buying an egg.?

So is buying a chameleon egg from someone a safe idea.? And having them ship it.
? I hadn't heard of this before but wondered if it was safe and a good idea. Besides not knowing the sex.

I wouldnt suggest it.
once the eggs have been laid and put in an incubator, they cant be rolled.
which is exactly what will happen when shipped.

The baby will die if shipped IMO.

i really wouldnt suggest it, babies are hard enough to care for.unless your a breeder of somesort you may get setup wrong egg dies your out a cham least that is what i think.

Don't let someone charge you much for that. High liklihood of it not hatching...

Reptile eggs are different than bird eggs in that once they are laid they do not move from that position (they're buried under ground). They form in that the embryo sits on top of the yolk sac, so if the eggs turns or is tossed around (like during shipping) the yolk can actually crush the embryo and kill it. There is a safe window for turning/moving the eggs in the first few days after they are laid, but after that all bets are off imo. Even if it didn't move, there are temperature fluctuations in shipping. And even if shipping goes perfectly you still have to incubate under ideal conditions for many months to make something hatch. And not every egg will hatch even in pristine conditions. It's a total gamble with an egg. You can try it, but I would not be surprised if it didn't work. Not to mention, even if it did, care of a neonate is challenging.

mychamtini112012 said:

So is buying a chameleon egg from someone a safe idea.? And having them ship it.
? I hadn't heard of this before but wondered if it was safe and a good idea. Besides not knowing the sex.

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I don't think it's a great idea . because you have to hatch them . you know . hatch is not a easy thing . you can ask and learn sex in this forums

Id only buy an egg from someone that i knew personally as a friend, more than likely if I knew the person they would be giving me an egg instead. People selling eggs . Seems like an easy way to make money. I have 74 eggs right now to me they are worth nothing until about 4 months after they hatched.

This sounds like it will turn out wonderful.

Chuck G said:

This sounds like it will turn out wonderful.

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Like actually turning out wonderful or do you think its a terrible plan as well.? Haha.

mychamtini112012 said:

Like actually turning out wonderful or do you think its a terrible plan as well.? Haha.

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Sorry, I was being sarcastic. This would be wonderful only for the person peddling eggs.

Oh Okay. Haha. I didn't think it would work, just wanted to confirm it. They said they've done it successfully many times but I wasn't going to spend the money if it was a bad idea.

I did a little experiment with another forum member and sent him 3 eggs immediately after (within a day or so) they were laid. They were sent through priority. One was a dud, two were fertile, but only one hatched. He actually recently sold the female that came from the egg about a month ago. I marked the eggs so that he wouldn't change the position once he got them, just in case it made a difference.

I wouldn't buy an egg, but if someone is offering it to you and they haven't been laid yet, I don't see why not. As long as they are shipped well and immediately after being laid it could work out alright.

while we are on the topic of eggs. Can the sex of Chams be controled by the temp it's incubated at?

JonRich said:

while we are on the topic of eggs. Can the sex of Chams be controled by the temp it's incubated at?

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Seems unlikely since I really don't see controlled breeding for males and what not.Which you know would be happening if possible. I know Toms clutch of sambavas I got one he mention very high male to female ratio though.

I believe no one has found a way to control the sex ration through temperatures.

JonRich asked "Can the sex of Chams be controled by the temp it's incubated at? "...
http://www.jstor.org/pss/4092942
https://www.chameleonforums.com/some-questions-scientists-among-us-48362/
http://iub.academia.edu/CraigNelson/Papers/1034449/Sex-determining_mechanisms_in_squamate_reptiles

I wonder why smugglers smuggle reptile eggs all the time... They must hatch if they continuously sell??? Otherwise, where would this black market of smuggled reptile eggs be if it wasn't a success?