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 #1744230


Tinemarie
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 I think my girl is egg bound-how do i know?

I have a female chameleon and i think she might be egg bound... i have all the conditions she needs to lay the eggs, she just wont dig a hole or anything.... should i take her to the vet? can they remove the eggs? or is it too late now and there isn’t anything i can do to help her? i don’t want her to die, but i know that if she doesn’t lay her eggs, she will.... is there anything i can do to help her? and if she is egg bound, how much time do i have left with her before she is gone? please help me...
05/23/08  04:03pm

 #1744266


Julirs
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   Message To: Tinemarie   In reference to Message Id: 1744230


 I think my girl is egg bound-how do i know?

Did you breed her? IF so, how long ago? Are you sure she is gravid? What do you have for her to lay eggs in? What container/substrate? Does she have complete privacy?
05/23/08  04:50pm

 #1744294


Jonas77
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   Message To: Tinemarie   In reference to Message Id: 1744230


 I think my girl is egg bound-how do i know?

What exactly makes you think she is egg bound?
05/23/08  05:11pm

 #1744312


Tinemarie
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   Message To: Julirs   In reference to Message Id: 1744266


 I think my girl is egg bound-how do i know?

i got her from a friend that wasn’t able to care for her anymore..... he didn’t give me much info on how to take care of her... but i was reading up on the subject and it said to use a tub of some sort that was 12 inches to a few feet.... also to use sand and top soil and to make sure its moist so she can dig a tunnel..... so i have a palstic container that is about a foot and a half big and i filled it a little more then half way with a mix of sand (lizard sand) and top soil..... i put her in there with a few crickets and some plants so its not just dirt and sand, i turn off the lights and leave the room for a few hours because i read they need priacy while doing it..... i don’t breed her, and my friend never did either..... i asked him if he had ever done any of that to make sure she layed the eggs and he told me he never did that.... he had her for about a year or 2 and i’ve had her for about a year now.... i don’t know if she has ever laid any eggs at all.... her belly is big and right above her legs its kinda lumpy... i don’t know what else to do.... i’m worried that when he had her, she never laid any eggs at all in the few years he had her..... :(



05/23/08  05:26pm

 #1744331


Jonas77
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   Message To: Tinemarie   In reference to Message Id: 1744312


 I think my girl is egg bound-how do i know?

Have you seen her test digging somewhere at any time? Is she restless? Has she stopped eating?
They can get REALLY huge before they go, if she has not been bred, then it is natural to drag it out as long as possible - in nature the want to be able to wait for a male to mate them for as long as possible. Ive had females that have not laid the first batch in a year and a half.

The "bucket method" you use is good, but take away the cricketsd and plants. It will only distract her. There should be no other stimuli than digging material -nothing else to do than dig...

I usually put her in the bucket first when I see her digging somewhere or being really restless.

Here is a picture of a really gravid female I had, just a day before she laid her eggs. She stopped eating and started looking dehydrated. Just a scary example for you to see how long the CAN go.



05/23/08  05:50pm

 #1744451


LunaC
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   Message To: Tinemarie   In reference to Message Id: 1744312


 I think my girl is egg bound-how do i know?

Quote:

he had her for about a year or 2 and i’ve had her for about a year now....


In the time you’ve had her, what supplements have you been using and on what schedule? How about the UVB source you use and her basking temps?

From your description, it does sound like she’s gravid. There’s not a lot you can do except give her the privacy she needs, keep her day/night schedules the same, increase her drinking water and possibly her humidity if you can. Perhaps other adjustments can be made with more information regarding your enclosure, temps, UVB etc.

If she does not have adequate foliage/cover in her enclosure she may not feel secure enough to lay. Make certain she has plenty of cover.

I’ve had female Veileds and a Panther go well over 35 days before laying, totally stressed me (and probably them too!) out!



05/23/08  08:04pm

 #1744577


Jonas77
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   Message To: LunaC   In reference to Message Id: 1744451


 I think my girl is egg bound-how do i know?

Quote:

I’ve had female Veileds and a Panther go well over 35 days before laying, totally stressed me (and probably them too!) out!



Thats a mated female, when unmated there really is no exact time limit, no day to start counting from...
05/23/08  11:06pm

 #1744697


Julirs
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   Message To: Jonas77   In reference to Message Id: 1744577


 I think my girl is egg bound-how do i know?

It can take them days of digging and starting over and digging again to lay eggs. In your case I would think it would be best to put the laying container-preferrably with at least 10 inches of the moist sand and dirt-in her cage with her with a stick or something leading to it to make it easy for her to get to rather than disturbing her and putting her into something. I usually put towels around the cage so they can’t see me or anything else. I cycle lights like usual unless she is digging into the night then I leave them on. Good luck. Any pictures?
05/24/08  01:43am

 #1748250


Tinemarie
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   Message To: LunaC   In reference to Message Id: 1744451


 I think my girl is egg bound-how do i know?

i’ve used the cricket dust for a little bit and was told by a pet store that i get the crickets from, that i should use the calcium and i think its d3 or d4 supplement..... i dust the crickets everyday with that stuff... when i first got her from my friend, she had an swollen eye and was then told she had a vitamin difficency, so that’s why the pet store recommended the calcium supplement.... the swelling went away after a bit.... so i figured it was a vitamin problem....

but i talked to my friend recently and he told me that when he had her, he would put the sand and dirt in her cage on the one end so she could just lay them in the cage instead of taking her out.... but he also said he never actually saw her laying the eggs or found any after cleaning her cage.... so i dont know if i should try doing that or not.... maybe she would feel more comfortable in her own setting instead of moving her around... she doesn’t like to be touched or picked up at all..... so i try not to stress her out too much with moving her around.....

her cage by the way is a really tall and wide glass one that used to have sliding glass doors on the front, but i took those out and replaced them with sliding screen doors for more air flow and circulation.... lots of branches and fake leafy plants... i do use a UVB light and replace that every 6 months... (something else the pet store said was to replace that light after about a year to keep the UVB new.. i wasn’t sure that was true, but i didn’t want to risk it)... she has a basking spot that is about 75-80 degrees.... sometimes on a hotter day it can get up to about 85-90 and at that time i turn it off for a little bit so she doesn’t get too hot.....

i spray down everything in her cage with a spray bottle a few times a day.... 2-3 times depending on how hot it is in my house....

im wondering if i made a dirt and sand mound on one side of her cage, surround it with plants, and put towels around her cage for some privacy, if that would maybe help her feel more comfortable...

she was in such bad shape when i got her and since then there has been major improvements... i just don’t know if im doing enough to help her..... i don’t know what else i should do....



05/27/08  04:52pm


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