Viviparous Chameleon Birth Photos

The miracle of birth! Awesome Chris! As always, you share something out of the ordinary!!. thank you!!!!!!
 
Haven't had the experience yet of live birth, but have a gravid female Jacksonii and am redoing her home as we speak to increase the chance of a successful birthing. Thank you for sharing these marvelous pictures. It gives me something to look forward to.
 
wow I missed this thread. Great photos Chris! truly amazing capturing that, and that little guy has some great white looking teeth!:)
 
I'm glad you all enjoyed the pics. I guess the babies are a month old today so its only fitting to post an update.

Unfortunately quite a few of the babies appeared weak from the onset, including a few not seeming to have developed complete control of their limbs. As a result, 5 of the 8 babies born live quickly died. The other three babies have been doing very well, however.

I suspect the stress of importation may have played a part in the weakness of many of the babies. Its also possible that some may not have been quite ready to be born and even though a few were, those that were not did not make it. At any rate, the three strongest babies do seem to be eating and growing well.

Great pics Chris ! And good luck with raising the juveniles, after my experiences they are one of the most problematic vivparous species to raise

Interesting. Are you talking about T. sternfeldi in general or the "red/jeweled rudis" specifically? Since I made this thread, I've become less convinced that these "red/jeweled rudis" are actually Mt Kilimanjaro locale T. sternfeldi. I've been able to track down where I think they actually come from but now I suspect they may actually be a T. hanangensis locale.

Are you gonna sell the babies?

Probably not. With three babies remaining, I'll probably end up keeping them for my own breeding groups or perhaps trading one or two for unrelated animals.

Chris,

Would the photo here http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6090/6114684620_69d072714d_o.jpg be a slug? Or are my eyes playing tricks?

Yes, that is one of the two slugs from the clutch. As I said, "I was only able to get photos of her depositing a "slug" (unfertilized egg sac)", not any of the actual babies, and this is a closeup photo of that slug.

I'll try to get some updated pics of the babies today or tomorrow.

Chris
 
I looked at this thread last night and was amazed at how well you captured each shot. The paticular one was the baby that looks like it is taking its first gasp of air. Only 3 surviving is a little sad to hear :(. I was wondering what kind of camera you are using becuase these pictures turned out absolutley stunning.
 
I was wondering what kind of camera you are using becuase these pictures turned out absolutley stunning.

I use a Canon EOS Digital Rebel (300D) with a Canon 100mm Macro Lens and a Canon MT-24EX Macro Twin-Lite.

Here are a couple updated pics of the babies:

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Enjoy,

Chris
 
Hi

What did you do with the babies after they came out and came out of the sac? Did you clean them? If so how? Also how do you know if your jackson is pregnant? The store I bought her from said she was due any day but its been over 2 weeks. How can I tell?
 
What did you do with the babies after they came out and came out of the sac? Did you clean them? If so how? Also how do you know if your jackson is pregnant? The store I bought her from said she was due any day but its been over 2 weeks. How can I tell?

Nope, didn't do anything. If they fail to break out of their egg sac, I pick them up and drop them again (only from about 10" or so). This replicates being dropped when the female lays the egg sac and it will sometime stimulate babies to break free of the egg sac if they were not naturally stimulated to do so during birth. Otherwise, once the female has finished giving birth, I will remove the babies and put them in their own enclosure and a little later that day I will mist them.

As for telling if a female jacksonii is gravid, you can introduce her to a male and see her reaction, otherwise you should look for large girth low in the abdomen. Start a new thread with photos and I'm sure someone can help.

Chris
 
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