the cage.

The feeding schedule was every other day. I used calcium supplementation every feeding except 2 days a month for multivitamin. The cage temps were normal aka 60 through night and 75-85 day. The cage was in my room so the only traffic was me when I went to feed them or sleep. I did put two towels around the cage for comfort in the laying bin. two days ago she came home from two days at the vet. They tried to get her to lay but she never did. I don't even know anymore.

 

[Toothless the cham]

This is her forever box now

I will bury her with the first sand she tried to lay in at the vet

I don't know what else to give her. Any ideas?

 

[coastal_chameleon]

The feeding schedule was every other day. I used calcium supplementation every feeding except 2 days a month for multivitamin. The cage temps were normal aka 60 through night and 75-85 day. The cage was in my room so the only traffic was me when I went to feed them or sleep. I did put two towels around the cage for comfort in the laying bin. two days ago she came home from two days at the vet. They tried to get her to lay but she never did. I don't even know anymore.

was she given d3 supplements ?

 

[MissSkittles]

This is her forever box now
View attachment 256621
I will bury her with the first sand she tried to lay in at the vet
View attachment 256625
I don't know what else to give her. Any ideas?

Perhaps some leaves from her favorite plant

 

[Toothless the cham]

was she given d3 supplements ?

No but every other month I have one more supplementation of the multivitamin to make up for it.

 

[Toothless the cham]

Perhaps some leaves from her favorite plant

Good idea thanks

 

[JoXie411]

No but every other month I have one more supplementation of the multivitamin to make up for it.

So you never supplemented d3? Do you know your uvb lvls maybe she never shelled her eggs due to low calcium

 

[Toothless the cham]

So you never supplemented d3? Do you know your uvb lvls maybe she never shelled her eggs due to low calcium

Actually just replaced the uvb

 

[triocerotops]

So sorry for your loss.
It sounds like you've done everything you can to give her the best chance, but I'd suggest adding a low-D3 calcium to your supplement schedule if you get another just to be sure those needs are met. What % UV is your tube? I've used a 12% Arcadia D3+ T5 for female veilds with success if that's any help. Laying is a tricky process, sometimes we provide everything they need and they just don't make it. I hope this doesn't discourage you from chameleon keeping, there are many happy cham memories yet to be made

 

[salty dog]

Oh man....I'd be so sad, very sorry for the loss.. uugghh...I think she could have died of exhaustion, the laybin is deep and they will always dig to the bottom...just a thought, this is what I use

 

[Hashtag ChamLife]

Sorry for your loss.

The fact is, no matter how many opinions you get, they will all be just that... opinions. What works for me, may not work for you. For example, my girls like bigger bins, so I took out their bins and put their "main plant" in a 20"+ pot. It can be the substrate, I use sand and soil mix - some have success with sand, some dont - I give my girls a sampling of all different kinds and see what they go for. It could be the D3 - I used to use calcium plus LoD and have switched to NoD because I prefer to put my chams outdoors for a few hours a day and now have the ability to allow direct sunlight via fully opening windows. Could be stress related - my chams have an entire room to themselves, but a bird can fly by and watch them hide behind vines.

It can be something beyond your control - a parasite through a feeder that hasn't taken effect but weakened her, genetic issues, cold weather, etc.

I lost one of my girls a few months ago even after taking her to the vet and treating her. After she got "better" (so I thought), i came home from work to find her laying in the bottom of her cage. By all accounts, she should have been fine, recently given a clean bill of health. Sometimes the cham Gods have other plans.

Best wishes!

 

[salty dog]

Never know....