Clutch Hatching; Couple Questions.

Dave Legacy

Dave Legacy

New Member
Hey Everyone,

My first hatchling emerged after a 7 month & 18 day incubation! I was doing my daily check on noticed an egg had some how moved a few inches. I got really concerned that maybe the drawer they were incubating in had been jolted and it could have disturbed my clutch. So I open up the lid for a closer look and realize that the egg looks like it could be about ready to hatch. This worried me because I was simply not prepared and the weekend had already past. I was trying to figure out how I would get prepared in only a matter of days...

That's when I noticed a hatchling trying to crawl out onto my hand! A late night call to Chris A. and a 20G Tall tank later it was all good. It's not the most desirable hatchling setup, but it's bought me some time and the hatchling seems to be doing very well. I've visually confirmed that it's eating the hydei FFs and drinking water. So here's the questions:

1. One of the remaining 11 eggs started to hatch out. I saw the head of a baby emerge about 80% of the way, but it took a rest and then retracted back in. That was almost 48 hours ago, so I suspect that this hatchling may have died. Should I open up this egg and see if it's still kickin', or just wait it out and see what happens?

2. A few other eggs are sweating and starting to slit, but I haven't really seen any action in the last 12 hours or so (but, I'm trying to leave them alone so I'm not looking with a lot of detail or frequently). Is this normal, or might these hatchlings be dying as well.

3. Humidity. Over the last 2-3 months I've been slowly increasing the temperature naturally by relocating my eggs or adding external insulation. I also stopped adding as much water to the media and thus making conditions a little dryer as the the temps increased. I'm thinking that this may have triggered hatching by simulating a season? Anyway, are drier conditions making it more difficult for my eggs to hatch?

Best regards,
Dave Legacy
 
Looks like I have one hatchling almost completely out, but I'm going to wait until he's mobile before I extract him from the incubation container.
 
I helped one out. It was all out except for it's foot and egg sac. When I opened up the container it woke up and tried to climb out so I just helped hold the egg in place so it could pull the rest of the stuff out. He's in the nursery tank, catching a breather, and learning how to use it's eyes.

Now that you mention absorbing the egg sac, I probably would have left it in there until it came out on it's own. I'm guessing it's foot wasn't stuck, it was the egg sac that hadn't shrunk down yet. It's still attached though. I'll leave the other ones to do their own thing.

What about oxygen though... they're ok in that container for an extended period of time, right?
 
Is the yolk sac hanging down? If it is it could get caught on something or stick to something...and that woudn't be good.
 
I leave mine in the incubator untill the yolk sack is gone. If it gets ripped off it will kill them. The yolk sack is very sticky and If you put them in a plant it might get stuck to a leaf and get ripped off.
 
Ugh. Ok, I'm leaving them alone from this point on. The yolk sac is still attached, but the hatchling seems to be doing well. I'm assuming it shouldn't be removed. I went to go check on it and the hatchling is just curled up on a leaf resting, lights out in about 10 minutes, so hopefully that yolk sac should be mostly taken care of by tomorrow morning... or at least less sticky.

The rest of the babies that are hatching out are staying put until the sac is gone. Thanks guys!
 
Last edited:
i know im not answering your question and i apologise in advance but im jealous. lol. I cant wait for the day my first clutch begins to hatch and im on here asking the same kind of questions you are.
 
Nicodemayo said:
i know im not answering your question and i apologise in advance but im jealous. lol. I cant wait for the day my first clutch begins to hatch and im on here asking the same kind of questions you are.
Click to expand...

Hopefully you wont have to ask. I thought I was ready for the hatching process from the stuff I had read @ www.chameleonnews.com, but I was wrong. Now that I have 2 out, and more experience, I'm feeling a lot more relaxed about the whole thing.
 
hatchlings

Hey Ive hatched out at least8 sets of eggs you sound like youre doing fine. The reason I say this is because one time I hadnt checked my incubator for a few days and when I opened the container I had 50 babies running around...they all survived. Have fun with it!
 
Hatchlings

:) Hi

Congratulation on your new babies. Isn't it exciting. My first clutch of Ambanja's started hatching a few weeks ago and I still have eggs incubating away. A very good friend of mine and a pro in the Chamemelon breeder world gave me some words of wisdom a while back... let nature take it course. I fully believe in that. Just keep a close eye on them, I catch myself going in my chameleon area several times each hour to check. It can be very scary though. Congrats again on your new little ones.
 
I currently have half a clutch of veilds awaiting hatching, It would seam these guys are not gonna hatch at all, my calculations were to be hatching around dec. and clearly it is almost March now and still have 15 eggs that look good but are not hatching yet one @ a time they seam to mold up and die....hopefully the next clutch will have more luck...Also congrats with your new additions....
 
Ren...how have you been incubating them and for how long? Temperature, substrate, humidity or moisture level of the substrate, etc.

How much have the eggs grown?
 
I leave my neos alone untill they start cruising around on thier own. Like someone said above, if you rip the sac they will die. So leave them be untill they are ready.
If you are worried about air, leave one corner of the container cracked.
Sometimes they hatch, and then die. This will happen to one or two, and there is nothing you can do about it. Some are just not strong enough at birth. So moving them, or trying to help them out of the egg should not be your first reaction, you could do more damage than good.
A 10 gallon tank with some plastic plants and small sticks works fine untill they are strong enough for a larger container, just monitor feeding to see who eats and who doesn't, then maybe set up a different rearing tank for the weaker kids. Don't let them eat too many Pheonix worms (if you use them), they will choke, it's happened to me 2 times right in front of my eyes, and that sucked big time.
After your first clutch is done, you will know what to do.
Good luck!
 
So far, so good. I've confirmed that they are all drinking and that my first hatched does eat. However everyone is pretty shy, so I only manage to catch them drinking if I sneak up on them and don't get spotted. The tank they are in is crawling with hydei FFs so they're is no need for any real hunting skill.

The hatchling I had thought had died, retracted back into the egg, emerged last night and seems to be a very healthy specimen. It's among the couple that decided to puff up and threaten me when trying to move it to the nursery tank.

I have a question about sexing. I always thought they were far too young to sex at this age. However, I've noticed that they seem to show very distinct male or female markings. Is this an early indication, or not?

Best regards,
Dave
 
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