25 eggs

[monicak8777]

Last night my female laid her eggs. It took me a while to find them cause she packed the sand pretty good. There are 25 all together. She has no more to lay. I kept her at a lower temp cause I did not want her to have such a big cluch her first time. I noticed a few eggs a lot smaller than the others and some were soft and squishy. I take it that those are the bad ones. I will be putting them at the top of the closet.. I know it should be 70 degrees.. but what is too hot? it's pretty hot here and the closet is around 80 degrees. Also I am using sand for the eggs instead.

 

[jdog1027]

Years ago I tried using the sand I had in the egg laying bin as an incubating substrate, and it was a disaster. Sand will not hold moisture for very long and you will have to check on the every other day or so to insure that they don't dry out. Mine dried out in a matter of a few days and every egg was lost. Peat moss and verimculite mixed is what I have used since then and I have had very good luck.

 

[imcurt]

vermiculite is available at any garden center . make sure its organic w/o fertlizers. learn from others mistakes so your sucessfull

 

[monicak8777]

checkin on them every day wont be to hard. should I cover them up with the sand?

 

[Vegas Chad]

Plane ol sand will suck your eggs dry and is a very very bad idea. However if you want some dried out chameleon eggs its a great idea!

Your going to look at your eggs everyday for up to 9 months? Covering them up with the plane ol' sand would make the wicking worse and result in prune eggs quicker. But like I said if thats what your after then rock on!

 

[ChameleonRave]

Plane ol sand will suck your eggs dry and is a very very bad idea. However if you want some dried out chameleon eggs its a great idea!

Your going to look at your eggs everyday for up to 9 months? Covering them up with the plane ol' sand would make the wicking worse and result in prune eggs quicker. But like I said if thats what your after then rock on!

Sarcasm. ? I completely agree. Get some HatchRite or Vermiculite without any pesticides. If you can put them in a temperature controlled closet. Keep it dark too. I have my eggs incubating at 75 degrees and they are at 8 months as of the 5th of September.. Have fun checking up on them for 9 months strait. Nothing really changes up until they hit about 5 months. Trust me I know.

Good Luck and Congrats with the small clutch.

 

[jdog1027]

Plane ol sand will suck your eggs dry and is a very very bad idea. However if you want some dried out chameleon eggs its a great idea!

Your going to look at your eggs everyday for up to 9 months? Covering them up with the plane ol' sand would make the wicking worse and result in prune eggs quicker. But like I said if thats what your after then rock on!

Wow- Very eloquent!!!

 

[imcurt]

Wow- Very eloquent!!!

It sure sux when stuborn people ask how and dont listen.I guarentee there next clutch wont be in sand....

 

[monicak8777]

sure why not? I have absolutely no problem doing that.. I have 2 chams that I squirt with water 3-4 times every day for a year.. So why not with the eggs every other day? it's not as easy but I'm not as lazy as some of you and I'll enjoy it and I will have baby chams. not a big deal

 

[monicak8777]

acutally if you read my post right the only thing I asked was what temp was too high.. that is all. so no body has given the information that I had asked for... dip shit

 

[JackP308]

Why? You wont have baby chams if your medium dries out. Seriously people are telling you the best method to use that is successful. Go ahead and spray your eggs for 6 months I doubt anyone will care but you if they dont hatch. Search the temps, its most certainly already somewhere here
anyways.


Just did quick search and most incubate 74f - 80f goodluck

 

[monicak8777]

It won't dry out if I am there keeping it moist.. like I said I don't mind.. and it does sound like an awful lot of you care. If I keep the sand moist I will have chams. It's been done before

 

[jdog1027]

In regards to the temperature, I keep my eggs in the low to mid 70Fs for the first 5-6 months, then I put them into my incubator for the remaining 2-3 months at about 78-80F. I keep them in a closet for the first 5-6 months. I've heard other people keep them a little on the higher end of the temperature range with success. I had a series of bad clutches years ago and when I reduced the temperatures at another breeders suggestion, it seemed to help. So now I shoot for mid-low 70Fs. The breeder told me it's better to have lower temperatures at first and raise them toward the end of the cycle. Good luck.

 

[monicak8777]

Thank you, it's pretty hot where I live and the closets are around 80 maybe a bit lower. It's gunna start cooling off soon so I think it'll be alright. maybe I can find a way to keep em cooler

 

[Vegas Chad]

It sure sux when stuborn people ask how and dont listen.I guarentee there next clutch wont be in sand....

*like*


As far as the temps keeping them at 80+ at the start will get you a short incubation time but you will have small and weak hatchlings; your loss % will be high.

I work in sarcasm the way some people work in paints or clay. I wish Chuck was around more to tag team.

 

[Ace]

wow...you are not taking advice from people that have bred before and have made your mistake before and are at first kindly telling you to help save your eggs from not drying out to die....

we are not forcing you, nor telling oyu that you are dumb, but if you would have researched a lil but, even a little on the forums... you would know the temp ranges, you would know what substrate to use, and you would not feel insulted in anyway

everyone that posted here want your eggs to hatch and have healthy babies, all you need to do is get vermiculite at any garden store, maybe even at lowes or home depot, or a plant nusurery

or go to LLL reptile for some hatchrite

and put the eggs their in the container, and keep the substrate moist, and not water the eggs

hope for the best, and hope you make the right choice

 

[KarmaChameleon1337]

Listen, I know you think you're all high and mighty calling everyone dip shits, but you're not. You're sitting behind a computer when EXPERIENCED cham owns and breeders are telling you sand is a bad idea, it doesn't matter if you're lazy or not, sand is a poor choice as it can harm the eggs by sucking OUT the water.

 

[BocaJan]

If you are serious about these eggs, go to a reptile store or look on line and buy hatchrite or go to the garden store and get vermiculite without any fertilizer. Dampen it well and don't let any water remain in the bottom of your container. I use a clear plastic shoe box with a clear plastic top with two small holes punched in the top, one on each end. I use a tack...the holes should not be large. the vermiculite should be about 3" deep so it remains damp the whole 8-9 months. Perhaps you know someone that has air conditioning that would babysit your egg box so they would be about 72-75 degrees for 6-7 months. Be sure to tape a note on the box with the date the eggs were laid on the note so you won't forget.

When you lay the eggs in the damp vermiculite you should make an indentation so they sit in a little dip. This way the vermiculite cups the eggs about 1/2 way up the egg and helps to keep them moist. Spraying the eggs is not a good idea. Try to imagine what the egg experiences in the ground when it is sitting down there around 12-18 inches in the dirt nestled under some bush roots.

As a breeder I have hatched out many clutches and this is the method that works.

Good luck.

 

[kinyonga]

BocaJan has given you good advice. In the old days when I first started keeping chameleons I tried to incubate the eggs in sand once or twice before I realized that it didn't work...the eggs dried out. Spraying/misting the eggs every day will wash the protective coating off the eggs and likely allow mold and bacteria to grow.

If you don't want to try the tried and true methods suggested (vermiculite or hatchrite) then be prepared for failure and realize that if your method doesn't work you will have killed a lot of babies in the process.

 

[imcurt]

As a panther&Veild keeper my main goal is to keep as many chameleons in the wild as possable.Some are needed to strengthen the blood lines. So you see thats why some of us care.. That first six month of incuibation the eggs need to keep dark and still for proper development.The shell is made of membraine&calicum and cant survive daily misting.This is impossable with sand.In the wild the females dig down deep where the soil(not sand) stays moist.With vermiculite you only need to check the eggs once a month .This allows the eggs to be still,dark,and moist. my last clutch 21 of 21 hatched and all are living .My current hatching clutch of 17 started on friday im up to 14 babbies with the last 3 eggs venting they should be out by tommorow.. thats 38 panthers not taken from the wild. On my website my moto is(we are pasionate about our panther chameleons)and I am!!As far as incuibation temps go first six months 72-74 deg slightly lower at night. last few month I bump the temp to 76-79deg good luck and I am happy to share my sucess's and failure with all that come here and ask.stuborn or not