chameleon eggs and set-up

snakekid6996 · 10-09-13, 06:44 PM

So I walked in my room today to find this peeking at me on top of my T.v.

my dad forgot to close her cage all the way... Also,
my chameleons has been eatting a lit left about the last two weeks and stated digging at the bottom about the last week. Today I went and got play sand and put it in a bucket and when I put it in I found these.

I also switched her heat bulb from a 60w to a 100 watt, because of the temperature decreasing from the cool weather. Her warm side is running around 90 and her cool side around 75 degrees F.
I got a new plant, because the old one died...

Anyways, here is her set up atm

Starbuck · 10-09-13, 07:46 PM

id give LOTS more climbing structures/plant cover, and keep an eye on her, if you do notice reproductive behavior, double check your supplement/UV schedules etc to make sure youre giving her adequate support. Chameleons have incredibly taxing reproductive events (?). I'm a bit concerned that she only dropped two eggs in her waterdish (?) normally they have many more.

Otherwise you look like you have a healthy, big girl!

snakekid6996 · 10-09-13, 08:05 PM

She's making a nest now to lay the rest. And that plant is huge and when it is in the enclosure it goes almost all the way to the top and covers almost the entire right side, so normally there is a lot more plant cover. Her warm side is at 95 and cool at a little under 80. I give her vitamins 1-3 times a week, water her 1-3 times a day, and feed her about 5 crickets or 3 crickets and 2super worms every day. I do need to get a new ubv light bulb soon, because this one past it's 6month mark..

Starbuck · 10-10-13, 05:25 AM

ah ok, glad you got another plant in there with her. best of luck with the eggs

snakekid6996 · 10-16-13, 02:01 PM

54 chameleon eggs

Starbuck · 10-16-13, 02:18 PM

i remember my first clutch! 32 little jelly beans, they were so cute when they finally hatched

snakekid6996 · 10-16-13, 07:48 PM

That's a lot of mouths to feed haha

.
Jw, how much does it cost to keep all those baby chameleons alive long enough to sell them and how much can You sell them for??

Starbuck · 10-16-13, 09:15 PM

it depends a lot on your local market.
You'd need LOTS of XL fruitflys ready to go (i think mine incubated a little over nine months!) and tiny pin head crickets, but they grow pretty fast. I sold them in bulk to a local family owned reptile shop for 300$ at about a month old. One baby died and one we kept and gave to a friend. I think the reptile shop was then selling them for 40 each, or 60 for a pair? I think petco/petsmart typically charge over 100, but theirs are pretty big already (3-4 inches snout to vent).
this was 5 or so years ago, so im not sure how things have changed.

simpleyork · 10-16-13, 10:33 PM

a good colony of lobster roaches(still find these in Godzillas cage, so I throw them to my beardie) and fruit flies goes a long way when raising the babies up, and as long as it takes for them to hatch, plenty of time to get those set up after the eggs are laid!!!

Starbuck · 10-17-13, 04:10 AM

Good idea simpleyork! I was not allowed to keep roaches back then, but that would definitely be a good alternative!

Snakekid, I would consider keeping a laying bin in the cage permanently (?) Now that you know she is reproductively active. I don't THINK that will encourage reproductive behavior (hopefully), and it will give her a place to lay whenever she is ready again.

snakekid6996 · 10-17-13, 04:19 AM

I don't have enough room to keep that bucket and the plant in there :/

simpleyork · 10-17-13, 03:25 PM

as far as incubating them, I live in northern Utah and my female a few years back laid her eggs in September they went to whole winter in a closet on the south side of my house at a temp of 75 degrees max(then during summer around 80 F-ish) the following August I think is when they all hatched. Not rocket science, just don't let them dry up, most of the time I didn't even look at them, after the first month that is cause they take so dang long.