Veiled Chameleon Breeding Questions

[Zoey]

Breeding may occur up to three times a year.

Egg laying occurs between 20 and 30 days after mating.
with clutch sizes ranging from 35 to 85 eggs.

Females turn from light green to black/green with blue and yellow body spots within 18 hours after a successful mating process.

Egg laying occurs about 20-230 days after this mating process

It takes 150-200 days to hatch at a fluctuation of 80-85 f days down to 70-75 nights.

Place 20 eggs/1 pint deli cup. Punch two push-pin size air holes in clear lid. Mix 1 1/2 parts vermiculite or perlite to 1 part water by weight. Leave 50% of egg showing.



1. How good is that information? Is everything pretty much accurate?

2. When getting ready to breed, do you take both Chameleons out of the cages? Do you move the Female into the Males cage? Or do you move the Male into the Females cage?

3. Should the Female be given anything to help her get back the nutrients she lost from laying the eggs?

4. Should the eggs be taken from the laying site and placed into containers to be incubated as soon as it looks like the Female is done laying and she's back in the top of the cage? Or should it wait a while?

5. Can anyone offer me some helpful hints as to doing everything right? (I've read 1-2 pages on breeding but would like some first hand experience if possible)


I know I ask a lot of questions. But, Thanks again.

 

[kinyonga]

You said..."Egg laying occurs between 20 and 30 days after mating.
with clutch sizes ranging from 35 to 85 eggs"..it can go a little over 30 days before the female lays the eggs. The clutch size can be lower than 35 eggs...mine are always between 20 and 25.

You said..."Females turn from light green to black/green with blue and yellow body spots within 18 hours after a successful mating process"...more or less.

You said..."Egg laying occurs about 20-230 days after this mating process"...never had one go over about 35 days to the first clutch. They can lay a second clutch with retained sperm..but it would be MUCH sooner than 230 days.

You said..."It takes 150-200 days to hatch at a fluctuation of 80-85 f days down to 70-75 nights"...I incubate mine at 78F approx. and they hatch at over 200 days. I wouldn't want to incubate them that high (80-85F).

You said.."Place 20 eggs/1 pint deli cup. Punch two push-pin size air holes in clear lid. Mix 1 1/2 parts vermiculite or perlite to 1 part water by weight. Leave 50% of egg showing"...I put about 20 eggs in a shoe-box sized container (about 4" deep and 8" wide and 14" long...guesstimate). I punch two tiny holes in the lid. Fill the container full of barely moist (coasre) vermiculite. To judge the moisture level, I take a fistful of vermiculite and squeeze it...if no more than a drop or two of water comes out, then its right.
I place the eggs in rows about 1" apart in all directions in small dents that I make with my thumb.

You said..."When getting ready to breed, do you take both Chameleons out of the cages? Do you move the Female into the Males cage? Or do you move the Male into the Females cage?"...I take the female out of her cage and hold her in front of the male's cage so they can see each other. This way there can be no fighting. I watch to see the reaction. If the female shows that she is receptive and the male recognizes her as a female that is ready to mate then I put the two of them together.

If the male inflates his gular pouch, holds his hand up close to his chin, coils and uncoils his tail, hisses, gapes then he is not recognizing her as a female to mate with. He should bob his head at her, not do any of the things listed in the last sentence...and when she is put in the cage, approach her and mount her.

If the female darkens her background color, hisses, rocks back and forth, inflates her body, then she is not ready to mate. She should keep her green color, keep her body small and close to the branch and when placed in his cage move slowly away from the male.

You said..."Should the eggs be taken from the laying site and placed into containers to be incubated as soon as it looks like the Female is done laying and she's back in the top of the cage? Or should it wait a while?"...I always let the female finish laying her eggs, buty them and tamp the sand down and return to the branches before digging them up.

You said..."Should the Female be given anything to help her get back the nutrients she lost from laying the eggs?"...I feed mine well (dusted, gutloaded insects) after they have laid the eggs for a couple of days and make sure that they get lots of water.

You said...."Can anyone offer me some helpful hints as to doing everything right? (I've read 1-2 pages on breeding but would like some first hand experience if possible)"...make sure your female is in good condition when you decide to breed her. I recommend that she be at least a year of age and full grown before you mate her. I recommend that you follow the procedure above for introducing them to each other. Do not let her see you watching her when she is digging the hole because she may abandon it. If she does this often enough, it could lead to eggbinding. I always leave a container of sand in the cage so that the female always has a place to dig. I don't overfeed the female before she is mated. It seems to lead to large clutches and a fat chameleon seems to end up eggbound or have other difficulties when it comes to egglaying. When she is producing the eggs you want her to get enough nutrients to make sure they are healthy.

You said..."I know I ask a lot of questions"...that's one way to learn!

 

[Ashley]

Don't forget that the eggs will be sucking all of the calcium out of her so when she is gravid make sure she gets plenty of calcium. I actually gave my girl a very light dusting of calcium every feeding.

My girl is a panther but the same rules apply. Just keep researching. There is so much info out there and even on this site, there are numerous threads on questions and problems that people face with gravid females. I even started one when my girly was at like her 40th day after mating and wouldn't eat, drink, or lay.

Questions are a wonderful thing. Don't be afraid to ask

 

[Zoey]

Thank you for the information! I still have a lot of researching to do before she can be breed (More so for myself!)

I read somewhere that they can breed mulitple times a year, and I was wondering how long after she's layed her eggs can she breed again?

I don't think I'll breed her more then once a year but it would be nice to know!

 

[Zoey]

Anyone know a place

That sells vermiculite? I don't know where to look to pick it up.

Thanks in advance.

 

[chameleon76]

Hello,I am sure many places sell this time of year, in small quantities at least.I get mine at meijer but I bet walmart has it as well.I have seen stores getting some garden stuff in already around cinci.
Good luck hope all goes well.

 

[Zoey]

Thanks, to be honest I would have never thought to look at Wal-Mart. I'll go check when I go there tomorrow to pick up some things.

 

[chameleon76]

I think that most places that have houseplants all year will probably have some.
kevin

 

[Zoey]

How much does it normally cost? Do you know?

 

[kinyonga]

Zoey said..."I don't think I'll breed her more then once a year but it would be nice to know!"...she will likely produce two clutches from tht one breeding....the second being with retained sperm.

 

[Zoey]

Zoey said..."I don't think I'll breed her more then once a year but it would be nice to know!"...she will likely produce two clutches from tht one breeding....the second being with retained sperm.

does that mean that they will be fertile too?

 

[Zoey]

Another Question. I find it better to post here then another thread.


Can anyone tell me the BEST way to incubate Veiled eggs?

I know you need to keep the eggs in Vermiculite, and they need to be kept warm.

Humid as well right?

My main question was how do you keep the containers you are incubating the eggs in at that set temperature?


Say we are leaving them in the closet to incubate (we hardly go into the closet so its nice and dark) if it doesn't get warm enough do we need to set a heater up? Or what?

I'm filled with questions. But I want to make sure we do it right after we breed her

 

[kinyonga]

Zoey said..."does that mean that they will be fertile too?"...some of them should be. Its mostly a matter of timing....depends how far along she was when they mated, etc.

Zoey said..."Can anyone tell me the BEST way to incubate Veiled eggs?"...this is how I have incubated them for years...
I use shoebox sized plastic containers. I fill them about half full of barely moist coarse grained vermiculite. To test the moisture level...take a fist full and squeeze it...if no more than a couple of drops of water comes out, then its the right moisture. I punch two tiny holes in the lid of the container. I lay the eggs in rows in dents that I have made with my thumb in the vermiculite...spacing the eggs about 1" apart in all directions. I put the lid on and put the eggs somewhere to incubate at about 78F.

The container will likely get moisture on the lid and walls inside...that's normal. If the eggs start to dent in, do not add water ON THE EGGS, but add it around the edges.

Further information...make sure you have a suitable container of washed playsand in the female's cage so she has somewhere to dig to lay the eggs. Do not let her see you watching her while she is digging. She may dig a couple of test holes and then settle on one and dig it for a couple of days. Let her lay the eggs and fill in the hole and go back up in the branches before you dig them ip. Try not to turn the eggs as you move them to the egg incubating box.

 

[Zoey]

Thanks Kinyonga for all your help.

The Female has the bucket because of the scare of her having eggs in her last week or two. She hasn't dug, so I am guessing it was nothing.

If the place we keep them is not warm enough, is it safe to set a heater up as long as we keep an eye on the temp in the spot?

 

[kinyonga]

This is what I do...I have used this for years and hatched several species of chameleons, turtle/tortoises, coneheads, water dragons, several species of geckos, etc. using this as an incubator...with good results...
I have a people's heating pad (the electric type with three heat settings). I built a frame of 2" x2"'s to fit over (around) it. I put screen over the wooden frame. I turn the heating pad on low and test to see what the temperature is in one of the containers that I have set up ready for the eggs. If the temperature is too warm, I raise the wood frame with shims until its right. I place the containers of eggs on top of the screen once they are laid.
I have this setup in the basement so that the eggs are in the dark.
This isn't very expensive to set up.

If you use an electric heater to heat the room, that should be fine, but don't have it near the eggs and cause the container to dry out.