Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i've got a gravid female veiled (Arcadia), shes been scraching at the bottom of the cage for about 2 days now, and this morning i caught her in the pothos digging it up!

i have placed a 5 gallon bucket half full of coconut fiber bedding mixed with a quart of vermiculate. it is moist/damp enough for a tunnel to be made that stays. i also pulled the pothos up out of its pot and placed it on top of the soil mixture in the bucket, incase she wants to dig under the root ball. (which she appeared to be doing in its pot already)

shes got robin blue spots and lots more orange.

she is in a 100 gallon reptarium with a 75 watt basing bulb and an 8.0 reptasun bulb. plus a big Dripper. although she gets misted as well.

is there anything else i should be doing or add to what i'm offering her now? when do they lay? at nighttime? when will i know if she has laid eggs? her abdomen looks swollen and when i moved her i think i felt the eggs maybe.

this is my first gravid experience and i want to make sure i do things right! thanks everyone for continued support.

rachel
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4.3 African Clawed Frog
3.3 Calfornia Newt
0.1 Leucistic Texas Ratsnake
1.2 Veiled Chameleon
0.1 Albino Cranwells Horned Frog
0.1 Paddle Tail Newt
0.1 Green Iguana
0.5.0 Indonesian Floating Frog

Arcadia has been digging down into the 5 gallon bucket for about 3 hours now. she appears to be digging in an almost spiral path under and around the root ball of the pothos. i have been keeping a close watch on the dampness of the soil. i'm worried that it will dry out and her tunnel will colapse...does this happen often? should i increase misting in that area?

how long will it take her to lay? is this a sign that she likes this spot and will eventually lay there? i'm just worried about her becoming egg bound....

any tips and advice would be appreciated! thanks

rachel
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4.3 African Clawed Frog
3.3 Calfornia Newt
0.1 Leucistic Texas Ratsnake
1.2 Veiled Chameleon
0.1 Albino Cranwells Horned Frog
0.1 Paddle Tail Newt
0.1 Green Iguana
0.5.0 Indonesian Floating Frog

Hi Rachel,

If she is digging in the same hole (as opposed to making lots of holes) she is probably content with what she has. I would disturb her as little as possible. If you can set up a humidifier for moisture so you are not always "in there" the better. But only if she really needs it. Both the fiber and vermiculite retain water well so she'll probably OK.

As for how to tell...Luna digs down for hours! They then turn around and you will likely see her head sticking out as she lays. At this point defintiely leave her alone - don't worry about misting, light, temps - nothing. just let her be. I will keep Luna's cage covered completely and not check until the next morning, which by then she will usually be finished covering the hole and up in her basking spot - or on her way up. She usually looks like an abused cham(!) so don't be surprised what you see! Just be ready with some silkies or other treat. Usually Luna eats right after buitthe last time (or maybe the time before - I lose track!) she did not eat for a whole day. If Arcadia is open to it, a shower would be nice the next day both to clean any debris that may have gotten in her eyes (watch for that for a few days) and to help rehydrate her.

Good luck, keep us posted!!
lele
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Chameleon Help & Resource Info

0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Luna
1.0 Beardie - Darwin
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.3 Mad. Hissers (2 died ;(
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha

if she still looks fat afterward, dig up the eggs to make sure she actually laid them. If not, she may be eggbound and a vet will be needed, but if she's nice and skinny and there are eggs then all is OK. Are these fertile?

here is Luna the day before laying and the day after (her first clutch, May 2004)

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Chameleon Help & Resource Info

0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Luna
1.0 Beardie - Darwin
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.3 Mad. Hissers (2 died ;(
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha

ok, i'll keep out of her cage...lol. i am just a wreck though, LOL!

shes only digging down in once spot, so i guess she is happy with her laying bucket.

the eggs are not fertile either.

she is no where near the size of luna though, LOL! she is much plumper then normal, but not that plump. maybe since this is her first clutch she wont lay that many?

i'll keep you updated.

oh, and i've got waxworms for a treat when she is done. i can never find silkworms or butter worms anywhere, but she does love the waxworms. an idea for those with screen cages... i use bird food feeders to put the worms in. they have little "clip" things that slide right though the screen. works prefectly.

rachel
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4.3 African Clawed Frog
3.3 Calfornia Newt
0.1 Leucistic Texas Ratsnake
1.2 Veiled Chameleon
0.1 Albino Cranwells Horned Frog
0.1 Paddle Tail Newt
0.1 Green Iguana
0.5.0 Indonesian Floating Frog

Hey, I understand "wreck!" 4 clutches in 12 months! The folks here can surely attest to my emotional state and I think you witnessed the last one in May!

I know it is really hard to not peek in but she will be a lot more relaxed if she doesn't see your googly eye! lol!!

Luna laid 42 eggs her 1st two clutches and 37 or so the next two! She lost a full 30% of her weight each time! That one pic I posted she ONLY weighed 96g and went to 32 after. Her last clutch she was 128g(!) and went down to 80-something I am trying to back off on feeding to see if I can reduce size and frequency. She is doing well so far...
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Chameleon Help & Resource Info

0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Luna
1.0 Beardie - Darwin
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.3 Mad. Hissers (2 died ;(
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha

Arcaida finished laying sometime the other night. i scooped the eggs out yesterday after work. she laid a clutch of 31! and you are right, she does look like such an abused chameleon! i gave her a treat of waxworms which she eagerly gobbled down. shes doing well.

how many months (usually) are there inbetween each egg laying? like 3 or 4 depending on how many they lay per year? just curious...

rachel
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4.3 African Clawed Frog
3.3 Calfornia Newt
0.1 Leucistic Texas Ratsnake
1.2 Veiled Chameleon
0.1 Albino Cranwells Horned Frog
0.1 Paddle Tail Newt
0.1 Green Iguana
0.5.0 Indonesian Floating Frog

well, if you ask me how many months in between I will say about three! May, July, December, May - those were Luna's 4 clutches 2004/2005. But I am doing a drastic diet change of feeding her every other day (it's a killer!) b/c everyone seems to think that overfeeding contributed to her numerous clutches. If you are up for reading, I linked you to a lengthy, but very informative thread on this subject. It was also suggested to mate her (not keeping the eggs) just to see if I can get her hormones balanced, but that would be a real last resort. I am also going to try to lower her temps in the fall/winter to see if that helps, too.

Anyway, very glad that Arcadia is doing well! In my excitement of Luna getting thru each clutch I let her eat as much as she wants for as long as she wants, mainly b/c she goes for weeks without food beforehand. So don't make that same mistake! Get her thru the first week or so and then try a restricted schedule. So many of the experienced keepers on this forum feed their females as little as 3x a week. Believe me, if it can be helped you do NOT want to go thru this every few months. it also takes a huge toll on her little body. You may recall that Luna ended up with MBD and has her crooked casque and misshapen hind legs right now she is doing great and I just hope that I see no eggs for a year!!

lele
Link

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Chameleon Help & Resource Info

0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Luna
1.0 Beardie - Darwin
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.3 Mad. Hissers (2 died ;(
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha

lele,

thanks for all the great advice! i will read over that link you sent me as well. very interesting info about the food vs. egg cluthes and such. i will have to keep this in mind.

also, just curious as to why you would not want to raise or try to raise fertile eggs? i know that successful breeding is the dream of every hobbiest when it comes to the species that they keep. i mean, you just seem to experienced, it suprises me that you wouldnt want to?

i would like to breed my chams. BUT, i really dont think i will. i dont have the knowledge and such to do it. and after the experience with miss linda pinto i worry that the baby chams i raise wont get good homes i guess that is as good as reason as ever not to breed.

well anyways, thanks for the great advice! (as always!)

rachel
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4.3 African Clawed Frog
3.3 Calfornia Newt
0.1 Leucistic Texas Ratsnake
1.2 Veiled Chameleon
0.1 Albino Cranwells Horned Frog
0.1 Paddle Tail Newt
0.1 Green Iguana
0.5.0 Indonesian Floating Frog

you hit the nail on the head! Finding good homes. But even before that I do not have the time, money or space to care for any more than what I have. It was a stipulation when I adopted Luna that she not be bred b/c she was so small. Her "mom" offered her to me b/c she knew i had no interest in breeding. We now agree that her size is pretty normal and she probably would not have any problems but it was sort of in my head from the get-go that I would not breed her. I was also still going for my degree (until 3 weeks ago! ) and time was very short! But besides the time/$ thing I think I would end up keeping too many of them if I couldn't find the "perfect" home for them all! I fi lived in a warm climate and could do more outside I might be more willing, but indoors here in the winter is brutally dry and I have a tough time just keeping her hydrated.

So if you and I don't breed, we will be in the minority, but also learning more about unbred females. I have had a difficult time finding this info b/c everyone DOES breed them, so I suppose Luna and I (and you and Arcadia) are adding to the knowledge and care of virgin females!
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Chameleon Help & Resource Info

0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Luna
1.0 Beardie - Darwin
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.3 Mad. Hissers (2 died ;(
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha

yes, you are so right! and dont forget Yema too she wont be bred either. it would break my heart if their babies ended up like linda pintos. and then i'd feel horribly guility that i brought them into all that.

miss arcadia is doing well. she still looks so bad, poor thing! can i give her some repta-aid for a little nutritional boost?

rachel
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4.3 African Clawed Frog
3.3 Calfornia Newt
0.1 Leucistic Texas Ratsnake
1.2 Veiled Chameleon
0.1 Albino Cranwells Horned Frog
0.1 Paddle Tail Newt
0.1 Green Iguana
0.5.0 Indonesian Floating Frog