Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hey...i have read about female veileds will lay eggs even without mated...is that true?

and will the eggs hatch into baby veileds?

thanks!

You said.."i have read about female veileds will lay eggs even without mated...is that true?"...yes it is. Some will and some won't depending on the husbandry partly. You need to provide an appropriate place for her to dig or she could become eggbound and die.

You said..."will the eggs hatch into baby veileds?"...no, they will be infertile. They need to mate to produce fertile eggs.

thanks a lot...i got it...

how to see if the female is going to lay eggs?

You asked..."how to see if the female is going to lay eggs?"

For all my egglaying females, I provide a container in the cages that is big enough that she will fit into it when its empty with room to spare on all sides. I fill it about 8" deep with washed sand-box sand...this gives the female a place to dig when she's ready to lay the eggs. This way you can't miss the subtle clues that she is gravid (pregnant)...like pacing the floor of the cage, moving around the cage more than usual and if she doesn't take on her non-recptive colors, you won't have to worry about that either.

When a veiled female is receptive, she has bright blue spots on her body and yellow markings/splotches. When she is non-receptive or gravid, her background color changes to almost black in the presence of a male....but it won't always be dark when there is no male around. Some of them will darken even without a male there.

Some females that are gravid with infertile eggs will look larger in the back half of the body and others won't....depends on how many eggs they are carrying. Some will stop eating a couple of days before they are going to lay the eggs and some won't.

Gravid coloration...
http://adcham.com/images/images-species/Ch.calyptratus/CCalyptratusGravidF1.jpg

finally...i got my 1st female veiled today! its just 2 - 3 months old and shes amazing!

a few questions to ask: do i need to on the basking light and the UV light all the time? whats the meaning when she's shaking right and left? its kinda funny...and how many crickets can i offer to her one day?

Thanks!

You asked..."do i need to on the basking light and the UV light all the time?"...I recommend the UVB light being on 12 to 14 hours a day. The length of time the basking light is on depends more on the cage temperature....but I never leave the basking light on any more than the UVB one. (I live in a cool climate, so I need it to heat the cage.) No lights should be on during the night...the cage should be allowed to cool down.

You said..."whats the meaning when she's shaking right and left?"...she's sort of telling you to back off. Chameleons "talk" with color changes and posture. Ask me more about this later. (I'm in a rush right now.) Swaying is warning you to leave her alone. Is she gaping at the same time?

You asked..."how many crickets can i offer to her one day?"...generally I would say as many as she will eat in a couple of minutes at each feeding until she is 6 or so months old. Then with a female if you continue to feed her at that rate she will produce large clutches of eggs which is said to shorten their lives.

ohh...is chameleon suppose to move smoothly? my veiled is moving a strange way...is like back n forth when she's moving...

now i have place a hibiscus and a pothos in her cage...i hope she likes them...

how can i offer vege and fruits for her?

You said..."ohh...is chameleon suppose to move smoothly? my veiled is moving a strange way...is like back n forth when she's moving"...okay...that's another thing they do. Its meant to make them look like a swaying leaf so they can move un-noticed along a branch...but in captivity they just look more obvious. (I call it a waddle-walk.)

You said..."now i have place a hibiscus and a pothos in her cage...i hope she likes them"...those are two good choices. I use pothos in all my chameleon cages. Some of the females almost strip them bare of leaves. I make sure the plants are well-washed, both sides of the leaves and always non-toxic. Even if the chameleon isn't a species known to eat leaves, the insects might nibble on the leaves.

You asked..."how can i offer vege and fruits for her?"...I usually start off with a wedge of apple impaled on a branch. I will even stick the end of a thin wedge of apple so that the chameleon bites it when its eating an insect. This gives them the taste of it and will often get them started to eat fruit. I also put some chopped up greens (dandelion, kale, collards, ROMAINE lettuce, endive, etc.), veggies (sweet red peppers, squash, zucchini, carrot, sweet potato, etc.) and some fruit (apple, pear, melon, berries, etc.) in a lid on the floor of the cage and the insects will eat it. The chameleon will get the taste (and maybe even a piece) in its mouth when it shoots its tongue at the insect.