Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My female veiled is definitely carrying eggs and I made an appointment for her at our vet for a checkup. I just want to make sure that she is in good health and make sure nothing is wrong. This is the first time ive taken her to a vet (knock on wood shes been in perfect health since ive had her)

Can anyone whos been through this before *cough lele cough* give me some pointers on what to ask and have him check during the exam? Should I bring in a fecal sample? Im getting all nervous about these eggs and im not sure if they are even fertile! There is also a small bump on the inside of the rim of her mouth that Ive just been noticing that I will have im check out too.

Also, for the laying tub. Should I just put one in her cage and let her go? Or does anyone find that the garbage tub/cage setup works better? I need to get it done today though since shes starting to look baloonish....

Thanks everyone!!
Erin
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1:1 Veileds (Gene and Aurora)
1:1 Albino Clawed Frogs (Phedre and Jos)
?? Fire belly toad (Harold)
Various cats and dogs

From now on instead of waisting alot of money at the vet, go buy a gram scale and keep a weekly weight of your chameleon, from breeding day she should gain another 20-40 grams before laying.

One quick question, if she is the picture of health why are you stressing her out more than needed by taking her to the vet? The only part of my chameleons my vet see's is their poo...unless they are physicialy ill I dont see the point in taking them to the vet. Taking a couple of fresh fecals is a great idea though, that should be done every 6 months as a preventative measure.

Things to expect...they will go over your husbandry with you
They will take a weight
They "might" x-ray her to see the eggs
They WILL charge you an arm and a leg
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From Sunny Florida
Jovana's kids listed below
1.1 Ambanja Panther
1.1 Tamatave Panther
1.1 Ambilobe Panther

Erin,

I agree with Jovanna to some degree but I also can sympathize with the worry of a gravid female. Let me ask you this: if she mated how long ago was it? If not, how long since she has been showing her colors? If it has only been the "normal" 3-4 weeks then you may want to rethink it. Keep in mind that when I finally took Luna to the vet for an x-ray it was 5 months after she began showing gravid colors, minimal eating, gaining weight, etc. 3 weeks later she laid her 42 eggs. My vet charged me $100 (I think) for the visit and x-ray. I went specifically for the x-ray b/c I needed to know what was going on in there! LOL!

Having a scale is a must! She gained 33g which was a 1/3 of her entire weight! I got a great food scale for about $25. I have a certain stick that I get her on and she will stay put for the few seconds it takes to read.

So unless you have something to worry about you may not want to bother, however sometimes peace of mind is worth it. That's your decision.

As for the tub I am not a good example b/c it was in her cage for 5 months. Interestingly, it was VERY obvious when she was ready b/c she was wandering all over the place - much more than she ever had. Sure enough she dug that night. Next time around I will not bother to put one in until she makes it clear that she is ready.

I think the trash can idea is good but only if you know she is ready, otherwise you would be taking her in and out. Luna was perfectly happy with a large plant pot filled with sand and coco-fiber.

Hope this helps ;-/

lele

>>From now on instead of waisting alot of money at the vet, go buy a gram scale and keep a weekly weight of your chameleon, from breeding day she should gain another 20-40 grams before laying.
>>
>>One quick question, if she is the picture of health why are you stressing her out more than needed by taking her to the vet? The only part of my chameleons my vet see's is their poo...unless they are physicialy ill I dont see the point in taking them to the vet. Taking a couple of fresh fecals is a great idea though, that should be done every 6 months as a preventative measure.
>>
>>Things to expect...they will go over your husbandry with you
>>They will take a weight
>>They "might" x-ray her to see the eggs
>>They WILL charge you an arm and a leg
>>-----
>>From Sunny Florida
>>Jovana's kids listed below
>>1.1 Ambanja Panther
>>1.1 Tamatave Panther
>>1.1 Ambilobe Panther
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia (both MIA
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta
1.0 African Clawed Frog (for summer)
0.5 Mad. Hissers (for summer - all girls, no little ones, whew!)

There are a couple weird circumstances though. I tried mating her a few days before I left for vacation, and while the male pinned her down and seemed to *do something* it only lasted about 20 seconds tops. So I didnt think anything had happened. I still dont know if anything happened. A week and a half later when I came home was when I noticed her being plump in the back end. And I hadnt measured her before the incident so Im not sure what weight she was / should be at although I do have a scale I can use.

Also, she has never shown gravid or receptive colors. Right now she's showing, if anything, receptive colors of bright green and light blue on her casque. When I showed her to my male earlier to see what she would do, she still hissed and gaped but stayed bright green. I just dont get it with her.

I am still going to take her to the Vet's tomorrow because I do want to get this bump in her mouth looked at, not fixed probably but identified at least until she lays her eggs.

The main reason I want to check though is that while shes very very distended when feeling her tummy I couldnt feel anyhting, it just felt like a bag of air... I just want to be sure everythings going ok and will take great care to keep her from getting stressed.
Thanks for the info / help I really appreciate it.

Erin
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1:1 Veileds (Gene and Aurora)
1:1 Albino Clawed Frogs (Phedre and Jos)
?? Fire belly toad (Harold)
Various cats and dogs

Hi Erin,

A check up certainly won't hurt esp. if she has a sore (btw, you may have already read this thread b/t phibia5 and Carlton re: mouth bumps, but if not I linked it below).

being unsure if she mated certainly doesn't help with a timeline - at least with Luna I KNEW she hadn't mated! LOL! As for feeling eggs - I sure couldn't tell but it wasn't just that funny air belly that they do. What I did notice were her back thighs getting bigger (like many of us girls

I have a bunch of pix which I will upload to my webshots page and send you a link so you can compare if you want - though hardly scientific

Is her eating and other behavior normal? The vet should be able to help you out and for peace of mind you may want an x-ray but they do get pricey! As Jovanna mentioned be sure to bring a current poop for a fecal.

let us know how you make out!

lele

>>There are a couple weird circumstances though. I tried mating her a few days before I left for vacation, and while the male pinned her down and seemed to *do something* it only lasted about 20 seconds tops. So I didnt think anything had happened. I still dont know if anything happened. A week and a half later when I came home was when I noticed her being plump in the back end. And I hadnt measured her before the incident so Im not sure what weight she was / should be at although I do have a scale I can use.
>>
>>Also, she has never shown gravid or receptive colors. Right now she's showing, if anything, receptive colors of bright green and light blue on her casque. When I showed her to my male earlier to see what she would do, she still hissed and gaped but stayed bright green. I just dont get it with her.
>>
>>I am still going to take her to the Vet's tomorrow because I do want to get this bump in her mouth looked at, not fixed probably but identified at least until she lays her eggs.
>>
>>The main reason I want to check though is that while shes very very distended when feeling her tummy I couldnt feel anyhting, it just felt like a bag of air... I just want to be sure everythings going ok and will take great care to keep her from getting stressed.
>>Thanks for the info / help I really appreciate it.
>>
>>Erin
>>-----
>>1:1 Veileds (Gene and Aurora)

>>1:1 Albino Clawed Frogs (Phedre and Jos)
>>?? Fire belly toad (Harold)
>>Various cats and dogs
mouth bumps

-----
0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia (both MIA
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta
1.0 African Clawed Frog (for summer)
0.5 Mad. Hissers (for summer - all girls, no little ones, whew!)