Is there a way to check if my chameleon egg is alive??

Yes, shine a bright light through it or even set it gently on your phone’s light. You will see veins along the inside of the shell if it’s developing. If it’s very close to hatching it may just appear dark throughout as the baby takes up most of the space. If it just kind of glows a faint yellow then there’s nothing in it. I shined lights through a great many eggs that hatched just fine. Just do it gently and don’t turn the egg.

I have seen this selling of eggs fad and I am very skeptical. Even if it hatches a neonate chameleon is fragile and not the easiest to care for. I feel like it sets people up for a very hard intro to chams and most people struggle with their first chameleon even when getting a healthy one. Read up a lot and make sure you can get fruit flies easily when/if it hatches. Good luck!
How do the veins looks like? I see little lines but I don’t know if they are veins
 
Pictures would help- never hatched Panther eggs but many members have and could help. But they have to see what you are seeing. (y)

FYI-- If you take pictures every day you will have, digital documentation that can be used later.
 
Maybe it's just me but I can't see how being able to buy fertilised eggs can be a good thing, regardless of the species. Seems like a way a breeder can make a quick ££ at the cost of welfare 👎
 
Maybe it's just me but I can't see how being able to buy fertilised eggs can be a good thing, regardless of the species. Seems like a way a breeder can make a quick ££ at the cost of welfare 👎
Like it or not it may be a market that's here to stay. One pro is the future keeper has time to research husbandry and how to raise a hatchling before it's born, but there's no guarantee that will happen just like with people impulse buying already hatched chams. I like the chameleon academy's approach of leaning into the trend with the educational stuff they're putting out on raising hatchlings.
 
Like it or not it may be a market that's here to stay. One pro is the future keeper has time to research husbandry and how to raise a hatchling before it's born, but there's no guarantee that will happen just like with people impulse buying already hatched chams. I like the chameleon academy's approach of leaning into the trend with the educational stuff they're putting out on raising hatchlings.

I don't like it. It just seems to me to be yet another way that these animals are exploited. Whatever happened to doing research on a particular animal and then tracking down a reputable breeder? Or being a reputable breeder and selling healthy/weaned/well adjusted babies? A trend that could be done without 😐
 
I don't like it. It just seems to me to be yet another way that these animals are exploited. Whatever happened to doing research on a particular animal and then tracking down a reputable breeder? Or being a reputable breeder and selling healthy/weaned/well adjusted babies? A trend that could be done without 😐
Exactly, no one is saying buying eggs is a good idea. Buying a 3 month old from a breeder is still best. But people will buy eggs regardless because people are selling them, and we wouldn't have the best interest of the animals in mind if we didn't try to help educate the people that do buy eggs.
 
Just my experience from the Reptile show --a few weeks ago.

So- at the Reptile Show last month (Pomona) took this picture and wanted to see what the deal was ( I was already aware of forum members here already having issues and questions).

I listened to a few people looking for a pet chameleon and looked at the adults they had on display. It was very interesting how the sale would go down.

1. Before even getting in the show everyone was handed a card "Panter Chameleon for 100 dollars" (with a few other directions) WOW! what a deal, since most were 3 hundred and up.
2. They also shared 1000 crickets any size for 25 bucks. WOW! again (y)
3. Getting to the vender- there were beautiful adults, and this table pictured below. Interesting :unsure:
4. Then, I listened to the sale and the potential customers. Here is when I noticed the "hook".

If you purchase the egg, you can use the purchase price towards getting a baby if the egg does not make it. Cha Ching! The price now becomes an investment, if the customer does not lose interest over the next few months plus. There is a guarantee---- the egg can possibly be replaced if something goes wrong and there is good communication with the business and the customer. (or 100 off baby panther is what I took from it) I like the guarantee but everything else is 100% customers abilities to wait and their experience. As many know--babies are great but can be complicated at the same time some of those little critters, just don't want to eat what we give them.

So- if the eggs were about 30 bucks, I would get 4 and enjoy the process, but not for me at this moment.

I am always up for a challenge so------ if anyone has an extra 3 toes sloth-- let me have it and I will giver a go. (y) :LOL:


Enjoy your passion like there is no tomorrow. Peace!
egg to adult still sounds so cool but maybe not with chameleons or until some experience has been gained with older ones. JMHO

Just me: If I started with an egg and waited 3 to 6 months- only for it never to hatch. This might be the last time I payed big bucks for an idea and a dream and possibly a chameleon. That being said I enjoy the challenge now and really-really-really like to read others experiences and tricks of the trade.

Negative side: This story from the OP is not the first time here and it is becoming more common too.
 

Attachments

  • PXL_20220122_194649042.jpg
    PXL_20220122_194649042.jpg
    196 KB · Views: 96
Last edited:
@Vanenmar I do agree with you about the selling of eggs. I wonder about who it will be that is buying them…is it the same demographic that buys the veileds at chain pet stores? Will we soon enough be seeing the egg buyers here with sick and dying baby chameleons? Some people may not want to invest hundreds in the proper care of an animal that cost them so little. On the flip side though, I’m sure I’m not alone in wanting the experience of hatching a chameleon but not wanting to breed and deal with trying to find good homes for the babies. I would think while there is little monetary investment, there is emotional investment in waiting and watching for hatching. Since it is now a ‘thing’, all we can do is put aside our personal feelings and be welcoming to those who’ve bought the eggs and guide them to good care and husbandry.
 
How do the veins looks like? I see little lines but I don’t know if they are veins
When you hold a bright light to the egg where all the light goes into the egg (so a large flashlight wouldn't work, has to be small) you can see red lines snaking along the inside of the shell, which are the blood vessels. So in this picture of a box turtle egg (I'd have to dig for my chameleon egg pictures but they're the same concept just smaller) the top right part of the egg is solid yellow, which is what a not developing egg would look like throughout. Just glowing yellow is empty. But this egg is developing so the pink arrow is showing some of the blood vessels. The green arrow is the baby turtle embryo that's developing. And the red arrow is the eye spot that's developing that's darker than the rest of the embryo. You usually don't see the embryo with this detail, but you might see a darker pink area wiggling deep in the egg as the embryo gets larger when you candle them. They will react to light and wiggle. You don't want to candle them very long, just a few seconds, because the light is very bright to them.

IMG_0152.jpg
 
Last edited:
@OP Your egg looked healthy from the pic posted. If it hasn’t molded over, desiccated, and discolored yellow, leave it alone. As long as the egg shell looks healthy and white, it is more than likely still good. All my panther eggs will look just like yours, until it’s closer to hatching in which they’ll sweat, cave in a tad, and even sometimes develop “windows”. Follow the instructions, try not to mess with it so much, and in time, you should have yourself a little baby!
 
No worries. When I was looking for an answer, I realized an interesting project would be to do a time lapse hooking up a camera flash to the candler with fiber optics or something in the substrate and letting it rip. Would be able to watch an egg's development in an interesting way.
 
No worries. When I was looking for an answer, I realized an interesting project would be to do a time lapse hooking up a camera flash to the candler with fiber optics or something in the substrate and letting it rip. Would be able to watch an egg's development in an interesting way.
I would worry about having a flash going off on the egg on a regular basis. It might not be good for the embryo.

Constant light during incubation can decrease the hatch rate...I'm not sure what a flash going off on a regular basis would do. This thread talks about incubating in light...
https://www.chameleonforums.com/thr...-eggs-need-to-be-incubated-in-the-dark.59960/
 
Last edited:
Back
Top Bottom