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I have a 12 month old veiled. She has been scratching at the cage for a couple of weeks. The first moment I noticed her I put her in a sand box with all the correct setups. She was not happy in the sand box at all so I would put her back in her cage at night. She never tried to dig in the sand. One day she was furiously digging a tunnel in the bottom of the substrate. I put a small (new) trashcan filled up with sand and a couple of branches in the cage. She immediatly started to dig a burrow under the large branch. I knew this was it ! After a couple of hours digging she backed in to the tunnel and started to lay her eggs. She looked terrible but I assumed that was normal considering what she was going through. The next day she had covered up the tunnel very perfect and flat and was sitting on the branch right above it.

Today most of her color is back and she is drinking and eating crickets again. I am so relieved that she did such a good job and that is was over. I was so worried if she couldn't lay her eggs that I would loose her. This is my first cham and I am extremely excited that she is healthy and vibrant with life.

Thanks to many people on this site for all the good advise !

One question though. Do chams become a little protective over the egg laying area? She seems to be a little watchfull over it. Also when should I remove the sand and her eggs from the cage?

I just want to say congrats with your female cham. I am not sure about removing the eggs but it sounds like a good idea (but don't quete me on this). My friend had a female cham who laid eggs, unfortunatley the cham died soon after she laid her eggs because she ended up dehydrated, but the babys chams hatched and were healthy (i believe that he left his eggs alone and removed the female from the cage). Out of curiosity, what do you plan to do with your hatchlings?
Good luck with them!
-phibia5

Congrats! Sounds like it went well. Just make sure she's got plenty of calcium and water and she should recover nicely. I have never noticed a girl being procective over the egg laying site, but then again, I remove the girl as soon as she's sitting up on the branch like you said she was. Then I dig them up. They can be in the dirt for a few days, but I usually take them out as soon as she's completely done. I have had better luck with using "Supersoil" than sand, but if it worked than it worked. Good luck with the eggs. Plan on having alot of patience with them. You'll drive yourself crazy if you check them too often.
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Tyler Stewart
Las Vegas NV
www.BLUEBEASTREPTILE.com