egg laying bin

[moluccan]

hi everyone would like to ask if a large plastic flower pot (12 inches high) or a transparent squarish plastic container (8inches high) will be more ideal for a gravid female carpet chameleon to lay her eggs, does it make a diff whether the laying bin is transparent or opaque? and does it mean a small chameleon will require a smaller space to dig and lay her eggs. pls help. and thanks in advance

 

[gregdabender]

I used a 8 gallon kitchen plastic track can...new of course. Filled it with moist play sand which only when about half way up. Made a starter hole and in about 3 hours she had done she deed.

 

[BocaJan]

Don't use a transparent container. They are trying to hide their eggs (think of them digging into the soil in the wild where it is damp and dark). I use a 10" tall plastic bathroom trash can. My females aren't very big and this seems to work just fine for them. The container is big enough for them to move around, circle, and plenty of room to dig. You can't fill it up all the way because they shove the sand to one side. They really are neat! Mine dig down in a slightly circular pattern making a hole at the bottom of the tunnel for the eggs.

 

[moluccan]

thanks bocajan and gregdabender really appreciate your help. if my female is in gravid coloration now (black purple and white and red too) does it mean that the eggs she will lay are fertile? or the gravid coloration just means she is holding eggs which might or might not be fertile. i'm a little confused. cos i introduced a male to her only once. thanks

 

[Nicodemayo]

I have no experience with carpets so i cant tell you much but i do know that female carpets will rarely dig in captivity and your girl might end up dropping eggs.

 

[moluccan]

if the eggs are laid and drop from a branch do you think they can survive the fall? and still hatch?

 

[sageghost]

Yup they sure can. I have two clutches hatching out now that were scattered.

One was scattered as she sat on a branch above the cage floor. About 15" from the floor. Another was actually dropped sometime during the shipping of the female to my house.

Just make sure you have the egg in the same "up is up" orientation as you would if you were excavating them from a hole.

if the eggs are laid and drop from a branch do you think they can survive the fall? and still hatch?

 

[moluccan]

Yup they sure can. I have two clutches hatching out now that were scattered.

One was scattered as she sat on a branch above the cage floor. About 15" from the floor. Another was actually dropped sometime during the shipping of the female to my house.

Just make sure you have the egg in the same "up is up" orientation as you would if you were excavating them from a hole.

Thanks sageghost!! hearing this really lifts my sprirts and gives me hope haha. but as you mentioned 1 of your chams laid her eggs while shipping if that was the case how did you ensure the eggs were in the right way up for incubation?? cos my situation is just like yours my female laid while shipping. Does anyone know how long eggs can be turned around or flipped before the unnecessary movement causes them to die? right nw i'm just incubating the eggs now and hoping for the best. i guess if they had died off due to the turning during shipping the eggs would have gone bad by now but it's been 1 week into incubation and they look ok? to me. i'll post pics soon. sorry i have so many questions thanks everyone!