Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My little girl decided to test out her small box of dirt so I put her in her laying tub today, she ran around making tons of test holes then she started digging .... she must have gotten alittle confused about her direction or something... she started digging a tunnel sideways she dug twice her body length sideways...still have no eggs though. hopefully tomarrow.
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From Sunny Florida
Jovana's kids listed below
1.0 Veileds
1.1 Ambanja Panther
1.1 Tamatave Panther

Congratulations! Hopefully you get lots of healthy eggs!

Do you have to remove the tub of dirt from her tank? I have a female who has been showing she needs to lay eggs ( not eating, wandering around alot, getting bigger, etc..) but I put a Ice Cream bucket filled 1/2 with Vermiculite but she hasn'lt layed them and still wont eat...do I have to remove the bucket and chameleon from the aquarium? or am I ok with the ice cream bucket in the cage. Thanks !!!!
Jim

I have had Luna's tub in with her for quite a while. I have a lower level basking light (which was originally used just to keep the tub warm in the colder months but she loves to go down and bask!) So keeping it in there is OK.

that said...vermiculite is not the best substrate for her to lay in. It is used for incubation but the laying soil should be as close to natural ads possbile. here is a good article on the subject
lele
Link

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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 green anoles Jaida & Jetta
0.1 brown anole - Jamaica the j sisters were sent to freedom last month
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia (MIA
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta

I had an ice cream bucket in her cage too, but thats only for her to scratch in when she's ready for her real laying box, when I saw dirt moved in the ice cream bucket I moved her to a large storage bucket filled 18 inches with dirt.

The ice cream bucket is not large enough for her to dig deep enough or large enough for her to feel secure enough to lay her eggs. I know some people who have had them lay in plant pots and such but I want her as comphy as possible.
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From Sunny Florida
Jovana's kids listed below
1.0 Veileds
1.1 Ambanja Panther
1.1 Tamatave Panther

she hasnt started to dig at all in the ice cream bucket, she wont even go in it. I have branches and stuff so she can get in and out. I also tried putting her in a 5 gallon bucket filled about 8-9" deep and still nothing, but that was outside the tank...should I find something 10-12" high and put that in the cage with her? Thanks alot for your help !
Jim

first question, you said aquarium? this is screen right? or some type of pigmy that can live in glass? ok on to trying to help.

how long has she not been eating? it can take days after she stops eating before she starts laying. I would also get something that you can fill at least 12 inches with dirt, something fairly large so she can walk around a bit. mine is in a 24 inch round container with 18 inches of dirt. Another reason she might not be digging is because your not using dirt for her to lay in, they can tell the difference.

I'm by no means an expert in this though, maybe someone else can offer more insite.
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From Sunny Florida
Jovana's kids listed below
1.0 Veileds
1.1 Ambanja Panther
1.1 Tamatave Panther

She lives in what is called "CHaeleon Lounge" Made by Oceanic. It has 3 screened sides and 2 glass...from what I was told, this is ok. I was thinking about getting a flower pot 12x12, filling it with soil and putting a Ficus Tree in there, would this be better, then I could keep it in her cage at all times and dont have to worry about removing it. Thanks again
Jim

Ok that cage is fine just had to make sure.

The only problem I'd see with letting her lay in a ficus is 1, the ficus will get to wet and die (tried 3 with no luck) 2, your gonna have a tough time getting the eggs out around roots. this is just my oppinion though, the ficus is much better than the icecream bucket with vermiculite.
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From Sunny Florida
Jovana's kids listed below
1.0 Veileds
1.1 Ambanja Panther
1.1 Tamatave Panther

How big should the "bucket" be? and should it be in the cage with her ? or remove both? Thanks
Jim

If you have a big enough cage you can leave it in the cage with her, thats your preferance, I'd have something that you can have at least 12 inches of dirt in the bottom of, at least 12 inches around or corner to corner, I believe the bigger the better so if you can fit a bigger container then by all means do so.
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From Sunny Florida
Jovana's kids listed below
1.0 Veileds
1.1 Ambanja Panther
1.1 Tamatave Panther