Finally!!! Melleri Babies Emerge!!!!

jajeanpierre said:
Joel, how the heck did you get pictures of not one but two babies half way out. Have you been camped in from of those eggs for the past week, not daring to sleep??? ;) I've only seen one hatch and I'm looking all the time like a nervous Nellie. Good job, Joel. I am amazed you got any eggs, let alone hatching eggs considering the mess the poor mother was in. (For those who don't know, Joel basically bought the dying mother within a day of import, knowing it would be a miracle if he could keep her alive long enough to lay the eggs.)
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Thanks Janet! They have been incubating for 144 days today. In those 144 days, I have checked the eggs...oh I don't know....2,000 times, lol.

I literally checked on them at about midnight last night and when I opened the container I noticed moisture on the eggs. I thought it was from the droplets falling from the lid. Then, I was about to fall asleep when I realized how dumb I was. I immediately sat up in my bed and jumped out to go check. Sure enough, there was one half way out of the egg!!

You know how torn I was on getting that girl. I couldn't bare to take an animal home that I knew was going to die no matter what I did. But, she will go down as one of the most amazing chameleons I have had the pleasure of watching. Her strength and drive to have those eggs even though she knew she was dying....geez. I gave her fluids for 4 days and bug mash for 2 days. She laid her eggs..packed the soil down and died in my hands. So, people can understand how elated I am to see these babies hatching.

I went back and read that thread. One thing I didn't share, not out of not wanting to, but simply because I forgot, was that after she died I was able to palpate four more eggs that she didn't lay. I went in and removed them myself. The first one to hatch was one of the ones I removed after she had passed. I'm glad I checked her first! Phew!
 
I'm so happy for you and I'm dying from melleri cuteness. What's your plan for the babies? I've said before that a Mellers is my dream cham, the only reason I've never gotten one is because they're WC and I can't support the WC trade. But I'd have no problem buying one born in captivity.
 
Nursemaia said:
I'm so happy for you and I'm dying from melleri cuteness. What's your plan for the babies? I've said before that a Mellers is my dream cham, the only reason I've never gotten one is because they're WC and I can't support the WC trade. But I'd have no problem buying one born in captivity.
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Well, make sure and keep in touch with me!
 
IMAG2810_1.jpg
 
jajeanpierre said:
Damn, Joel, you are torturing me. That is so cute with his/her little bars. How much does one weigh?

I remember their mother well. She broke my heart with her eyes clamped shut from dehydration and all that debris in them. I was impressed you got her to the point of laying.

Talking about rough imports, how is that Parsoni female?
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Lol. I weighed two so far. One is 2.4g the other is 2.6 grams. Thank you. That eye wash you gave me is what I used six times a day flushing out her poor eyes so she could even see where she was going to lay her eggs.

The parsonii is still ticking along. Her renal function is still pretty poor.
 
jpowell86 said:
Lol. I weighed two so far. One is 2.4g the other is 2.6 grams. Thank you. That eye wash you gave me is what I used six times a day flushing out her poor eyes so she could even see where she was going to lay her eggs.

The parsonii is still ticking along. Her renal function is still pretty poor.
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Did I ever tell you I have a 7 foot tall 6 feet in diameter stainless steel aviary I am not using? One inch bar spacing, good for a big mellers I would think.....
 
jpowell86 said:
Thanks Janet! They have been incubating for 144 days today. In those 144 days, I have checked the eggs...oh I don't know....2,000 times, lol.

I literally checked on them at about midnight last night and when I opened the container I noticed moisture on the eggs. I thought it was from the droplets falling from the lid. Then, I was about to fall asleep when I realized how dumb I was. I immediately sat up in my bed and jumped out to go check. Sure enough, there was one half way out of the egg!!

You know how torn I was on getting that girl. I couldn't bare to take an animal home that I knew was going to die no matter what I did. But, she will go down as one of the most amazing chameleons I have had the pleasure of watching. Her strength and drive to have those eggs even though she knew she was dying....geez. I gave her fluids for 4 days and bug mash for 2 days. She laid her eggs..packed the soil down and died in my hands. So, people can understand how elated I am to see these babies hatching.

I went back and read that thread. One thing I didn't share, not out of not wanting to, but simply because I forgot, was that after she died I was able to palpate four more eggs that she didn't lay. I went in and removed them myself. The first one to hatch was one of the ones I removed after she had passed. I'm glad I checked her first! Phew!
Click to expand...

This is such an amazing story! I love the little white and green one! So cute!!! I am definitely going to have to keep an eye on these babies as they grow. How many eggs did she lay? I would LOVE to get one! they are such gorgeous creatures and as @Nursemaia said, being WC has made them something I didn't want to get. But now....:love:;)
 
Peachypink said:
This is such an amazing story! I love the little white and green one! So cute!!! I am definitely going to have to keep an eye on these babies as they grow. How many eggs did she lay? I would LOVE to get one! they are such gorgeous creatures and as @Nursemaia said, being WC has made them something I didn't want to get. But now....:love:;)
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She laid 39 eggs. I extracted 4 eggs myself. So a total of 43 eggs!!

Aren't they awesome looking babies?? I love their colors and markings!
 
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