Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i introduced my female panther to my males enclosure about 2 and a half weeks ago, i witnessed them breeding and she took on the gravid coloration as well as refusing to breed the last 2 weeks

other than that she has behaved the same, or what i would call 'normal', today however she was nonstop pacing around the enclosure, the bottom, the top, The top top, i even had to intervene once or twice b/c i was worried about her possibly falling. usually she is fairly calm. the other issue worrying me is she refused to eat today, though i offered food several times. my question is is this behavior normal or something i should be worried about?

also i have heard/seen that many gravid females close to laying show obvious bulges ect. from the eggs but i cannot see that on her so i was wondering if this is something that all females show

THx alot, sorry this is so long

The reason why she is pacing non stop is because she is looking for a spot to lay her eggs! Do you have anything for her to lay them in? A box of soil works the best although i have heard of spaghnum working too. I use something with the dimensions of a 10 gallon aqaurium.

Put in a box with maybe a foot of clean soil for her to lay her eggs in. Just cause you cant see the eggs doesnt mean that they arent there!

If she is still pacing maybe she is too hot or thirsty. Chameleons also pace if they see something outside of there cage that catches there interest. It could be a ray of sunlight or a fake decorative ivy. She is in look of something that you are not providing for her!

Put in the soil. If she lays GREAT! If not soemthing else is going on with her. Is this your first time breeding them because i think that this sounds like your first time. Dont worry too much because she sounds healthy and should lay when she finds the soil box to lay her clutch in.

Good luck!
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eric

If this was her first mating with any male, she could be looking for a place to lay her eggs. Sometimes the first clutch can be laid quicker than normal because you may have bred them too far along in her egg-formation and most of the eggs will be infertile...so she wants to dump them to get on with the production of fertile ones.

All egglaying females, IMHO should have a container of sand/soil in their cages to begin digging in when they are ready to lay eggs. Not having a place to lay the eggs can lead to eggbinding.
Also...don't let her see you watching her while she is digging once she starts digging. Its okay for her to see you when/if she is back up in the branches. She may dig several test holes before she is satisfied with where she is digging or she may spend several days digging the same hole. Once she has laid the eggs (her bum will be down in the hole and her head pointing out while she is laying the eggs) let her cover them completely and go back up in the branches before you dig them up. If its her first clutch, it could be partly fertile and partly infertile...size and whiteness of the eggs will tell.

Have you got a container and vermiculite ready for the eggs when they are laid? A place to incubate them where the temperature is right?

You said..."the other issue worrying me is she refused to eat today"...both the pacing/roaming around the cage and the refusal to eat can be signs of impending egglaying.

You said..."also i have heard/seen that many gravid females close to laying show obvious bulges ect. from the eggs but i cannot see that on her so i was wondering if this is something that all females show"...if this was her first mating and the eggs are infertile, then she shouldn't be to the point of being bulgy if you have not been over-feeding her.

Good luck with her!

Female pardalis are more prone to digging "test" holes than other species. I've never bred pardalis, but I do recall this beign quite common. None of my chameleons do this, they just dig and lay. Pardalis will sometimes dig holes in advance of laying. I suggest buying a large trash bin, and filling it with supersoil, or peatmoss mixed with sand, slightly moistened. furnish it and supply a heat lamp. LEt that be her home till she's done.

I have a large container in the bottom of the enclosure, it is circular, about 16 inches wide with 8-9 inches if vermiculite in it, i try to keep it somewhat moist, is this to small? shallow?, thx

just my opinion here but I found playsand and coco-fiber mix to work well and hold tunnels. You can also use straight playsand (get at home depot, lowe's etc.). it is a very fine sand and by keeping it moist (not wet)will hold up. Take a stick or your finger and "make" a tunnel to see if it collapses or stays firm.

The depth should be at least her body length so she can dig way down, turn around and still be in the hole in order to deposit. You may want to make it deeper. Do you have vines/branches leading to it so she can easily get in and out?
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Chameleon Help & Resource Info

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i made a few little prehole divets in the vermiculite and shortly after found her digging away at one, she dug fairly deep and left a mess but after searchin i found she had not laid yet. she still seems very restless and will not feed. i believe the vermiculite may have been too moist so i mixed out some with some dryer, however it doesnt hold tunnels as well, i may hav to try the sand, thx