melleri hatching!
- Thread starter pamnsam94
- Start date
Wonderful job! I hope the babies do great for you! Keep us updated with lots of cute baby pics!
Chameleonmaster
Avid Member
Congrats, and good luck raising the babies!
pamnsam94
Established Member
Update. Three made it out on the first day. Two additional eggs are sweating. Only 4 eggs have shrunk so far. One of those has yet to emerge, and I'm a little concerned about it because there's only a single, small slit. It's been that way all day without any progress. 
The 3 that've hatched made multiple slits which pretty much coincided with the eggs shrinking. On more than one occasion, I've had eggs like the former that failed to hatch so I'm always concerned when it takes longer than I expect.
Perry
The 3 that've hatched made multiple slits which pretty much coincided with the eggs shrinking. On more than one occasion, I've had eggs like the former that failed to hatch so I'm always concerned when it takes longer than I expect.Perry
thephotoprincess
Avid Member
congrats! I am jealous - nothing cuter than baby melleri!
pamnsam94
Established Member
Thanks again to everyone. As a reminder, these eggs were laid due to no real effort on my part, other than caring the best I could for the mother and providing her with a laying bin. I only had her in my care for 2 1/2 to 3 months before she laid. I bought the mother as part of a breeding pair. The pair had bred multiple times in the pet store. I don't know how long the pair had been in the country or how long it had been since they were imported from Mozambique. Hats off to you melleri keepers that work long and hard trying to not only establish a group of adults but in trying to determine if they even have a pair, let alone a compatible pair. I got lucky and found a pair that was breeding under what I am sure were less than ideal conditions.
I'm kind of wondering if the neonates should be considered CH or CBB. Technically, they would be considered CBB since the parents bred in captivity. Practically speaking though, I would think they would be no better than CH neonates. If my understanding is correct, I think that part of the value in having CBB neonates over CH neonates is the fact that with CBB, a buyer can be more assured that the mother received good care while she was gravid. With CH animals, the mother may have been in poor condition when she laid, due to the stress of importation, and that can sometimes result in less than healthy neonates. Thankfully though, for the most part, from what I can tell so far, the ones that have hatched seem pretty strong but it may be too early to really tell.
Update. Three hatched on the 19th, none hatched on the 20th, and six hatched on the 21st. So, 9 of the 18 eggs have hatched so far. Unfortunately, one neonate in one of the eggs that had shrunk on the 19th and only had a single 1/8 of an inch slit never made it out of the egg and died. Apparently, it was too weak to cut its way out. Very sad. Hopefully, the remaining 8 eggs will hatch soon.
Perry
I'm kind of wondering if the neonates should be considered CH or CBB. Technically, they would be considered CBB since the parents bred in captivity. Practically speaking though, I would think they would be no better than CH neonates. If my understanding is correct, I think that part of the value in having CBB neonates over CH neonates is the fact that with CBB, a buyer can be more assured that the mother received good care while she was gravid. With CH animals, the mother may have been in poor condition when she laid, due to the stress of importation, and that can sometimes result in less than healthy neonates. Thankfully though, for the most part, from what I can tell so far, the ones that have hatched seem pretty strong but it may be too early to really tell.
Update. Three hatched on the 19th, none hatched on the 20th, and six hatched on the 21st. So, 9 of the 18 eggs have hatched so far. Unfortunately, one neonate in one of the eggs that had shrunk on the 19th and only had a single 1/8 of an inch slit never made it out of the egg and died. Apparently, it was too weak to cut its way out. Very sad. Hopefully, the remaining 8 eggs will hatch soon.
Perry
pamnsam94
Established Member
Now, if I could only trade some melleri babies for one of Chuck's parsonii babies.
Perry
I suppose I'd have to throw in a half dozen or so quads as well.
Perry
pamnsam94
Established Member
When I started this thread, I remember thinking about putting it under the forum "melleri group" but instead, I could have sworn I used the more general forum "chameleon breeding". If I'm not mistaken, and I didn't put it in the "general photography" forum, then why might a moderator have moved it? I've only posted 3 pics so far, so it's not like it's picture heavy.
Perry
Perry
pamnsam94
Established Member
Thanks Karen! I agree about the cuteness of melleri babies. IMO, they're one of the most attractive babies of all chameleon species, along with quads of course. I'm sure Laurie would agree with me about the quads especially.
