Surprise Surprise!

[Trace]

I'm shocked and stunned! I got my weekly shipment of bugs today (thanks again Grant) and was feeding the pygmy leaf chameleons (R. brevicaudatus) when I discovered this:

http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/405123-2345-med.jpg

That is one of the females laying eggs! I was HOPING that this group would breed for me, but I've never seen any mating attempts going on in the terrarium. Maybe they are just shy and waited for me to leave the room.

I apologise for the crappy pics coming up, my photography skills got lost in the excitement today.

Here is her laying egg one: That is daddy on the left hand side of the pic.

http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/405123-2348-med.jpg

Here is egg two:

http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/405123-2358-med.jpg

And egg three:

http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/405123-2375-med.jpg

Now I'm not sure if these eggs are fertile or not, but I will incubate them anyways. They have a considerably short incubation time of anywhere from 60-75 days so I should know fairly quickly if I have babies or not. I hope so!!!! I also can't believe how TINY these eggs are!

http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/405123-2384-med.jpg

Mom is doing well and eating bugs like crazy!

Thanks for looking!

Trace

[KaHane]

Congrats Trace!! You must be feeling good:D Wait til the babies hatch, they are a pain to find small enough insects for them. But I guess since it's warmer out, there will be plenty outside:)

[beth wallbank]

CONGRATS TRACE!!
that is something else huh? My fingers are crossed for you!!

[asphyxia]

Good for you Trace

B

[Charm_Paradise]

Trace-

great pics! I was looking into getting some of the newly found R. Ulugarensis, they look like a neat project! They are so tiny compared to panthers. Good luck!


P.S.-

Do you have a pic of the whole setup? I would love to see it!


<b>John</b>

[Matt_K]

Congrats Trace, i can only imagine how happy you must be!! couldn't have happened to a better person!! :)

[katev17]

WOOHOO TRACE!!! That RULES! Did you find out if those guys are the same as the other group you've got? Either way, those babies are going to be so small... I can't even imagine how insanely tiny they're gonna be ! :P

Congratulations, I really hope they're fertile!! :)

Kate

[reverendsterlin]

woohoo Trace, congratz and great job

[doenoe]

Allrighty then. Congrats Trace. All the luck in the world to you and your soon to be new babies :)

[aqua_demon]

Yah go trace way to go on the eggs i hope the eggs hatch soon i be glad to take them off your hands LOL N
E wayz great jobb send us some pics when they hatch!!!!!!

[Trace]

Thanks everyone for your kind words! I am absolutely elated by these eggs! It's taking all my willpower NOT to peek into that tupperware container!

It makes me wonder though, beyond the once a day feedings and the twice daily mistings, I don't really interact with those chameleons like I do my bigger chams. It took less than 3 hours for that particular female to dig her hole, lay her eggs and repack the hole and she doesn't look any skinnier than she did before she layed the eggs. I'm concerned as to whether I've missed any of the other females laying eggs. Now any missed eggs can be incubated in the viv with the same hatch rate as incubated outside the tank so I'm not worried about that. I just wouldn't want any hatchlings getting eaten by the adults before I found them!

Here is a slightly old pic of the viv for you John. It was taken a few days after I got the group (early April) and the Pothos has grown in nicely now. I just couldn't get a decent picture of it today!

http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/405119-1909-med.jpg

And yeah... R. Ulugarensis, would that be a neat species to have! Unfortunately I live in the Canada and some of those weirder chams are just not going to come up here any time soon. Ah well.

Cheers!

Trace

[Reptayls]

Trace,

We have raised R. brevs for about 3 years... Don't worry about the adult eating the hatchlings. It doesn't happen. However - they are only about 1/2" in length - so you will want to separate them and give them much tinier prey. Springtails; melangaster fruit flies. etc. The larger crickets (for the adults) will prey upon the babies!!

A female brev typically has 2-3 eggs with her first clutch, then seems to increase with consecutive clutches. I have one female who consistantly lays 5 eggs every other month. I call them the "tic-tac eggs"

We have a good colony of the R. uluguruensis too - about 20 or so adults. These are a just a bit larger than the brevs. We hope to announce eggs soon too ........ :))

Morgana - Reptayls, Ltd.

[nicola_boulton]

congrats!!! you must be very talented 2 be able 2 breed such small and delicate herps. Best of luk and plz plz keep us updated. :D

[Trace]

PHEW!!!!!!! Thanks Morgana! You've taken a huge weight off my mind. I was so worried about any little babies becoming breakfast one morning!

Certainly if I ever see babies in the viv, they will be promptly removed and set up in their own tank. I have cultures of fruit flies going, but I should look into getting some other small bugs organized, just in case.

And "tic tacs" what a perfect description for size! I was using the term Jelly Belly but I think those candies are even bigger than these eggs! LOL!

Thanks again!

Trace

[Reptayls]

Trace,

If I can figure out how to post pictures... I will.

Morgana - Reptayls, Ltd.

[dlucka]

60 to 75 days!!!! You call it "fairly quickly" !!!!
Any way i wish you the best

[Reptayls]

Trace,

I posted some rhampholeon pictures in our "member Gallery" (Reptayls, Ltd.) Some brevs.... babies .... and some uluguruensis

Hope you enjoy them,

Morgana - Reptayls, Ltd.

[Clownfishie]

Awesome Trace, congrats!! :) Fingers crossed for some adorable babies in a few months :D

[Reptayls]

Trace,

I put a bunch of pictures in my "gallery album"
Go check out the Rhampies....

Morgana

[Trace]

Oh I took a look at those pics last week, they are awesome. Thank you so much for posting them, they've been a big help to me. I can hardly wait for my little guys to hatch now!

A few questions for you though, in the pic that shows the enclosure, it looks like you are using a heat bulb. Do you find this necessary? It was my impression that these pygmy chams like it on the cool side, so I'm not using one. My temps range between 75 and 80 degrees. I'm also using a flourescent Iguana Light 5.0 on the viv, although the UV might not be necessary for them. Most articles I've read seem to say they don't really need it, but it's not going to hurt either. Do you use one?

Thanks! :D

Trace