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 #1722403


Jo125
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 Hi new to this forum

Hi my name is Jo and i have an aprox 4month old Veild chameleon. I’ve wanted one for over 6months and have done so much reading that everything seams to contradict its self now.... my boyfriend brought me one on the 2nd april for my birthday

About my chameleon "Bud"
aprox 4months old
Since i have had here she has sheaded twice and she loves her food
she is in a 65 exo terra flexarium, the temp and humedity is kept at 86f in the day and around 65-70f at night, humedity is anything from 80% (straight after spraying - 20% then i spray again, (aprox 4 times a day) The UV strip is a evo terra 24" UV10.0

In the past 2days she has slowed down almost stopped a lot on eating and has got "fat" I have a feeling its because i fed her on wax worms for 2days due to running out of crickets and she has been spoilt. now turning nose up at boring crickets. She is drinking a lot and poos once a day. but her belly is very rounded and she spends all day basking

I might be parinoid but i’m freeking out incase she is gravid as my iguana got gravid 5yrs ago and had to have an emergency spay (she is fine now ). Since having bud she has doubled in size (length and width) Just in case i have put a big washingup bowl in the bottom of her cage with damp kids play sand.

She is a lovely bright green colour with a white stripe along her side. When its hot in my flat i have big french doors heading out to a balcony type thing. I make sure the doors are closed and she happily sts on a big branch infront of the doors getting a few natural rays.



05/01/08  05:08pm

 #1722463


Jo125
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   Message To: Jo125   In reference to Message Id: 1722403


 Hi new to this forum



first day home. I’ll post a pic of he "fat" as soon as i get one
05/01/08  05:57pm

 #1722557


Jo125
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   Message To: Jo125   In reference to Message Id: 1722463


 Hi new to this forum



fat/overweight or maybe gravid?

sorry
05/01/08  07:00pm

 #1722595


Julirs
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   Message To: Jo125   In reference to Message Id: 1722557


 Hi new to this forum

Wow-she looks gravid to me. Just make sure there is a 10" or deeper bucket of moist playsand, or whatever you want to use, and give her lots of privacy. Some chams will die eggbound if they think someone is watching them.
05/01/08  07:22pm

 #1722621


Jo125
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   Message To: Julirs   In reference to Message Id: 1722595


 Hi new to this forum

Thanks for the reply!!

i was hoping just fat :-( as i nearly lost my iguana when she got gravid and the vet had to do an emergantcy spay on her. Problem is her cage is in the living room and i have a 3yr old daughter that will just sit and watch her. Should i move her cage in to my bedroom where its more privite for her???
05/01/08  07:50pm

 #1722646


Countryboy1221
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   Message To: Jo125   In reference to Message Id: 1722621


 Hi new to this forum

Try not to move her cage around to much. Is the cage sitting up off the ground on something that elevates it? IMO you can put something around the cage that goes from the bottom to mid way up the cage or a but more that goes around the front and sides. That might help with the privacy and could help with keeping her from getting eggbound. Just keep teying to feed and keep her will watered and get a deep bucket, atleast 10 iches for her to dig in and keep it moist.
-Josh
05/01/08  08:27pm

 #1722950


Jo125
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   Message To: Countryboy1221   In reference to Message Id: 1722646


 Hi new to this forum

While she was asleep last night i was able to change the washing up bowl that had 4" of sand in to a great big plastic tub (daughters toy tub oops lol) so that she now has around 10" of sand. I have alsoput a blanket aroun one side and the front so that she is not to get disturbed and my daughter is under strick instructions to stay away. I’m lucky that my 3yr old has been brought up around reptiles, goats, dogs, chickens and geese as she understands and respects them more than most kids her age. I can let her hold day old baby chickens when they have not log hatched. As usual Bud is up on her basking sport not wanting food but will lap up water when i mist her cage. I’m out most of today anyway so the flat will be nice and quiet for her. I didnt think the colours she was displaying were grvid colours? How long roughly will it take before she lays her eggs. I have read so many books and web pages but none go into detail about gravid females, and veild Chameleons seem to need differant requirments to most chameleons eg temp and humidity as yemen is desert type land????

Thanks
05/02/08  05:03am

 #1723219


Boothy
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   Message To: Jo125   In reference to Message Id: 1722950


 Hi new to this forum

to me she doesnt look gravid , only because she doesnt have the gravid colours like most veiled chameleons get and she is only 4 months old , yes i know some chams can have eggs young but iv never heard of anything younger then 6 months old , i honestly just think you have her fattend up but if you could please send a few more pics , just so we can get a better look of her . How many feeders do you feed her at one time?? do you feed her more then once in a day???
05/02/08  02:13pm

 #1723552


Jo125
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   Message To: Boothy   In reference to Message Id: 1723219


 Hi new to this forum

well when i first got her she was eating like 12 crickets aday (size 3) then i moved her cage 2 weeks ago and i feed her wax worms (about 5 aday) for 3days there is quite a few crickets in her cage now but i haven’t seen her eat for about 2-3days but she is drinking and does a poo everyday so she must be eating something, and she was being fed about twice aday (when there is no crickets left) the bloke at the pet shop told me she will only eat when she is hungry!!!!

now i have writen it down what she has been feeding i’m like OMG did i really feed her that much....

i have attached a pic of her taken 5mins ago she is fast aseep (sorry bad pic as there is no lights on as its her bed time. and the other pic was taken this morning when she was walkin to get her morning mist,



05/02/08  07:51pm

 #1723572


Jo125
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   Message To: Jo125   In reference to Message Id: 1723552


 Hi new to this forum

sorry i’ve tried to do a search on here but with no luck but what does a gravid vield look like eg colours??

does anyone have a pic of there girls "showing" the "gravid" colours
05/02/08  08:14pm

 #1723745


LunaC
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   Message To: Jo125   In reference to Message Id: 1723572


 Hi new to this forum

I don’t have a picture of my females, but when they’ve been gravid they usually display the typical light blue spots and brighter yellow bars. I may have just been fortunate, but it’s always been easy for me to tell when they were gravid by their coloration.

I honestly can’t say if your girl is gravid or not. She does look plump, but not displaying typical gravid coloration. If she’s really only 4 months old, she may be a little young to develop eggs, but over-feeding can also accelerate a female’s egg cycle.

Since egg cycling is so physically taxing on females, postponing egg development as long as possible is recommended. Regular, monitored feeding is important to allow a female maximum growth and bone development before she begins cycling eggs.
At 4 months, she should be fed every day, but crickets or other feeders should not just be dumped into her enclosure and left there until she eats them all.
Give her a certain number of feeders at every feeding (10-15 suitably sized crix .. or whatever number she usually gets). What she doesn’t eat should be removed at the end of the day before lights are turned off. Keep track of the number she eats daily and give her that same number every day.
Make sure feeders are well gutloaded and be sure she gets calcuim dust at least twice a week for now.

As she matures, her appetite will decrease so you will need to adjust her food intake accordingly.

If she is truly gravid, you will see her become restless, exploring the bottom of her enclosure more than normal, scratching at the sides or bottom of her enclosure, doing test digs in potted plants or laying boxes you have provided. You may also see tell-tale lumps in her belly toward her back legs. Her appetite will also decrease as laying time approaches.

Good luck! :)



05/03/08  12:12am

 #1723814


Jo125
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   Message To: LunaC   In reference to Message Id: 1723745


 Hi new to this forum

here is a pic of her poop, there are 2 in the pic both in her "laying box"
05/03/08  07:22am

 #1723889


Julirs
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   Message To: Jo125   In reference to Message Id: 1723814


 Hi new to this forum

Here is a picture of my female and these are gravid colors. Problem is that she is not gravid in this picture. She has laid 3 clutches and never once showed gravid coloring. If you get her mad-like in this picture-she looks gravid. I do know others that have females that do the same thing. I agree that she it a little young if that is her age, but better safe than sorry. If you could take a few more pictures it would be great, she looks awful thick through the midsection. What is your supplementation schedule like?



05/03/08  08:45am

 #1723902


Jo125
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   Message To: Julirs   In reference to Message Id: 1723889


 Hi new to this forum

i dust crickets everyother day wiv supliments but she did had a 3 day feast of waxworms :-l she loved em tho.
05/03/08  09:08am

 #1723911


Julirs
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   Message To: Jo125   In reference to Message Id: 1723902


 Hi new to this forum

Which supplements? It is as bad to overdue them and can cause them to bloat or show gout symptoms.
05/03/08  09:26am

 #1723920


TBShot
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   Message To: Julirs   In reference to Message Id: 1723911


 Hi new to this forum

yea im new to. i just feed mine crickets shes picky bout what she eats but i do poeder to. she laid 33 eggs these past two days so ben givin her alot of calci powder. heres a pic of her


heres her egg



05/03/08  09:48am

 #1723978


LunaC
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   Message To: TBShot   In reference to Message Id: 1723920


 Nice shot!

TBS, excellent job at getting the shot of Abby’s "shoot" :) I guess you already know that the egg isn’t viable.
==================================================================
Juli, yeah I have seen females throw dark colors like yours when angry or non-receptive to a male. And yours looks really mad! :)
Usually, though (at least in my experience) it’s temporary so can’t really be confused with truly gravid.

I did dig through some old photos and found these two of Dash (she’s Jack Flash’s better half lol)
The first is gravid and calm; the second photo was taken just a few minutes later, when she’s stressed by the camera. You can see the coloration change. Might be helpful for new keepers, at any rate.







05/03/08  11:13am

 #1724631


Jo125
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   Message To: LunaC   In reference to Message Id: 1723978


 Nice shot!

TBS thats a fantastic shot, i’m well jeallous lol

LUNAC Thanks for them pics, Bud hasnt shown any of them colours, I’ve tried to get all the uneaten crickets out as advised but there is still about 10 in there that i can catch.

JULIRS The crickets are fed on greens and "Bug Grub" Then I dust the crickets before feeding with "VetarkNutrobal" one day then nothing the next day then I use "calypso cricket dust" which is a natual calcium

She is drinking plenty of water I havent seen her eat for about 3days or so but she is still doing her poo everyday (no yellow)

She sleeps at one side of her cage then as soon as the lights come on (timer) she wonders off to her basking area and basks nearly all day, accept for when i open the cage to mist then she comes to the front for a drink. She is climbing her branches well and her grip hasnt loosened when i hold her (if she wants to be held when i open her cage she walks on to my hand i never force her) Then at 8pm she takes her self to bed like she always has lol. Al this has started since putting her in her new cage as when i first got her she was in a glass tank with a mess lid but only for about 2 weeks and she ate non stop in there.

Maybe she has just gone fusy with crickets since she got the taste for waxworms but i wont give her them no more as they are far too fatty and i didnt know at the time.

sorry to keep bothering you all



05/04/08  06:30am


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