Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi guys.

Here's my first question... if my female veild can see the big aquarium I leave my crikets in, is it normal for her to try to get close to it? She NEVER went at the bottom of her cage, and she NEVER got on the screen before this week end. It took me a while to realize that it might be because I just changed the location of the crikets and she can now see them from her enclosure. Could it be the reason for her to go down like that, trying to go towards the crix? She looks great even when she's at the bottom, no stress colors or anything.. and I didnt feed her on saturday so sunday she was pretty hungry. I fed her crix and brocoli, moved the crikets and she didnt go down again. She really seemed to only be in "hunting" mode.

Second question (thanks in advance, i have lots today)
Its been a couple of times that I see my male at the botom of his enclosure. Now it might be because he can also see the crikets, i dont know. He drinks well, eats well, good humidity, temperatures and everything. He isnt gaping or not being active, none of that.
He also scared the hell out of me yesterday. I walked in slowly in my rep room, like always, and looked at him.. he just fell, his head bounced on a peice of wood in his enclosure and then fell to the bottom... no joke it was like my own baby falling on his head from the kitchen counter...

Last question... Ive been reading on breeding for a long time now. I defenetly want to make it perfect and their is something that confuses me. My brother in law has tons of books on chames, and he always has around 250 eggs incubating at any giving time... anyway i red most of them and like always they are contradicting each other... My female veild is 7 months old, which seems to be too young to breed... but then other sources say that if she doesnt get it on she will die from being egg bound?? Now im stuck, I dont know if shes too young or if she really needs a male in order to be sure to survive...

Sorry for the long post, im sure i could make them shorter using my native language. Thanks in advance for any input.
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Gabriel - Montreal - Ding.
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Hiya

Im sure she could see the crix. My chams used to see mine in the rubbermaid - even from 10 feet away...I just put some construction paper over the front of it and solved the "problem". I was concerned that if my chams were hungry and could not get to the food they saw they would get stressed a bit about their cage.

Im not too sure about chams, but with all of my veggie eaters I understand that I need to stay away from brocoli. It causes gas and can be uncomfortable for your herp.

As far as the other Qs Im not sure. I would say that you should keep an eye on that male. Give him a check up. Maybe have your brother in law take a look..he sounds experienced.

The egg bound thing? nah. Just make sure she has a place to lay them. And make sure she is getting the proper nutrients to make up for the lost calcium due to eggs. However it would not be a bad thing to bring in a male.

Sorry I could not help much more than that.

-adam

I don't have any veileds, but I think I've read about the egg bound thing in a few places. They do tend to produce "virgin clutches" of eggs, but just b/c they aren't bred doesn't mean it will kill them. Basically you can figure out how to know if she is prego witha vc, and feed her so it doesn't deplete her calcium levels. Also, she will wander the bottom and look for a place to lay, and you give her one, she'll still lay them. They will just rot shortly after b/c they are infertile. I'm not sure what age they start to have them around, someone on here will be able to help with that. Oh, and a way to know if she is pregnant is to weigh her with a digital scale to see any significant weight changes. I think once she has one clutch though you will know what to look for and it will be less worrysome.
Oh, and I've read a lot on here that it is bad to breed before nine months, but most people prefer at least twelve.

some will begin to lay virgin clutches as early as 6 months, some as high as one year, some never. just keep an eye on her, and if she shows any signs of being gravid, do everything can for her.
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groups.msn.com/JEChameleons
1.1 Chameleo Calyptratus
1.1 Furcifer Pardalis (Diego Suarez)
1 Chameleo Melleri

She was never in contact with a male... so i should get rid of the eggs if she does lay some? Or I could get a male in there... but she might be too young... what do you guys think???
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Gabriel - Montreal - Ding.
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I think one of the problems of breeding young is that a female will take away calcium from herself for the eggs, so it can take a toll on her health moreso than when she's full grown. Also, I think there are other health problems involved. I'm not sure if it would make a difference if she's going to have the clutch anyway though...

too young. wait til she is at least 9 or 10 months old.
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groups.msn.com/JEChameleons
1.1 Chameleo Calyptratus
1.1 Furcifer Pardalis (Diego Suarez)
1 Chameleo Melleri

that makes her 7 months, and by the end of october she'll be 8. I should wait for around november, when she'll be 9-10 months? I think ill do that.
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Gabriel - Montreal - Ding.
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i'm just wondering if anyone knows how common it is for a female to never lay a virgin clutch. she's very healthy and happy and eats well.

ours is about a year old now and hasn't showed any signs of being gravid yet. but we're ready, just in case, should it happen. thanks.

"some will begin to lay virgin clutches as early as 6 months, some as high as one year, some never. just keep an eye on her, and if she shows any signs of being gravid, do everything can for her"