I have eggs please help!!!

[Lillya]

hi everyone, I am new to this chameleon page. I had 2 veiled chameleons , 1 male and 1 female. We've had the male for awhile now, and just got the female not long ago, with extreme sadness in my heart, Unfortunately when I was switching the day/night bulbs I saw that she had just passed away, very unexpectidly...she was very healthy, vibrant colored, eating well. I had them housed in separate terrariums. No signs at all of any illness. I have been doing everything I'm supposed to do , so I couldn't understand what had happened , then it dawned on me, something told me to check her substrate for eggs. I did, and I found a clutch of around 10 eggs or so. It is very important to me to hatch these eggs , I'd like to have a part of my female left , it would mean a lot to us. I have been reading up on different sites on incubating and hatching the eggs. There is so much different things I'm reading. I'm not familiar with vermiculite or the other stuff that starts with a p. I moved them initially , then decided to put them right back where I found them until i find out exactly what I need to do. Right now they are in ground up coconut shell . I have it moist in there, I am still putting the heat bulbs on. It's not too hot in there, they light is way up at the top. I'm stressing. I don't want to mess this up. What is the easiest way to hatch these eggs? I live in Tennessee and it stays about 69-70 degrees in my house. Please someone help , I want to make sure I can hatch these. I want to do everything in m power to. What is the easiest and surest possible way to do this?

 

[Dave85731]

Did you mate them

 

[Lillya]

Did you mate them

No I did not

 

[Lillya]

No, I didn't mate them.

 

[carol5208]

The eggs are infertile then. They will not hatch.

 

[Peachypink]

hi everyone, I am new to this chameleon page. I had 2 veiled chameleons , 1 male and 1 female. We've had the male for awhile now, and just got the female not long ago, with extreme sadness in my heart, Unfortunately when I was switching the day/night bulbs I saw that she had just passed away, very unexpectidly...she was very healthy, vibrant colored, eating well. I had them housed in separate terrariums. No signs at all of any illness. I have been doing everything I'm supposed to do , so I couldn't understand what had happened , then it dawned on me, something told me to check her substrate for eggs. I did, and I found a clutch of around 10 eggs or so. It is very important to me to hatch these eggs , I'd like to have a part of my female left , it would mean a lot to us. I have been reading up on different sites on incubating and hatching the eggs. There is so much different things I'm reading. I'm not familiar with vermiculite or the other stuff that starts with a p. I moved them initially , then decided to put them right back where I found them until i find out exactly what I need to do. Right now they are in ground up coconut shell . I have it moist in there, I am still putting the heat bulbs on. It's not too hot in there, they light is way up at the top. I'm stressing. I don't want to mess this up. What is the easiest way to hatch these eggs? I live in Tennessee and it stays about 69-70 degrees in my house. Please someone help , I want to make sure I can hatch these. I want to do everything in m power to. What is the easiest and surest possible way to do this?

Unless she was mated the eggs are infertile.

One thing I saw in your post is that you said that you were switching out the day/night bulbs. I can not stress this enough, chameleons should not have a light on at night. Temps can drop safely to 55 without the need for extra heat at night. Chams set their internal clocks by their day/night schedule and any light at night will disrupt their circadian rhythm. This schedule helps them to regulate hormones and other vital internal functions. They also need the temp drop at night to help digestion and to regulate their metabolism.

Filling out the How to Ask for Help Form will help us to get a bigger picture of your husbandry and help us to guide you better. It is a sticky thread under the Health Clinic forum. Copy and paste it here with your answers.

And please, read through the care sheet for veilds, this should be your manual to follow....
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/veiled/

 

[Dave85731]

Looks like it all got covered lol

 

[Dragon1516]

how long ago did you get the female she could have been mated before you got her its always a possibility.

 

[kinyonga]

It takes about 30 days from a mating for the eggs to be ready to lay.

To incubate them...
You need a container big enough to hold the eggs so they can have about an inch of space between each one and about three inches deep. Fill it about half full with slightly moist coarse grained vermiculite. To test the moisture level take a hand full of the moist vermiculite and squeeze it...you should not be able to squeeze out more than a drop or twomifmwater.

Make sure you dont turn the eggs as younremove them from where they were laid. I use a plastic spoon to dig them up and move them. Lay the eggs in rows in the container in dents made with your thumb. Put the lid on the container and place it in the dark in a place where the temperature is about 74F. Check on it from time to time.

If you moist a photo of the eggs we may be able to tell if they are fertile. Good luck. Sorry to hear you lost the female.

 

[Lillya]

It takes about 30 days from a mating for the eggs to be ready to lay.

To incubate them...
You need a container big enough to hold the eggs so they can have about an inch of space between each one and about three inches deep. Fill it about half full with slightly moist coarse grained vermiculite. To test the moisture level take a hand full of the moist vermiculite and squeeze it...you should not be able to squeeze out more than a drop or twomifmwater.

Make sure you dont turn the eggs as younremove them from where they were laid. I use a plastic spoon to dig them up and move them. Lay the eggs in rows in the container in dents made with your thumb. Put the lid on the container and place it in the dark in a place where the temperature is about 74F. Check on it from time to time.

If you moist a photo of the eggs we may be able to tell if they are fertile. Good luck. Sorry to hear you lost the female.

 

[Lillya]

Thanks for all the help. I intitally took the eggs out , them put them right back , they may have got turned. Is it too late , did I mess it up???

 

[Lillya]

how long ago did you get the female she could have been mated before you got her its always a possibility.

I got her about a month ago, so it's a very good possibility!

 

[kinyonga]

Maybe ...maybe not. Sometimes we can be lucky.

 

[Lillya]

Maybe ...maybe not. Sometimes we can be lucky.

I really hope so. Like I mentioned in my main thread, it's very important for me to do everything I can to hatch these! I got vermiculite , the only kind I could find was the course grade, no one seemed to carry the course grade. I hope that's ok. Any other tips will be greatly appreciated. I got a container w a lid , I'm going to put the vermiculite in it , moisten it , and carefully lay the eggs in an indention about 2-3" deep and roughly an inch apart. Do I need a hole in the container? Do I need to have the eggs covered in dirt? Or can I leave the exposed ? The will be down in the indentations that I make. And I check the container occasionally to check the eggs and moisture level? I have a spray bottle. I was told not to mist the eggs directly, and to put water around the edges of the container. Also another important thing is temperature. I live in Tennessee so the winters can be a bit cold. The thermostat keeps our house at 69- 70 degrees Fahrenheit at all times. If they need to stay warmer I can put the container in a glass aquarium w a screen lid and night heat light will that be necessary? Heat lamp would be up approximately 10 -14" above so it won't get too hot. I hope that's all ok.

 

[carol5208]

Oh, did not realize that you had just gotten her! So yes, she may have been gravid(pregnant) when you got her!

 

[Lillya]

It takes about 30 days from a mating for the eggs to be ready to lay.

To incubate them...
You need a container big enough to hold the eggs so they can have about an inch of space between each one and about three inches deep. Fill it about half full with slightly moist coarse grained vermiculite. To test the moisture level take a hand full of the moist vermiculite and squeeze it...you should not be able to squeeze out more than a drop or twomifmwater.

Make sure you dont turn the eggs as younremove them from where they were laid. I use a plastic spoon to dig them up and move them. Lay the eggs in rows in the container in dents made with your thumb. Put the lid on the container and place it in the dark in a place where the temperature is about 74F. Check on it from time to time.

If you moist a photo of the eggs we may be able to tell if they are fertile. Good luck. Sorry to hear you lost the female.

I will take a photo of the eggs once I

The eggs are infertile then. They will not hatch.

the person I got her from said she was exposed to other males so it was a very good possibly that that they were fertile. Plus I read that the female can hold onto fertile eggs for awhile

 

[carol5208]

I don't keep females because of the egg thing! As far as from what I have seen on here, it does not matter if you poke holes or not in the lid and the eggs do not have to be covered. You can, but i don't think it will hurt or harm the eggs one way or another. I am sure someone else will chime in here with their experiences.

 

[Lillya]

I don't keep females because of the egg thing! As far as from what I have seen on here, it does not matter if you poke holes or not in the lid and the eggs do not have to be covered. You can, but i don't think it will hurt or harm the eggs one way or another. I am sure someone else will chime in here with their experiences.

Carol, I probably wouldn't have gotten a female if I was aware of the risks. Ive had my male and he's been doing fine, I researched the female more I may have saw something about this , but in my readings , unfortunately I didn't see anything

 

[kinyonga]

I got vermiculite , the only kind I could find was the course grade, no one seemed to carry the course grade. I use the coarse grade because it stays more evenly moist. I hope that's ok. Any other tips will be greatly appreciated. I got a container w a lid , I'm going to put the vermiculite in it , moisten it , and carefully lay the eggs in an indention about 2-3" deep and roughly an inch apart. I meant the container only needed to be three inches deep. The dents only have to be about 1/4" deep. They're just to stop the eggs from rolling if you move the container. Do I need a hole in the container? Not usually. Do I need to have the eggs covered in dirt? No. Or can I leave the exposed ? The will be down in the indentations that I make. And I check the container occasionally to check the eggs and moisture level? Right...but don't leave the lid off long. I have a spray bottle. I was told not to mist the eggs directly, and to put water around the edges of the container. Right..no water on the eggs. Also another important thing is temperature. I live in Tennessee so the winters can be a bit cold. The thermostat keeps our house at 69- 70 degrees Fahrenheit at all times. If they need to stay warmer I can put the container in a glass aquarium w a screen lid and night heat light will that be necessary? Heat lamp would be up approximately 10 -14" above so it won't get too hot. I hope that's all ok That should work.
Good luck!

 

[Lillya]

I got vermiculite , the only kind I could find was the course grade, no one seemed to carry the course grade. I use the coarse grade because it stays more evenly moist. I hope that's ok. Any other tips will be greatly appreciated. I got a container w a lid , I'm going to put the vermiculite in it , moisten it , and carefully lay the eggs in an indention about 2-3" deep and roughly an inch apart. I meant the container only needed to be three inches deep. The dents only have to be about 1/4" deep. They're just to stop the eggs from rolling if you move the container. Do I need a hole in the container? Not usually. Do I need to have the eggs covered in dirt? No. Or can I leave the exposed ? The will be down in the indentations that I make. And I check the container occasionally to check the eggs and moisture level? Right...but don't leave the lid off long. I have a spray bottle. I was told not to mist the eggs directly, and to put water around the edges of the container. Right..no water on the eggs. Also another important thing is temperature. I live in Tennessee so the winters can be a bit cold. The thermostat keeps our house at 69- 70 degrees Fahrenheit at all times. If they need to stay warmer I can put the container in a glass aquarium w a screen lid and night heat light will that be necessary? Heat lamp would be up approximately 10 -14" above so it won't get too hot. I hope that's all ok That should work.
Good luck!

Thank you so much! I really appreciate your help. I meant to write I got the fine grade , because I couldn't find any course grade. Now if I don't poke any holes in the container and they do hatch, won't they not be able to breathe? Someone mentioned poking a few small holes in the side idk why?