Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My female Panther Chameleon has been showing gravid colors for about a week now (she mated with my male Sat May 27th). She has had a good appetite up until this past Saturday. I have read that it is common for females to stop eating before they lay eggs. I think it is awfully early in her gestation for her stop eating. She also has been pacing around the cage continuously the past few days, though she hasn't been going into the laying box that is in there for her. Any comments are greatly appreciated.

If this was the first mating for your female panther, then it wouldn't surprise me if she is ready to lay eggs already. What has been my experience, is that if she was mated late in her cycle, the female will "dump" the eggs that were already being formed and then go on to lay a fertile clutch about 30 days later. Some of the clutch that she "dumps" might be fertile too.

Make sure that she can reacg/get to the egglaying chamber. Just a bit of advice...don't let her see you watching her when she is digging.

couple of little comments and tips for you, what are you using for her to lay the eggs in?

in my experience Avary sand mixed with water to a consistancy that is stable enough for her to dig without risk of it collapsing and for her to dig a relatively sturdy hole.

also in my experience my females have laid with extreme ease next to a plant and around the roots, so might be an idea to put a pot plant nearby or instead of using sand maybe using a sand/soil mix.

I am not 100% sure but I think it was early in her cycle because I have been trying to mate her weekly for about a month and she was not mated/receptive until last Saturday. I have a very large container with about 3/5 vermiculite, 1/5 sand, and 1/5 perlite for her to lay her eggs. The container has a large fake plant to simulate a growing plant buried in the substrate. The mixture is pretty moist and she should have no problems building a tunnel. Is it common for keepers to have their females to just stop eating so early in gestation?

different chameleons do different things theres no "set" routine for laying eggs, just keep an eye on her offer her some different food sources and up the calcium intake and leave her be she will lay eventually and whatever you do, dont disturb her because this can cause all sorts of troubles.

Well thanks for the input, Chamellio and Kinyonga. I always enjoy hearing other keepers' experiences. I am very paranoid because I will be a first time "grandpa" and I want everything to go perfectly. I had been previously trying wax worms and superworms but surprisingly, when I put some vitamin dusted crickets in there she ate one pretty quickly. I guess sometimes the most simple foods are best. I will keep you guys up to date.

Hope to hear soon that you have eggs!