Getting Prepared

[jajeanpierre]

Yesterday I bought a newly imported Trioceros quaricornis gracilior . I haven't looked at her closely, but she is plump so I think she might be gravid.

I'm a first-time rookie who is new to keeping chameleons so I know next to nothing about breeding.

Any advice or direction (to books or articles) would be greatly appreciate.

I need to get everything asap in order to be ready for eggs.

I want to buy the most reliable, idiot-proof products. What do I need to have on hand?

I'm worried that the place I would choose to incubate them is the wrong temperature or might change into the wrong temperature during the summer. This weekend I'm going to get a remote digital thermometer set up in my closet that I hope is the right place to incubate them. I'll put one sensor directly on the floor covered by insulating blankets. I'll put another with a blanket between the sensor and the floor, and cover that with blankets. I'm hoping I can get the temps to be right that way--I much prefer the reliability of Mother Earth to any incubator that can fail.

As a back up should I get an incubator to have on hand just in case? I'll need one to cool them down. Which brand? If the temps under the blankets are good now, will they (likely) be good when it is 100F outside and the ambient room temperature goes from 65F to 78F?

I think I have laying bins covered.

I want to get the most fool-proof substrate for the eggs. Is there a commercial product that is good?

I'm sure I can find it somewhere, but I need advice on the boxes to put the eggs in. Links to articles would be greatly appreciated. I'll look at the top of this Breeding Forum and reread everything. I hadn't expected to deal with eggs I wanted to hatch quite so soon into my chameleon adventure.

I do have an understanding of the process of chicks hatching and understand reptile eggs never are turned.

Thanks for any direction you experienced breeders can give.

 

[Mike Fisher]

The closet method won't work in your climate unless you keep your house like a fridge in the summer. You need an incubator that can cool. If you get them into the 70's F you are going to lose them.

 

[jajeanpierre]

The closet method won't work in your climate unless you keep your house like a fridge in the summer. You need an incubator that can cool. If you get them into the 70's F you are going to lose them.

What temperature should they be incubated at?

What brand of incubator is reliable?

 

[frankpayne32]

What temperature should they be incubated at?

What brand of incubator is reliable?

Can't tell you the incubation temp but probably the only way you could do it without a basement (and without spending a $1000) is to rig a mini-fridge up to an accurate thermostat that does both heating and cooling.

 

[Dooley1]

This will work, but they are unreliable and seem to break a lot. Less than $200 though. They are not accurate either so you need to play with it with your own thermometer inside to see what you need to actually set it at.

https://www.google.com/shopping/pro...ei=jizWVIntOpKHgwSx14CoAQ&sqi=2&ved=0CIIBELok

 

[laurie]

Kevin that is the same incubator I have used with all my quads. You just have to figure out how far off it is and adjust your temps. After that mine worked great. Mine was off 5 degrees, it was hotter.

janet it will keep your eggs at the correct temp, if you take an instant read thermometer to set your temps. I incubate at 70. My range is 68 to 72. Hope that helps

 

[Chameleons International]

As a cooling incubator I use a wine cooler controlled by a Ranco Temperature controller. It can maintain a 2 degree variant.

 

[jajeanpierre]

Kevin that is the same incubator I have used with all my quads. You just have to figure out how far off it is and adjust your temps. After that mine worked great. Mine was off 5 degrees, it was hotter.

janet it will keep your eggs at the correct temp, if you take an instant read thermometer to set your temps. I incubate at 70. My range is 68 to 72. Hope that helps

Thank you. I'm hoping the temps on the floor (a wood floor on a concrete slab) insulated with blankets will work but I'm not counting on it. I want to get all my bases covered.

I'm not even sure she is gravid, but will assume so. She is plump. If not gravid she is one fat little girl.

Today I need to get that thermometer with all the remote temp sensors to start charting the temps. I have a little wine fridge that is for in your car. I might see how constant that is.

Will the eggs cope with daily fluctuations within their acceptable range? If the temperature never goes outside your 68 to 72, but bounces erratically around that range many times a day, can they still hatch or do they need something a bit more constant and gradual?

Thanks, everyone, for sharing your experience and knowledge.

 

[jajeanpierre]

As a cooling incubator I use a wine cooler controlled by a Ranco Temperature controller. It can maintain a 2 degree variant.

I'm not handy at all. I like things I take out of a box that work. I called maintenance in Saudi Arabia when I needed light bulbs changed..... Sad but true.

Is it easy enough for an idiot to set up?

 

[Mike Fisher]

What temperature should they be incubated at?

What brand of incubator is reliable?

I used to shoot for 64F night, 70F day. I build my own incubators, never bought one because they are all POS until you spend at least a grand.