My project with Calumma Malthe, Emerald Eared Chameleon

[Jikkermanccini]

Congrats on the eggs, great to read she finally did it. Always nerve breaking, but love to read about her detour .
My chams constantly make excursions from their free range and always go back to their “safe tree”

Thanks! I would love to set up a free range someday, I'm sure they would love it!

 

[Jikkermanccini]

Ok, apparently nobody sells vermiculite anymore. I went ahead and bought a bag of perlite (I needed some anyway), and from my reading on here it seems to be a viable option as well. Are there any cons to using Perlite over Vermiculite?

 

[kinyonga]

Never used perlite....so I have nothing to say about it!
What kind of stores did you look at?

 

[Jikkermanccini]

Never used perlite....so I have nothing to say about it!
What kind of stores did you look at?

I went to a fancy Pikes nursery and two separate Home Depots, after asking around it seems like it just isn't popular enough for the stores to profit. I'll order a bag online, but for now the perlite seems safe. I rinsed and strained it to get out the dusty particles too. Back when I started keeping chams (about 8 years ago) perlite was the go-to, so I doubt anything major has changed.

 

[kinyonga]

Hope the perlite works!
Try to get the coarse vermiculite...it stays moist better.

 

[Lindasjackson]

I’m glad she finally laid her eggs! Good luck with them! I hope you get some babies!

 

[Jikkermanccini]

The fair lady has passed on.
She gave a good fight, but it appears that she had one last egg left over that was the death of her. Before I palpated her and figured this out, I gave her water with electrolytes and she took them well, it seemed to give her some more energy (I made sure to put them on her tongue, not down her windpipe), but in the end there was no way to save my darling. Her bloodline lives on in the form of 15 healthy eggs, but it's always sad to lose something so close when you know it could have been prevented.
May we meet again someday.
Thank you all for following along on this journey, I greatly appreciate it. God bless you all.

 

[kinyonga]

So sorry for your loss. I hope all of her eggs will hatch and carry on her line. Things happen with them that we still aren't able to prevent or understand until it's too late. Keep her in your heart.

 

[ERKleRose]

Oh, I'm so sorry! May she rest in peace and all her laid eggs be healthy and live long and happy lives!

 

[Sonny13]

So sorry for your lost, hopefully she didn’t suffer too much and keep her close in your heart. Luckily her bloodline keeps continuing

 

[Sonny13]

One terrible question and please if you’re not up to it right now, I completely understand. But I’ve been in that situation myself lately. My panther girl, also passed away a few weeks after her laying eggs all the sudden within 24h without any obvious signs. I think we can learn from it, could you describe the last 72 hours? Any abnormality's?

 

[Jikkermanccini]

One terrible question and please if you’re not up to it right now, I completely understand. But I’ve been in that situation myself lately. My panther girl, also passed away a few weeks after her laying eggs all the sudden within 24h without any obvious signs. I think we can learn from it, could you describe the last 72 hours? Any abnormality's?

I didn't notice anything strange, no. She had had less of an appetite since she laid her eggs, but she would still eat and drink every day. She just finished shedding yesterday. However, I also keep her cage covered throughout the day, so there could have been things that I missed.
So sorry to hear about your girly! I hope her children do well and give her a run for her money.

 

[Sonny13]

I didn't notice anything strange, no. She had had less of an appetite since she laid her eggs, but she would still eat and drink every day. She just finished shedding yesterday. However, I also keep her cage covered throughout the day, so there could have been things that I missed.
So sorry to hear about your girly! I hope her children do well and give her a run for her money.

Thanks for sharing.
It´s again a case where the chameleon kept drinking and eating before they suddenly pass away. It´s just that we know we need to keep our eyes open for more indicators then alone not eating or drinking to early notice something is wrong with them. But, that´s difficult and asks a lot of observation. @Mendez stays an interesting observation.

Hoping for her kiddo´s to continue her legacy

 

[kinyonga]

@Jikkermanccini why do you cover the cage all day?

From what I've read, seen, etc obpver the years, the lesser appetite after laying the eggs IMHO is often an indicator that there is an issue.

I think the indications are often quite subtle at first, that there is an issue with egg retention after they have laid eggs.

 

[Jikkermanccini]

@Jikkermanccini why do you cover the cage all day?

From what I've read, seen, etc obpver the years, the lesser appetite after laying the eggs IMHO is often an indicator that there is an issue.

I think the indications are often quite subtle at first, that there is an issue with egg retention after they have laid eggs.

Purely because the cages have to be in my bedroom for the time being, and I am in there quite a lot. I've been using headphones when I listen to stuff to negate noise, but I just wanted to be safe. I had, however, left the cover off several times and it didn't seem to bother her all that much. I've been leaving the male's cover off a lot more recently, and I'll probably totally remove it soon.

 

[crosscutts]

Purely because the cages have to be in my bedroom for the time being, and I am in there quite a lot. I've been using headphones when I listen to stuff to negate noise, but I just wanted to be safe. I had, however, left the cover off several times and it didn't seem to bother her all that much. I've been leaving the male's cover off a lot more recently, and I'll probably totally remove it soon.

Great thread very informative sad ending , I wish there was a way to know how to prevent that . So sorry for your end result but hoping that Your incubation goes well and you’ll soon have one of her offspring .. please continue to give updates if any changes occur . I pray for your success !! (they’re incredibly beautiful)

 

[Lindasjackson]

I’m so sorry! May her babies carry on her legacy!

 

[Jikkermanccini]

Eight months into incubation now.
During that time, I kept them under a dresser in my basement where the air temperature was 68f during the day and 65 at night. In November, I moved them to atop my grow terrarium, where the heat from the lights kept them at a consistent 74f during the day, with the same drop to 65 at night. I lost the male in December, due to what I suspected was a parasite attack & my own lack of time to fix it. By January I was beginning to lose hope in the eggs, though they hadn't rotted or molded over so I kept them.
Then in late January, several of the eggs increased in size rapidly. I attempted to candle several of them, and despite the small size I could see new growth activity inside. Fast forward to this month, and many more eggs have made the same size increase and still none of them have molded. Another attempt at candling showed me slightly increased vein growth and a distinct shape in the middle of the largest eggs.
Preparations are being made for a baby rearing setup where I can divide them up safely and still manage the humidity & food supply evenly.
I'm incredibly excited, but a bit nervous. Just hoping that it's not a false alarm.
Thank you all for holding tight for eight months! it looks like we're coming to the end pretty soon. My guess is a total 10-month incubation period, but I suppose we'll see!

 

[SteveH]

Eight months into incubation now.
During that time, I kept them under a dresser in my basement where the air temperature was 68f during the day and 65 at night. In November, I moved them to atop my grow terrarium, where the heat from the lights kept them at a consistent 74f during the day, with the same drop to 65 at night. I lost the male in December, due to what I suspected was a parasite attack & my own lack of time to fix it. By January I was beginning to lose hope in the eggs, though they hadn't rotted or molded over so I kept them.
Then in late January, several of the eggs increased in size rapidly. I attempted to candle several of them, and despite the small size I could see new growth activity inside. Fast forward to this month, and many more eggs have made the same size increase and still none of them have molded. Another attempt at candling showed me slightly increased vein growth and a distinct shape in the middle of the largest eggs.
Preparations are being made for a baby rearing setup where I can divide them up safely and still manage the humidity & food supply evenly.
I'm incredibly excited, but a bit nervous. Just hoping that it's not a false alarm.
Thank you all for holding tight for eight months! it looks like we're coming to the end pretty soon. My guess is a total 10-month incubation period, but I suppose we'll see!

Eight months into incubation now.
During that time, I kept them under a dresser in my basement where the air temperature was 68f during the day and 65 at night. In November, I moved them to atop my grow terrarium, where the heat from the lights kept them at a consistent 74f during the day, with the same drop to 65 at night. I lost the male in December, due to what I suspected was a parasite attack & my own lack of time to fix it. By January I was beginning to lose hope in the eggs, though they hadn't rotted or molded over so I kept them.
Then in late January, several of the eggs increased in size rapidly. I attempted to candle several of them, and despite the small size I could see new growth activity inside. Fast forward to this month, and many more eggs have made the same size increase and still none of them have molded. Another attempt at candling showed me slightly increased vein growth and a distinct shape in the middle of the largest eggs.
Preparations are being made for a baby rearing setup where I can divide them up safely and still manage the humidity & food supply evenly.
I'm incredibly excited, but a bit nervous. Just hoping that it's not a false alarm.
Thank you all for holding tight for eight months! it looks like we're coming to the end pretty soon. My guess is a total 10-month incubation period, but I suppose we'll see!

Good luck

 

[GrannyK]

Good luck!!! Just read the whole thread and what a roller coaster of time it’s been. I hope these babies come through and pass on the genes for you!