New babies?

[Rem]

Hey, newb here.

My Jackson's Chameleon just had babies this morning. I have ten right now that seem relatively healthy, but I acquired the mother through a third party and have no previous experience with chameleons or neonates. My problem is this:

It's almost Sunday, and there are no places open to buy a decent container to put these guys in, so they're basically in a closed plastic carrying case. I'm taking the top off and airing them out every half hour or so, but I'm worried about them suffocating. Any ideas on a safer living situation for them until I can get to the pet store on Monday?

Also, I've read that they are supposed to eat fly cultures; I have been unable to get ahold of any and wouldn't be able to until next week anyway. Is there anything else they can eat?


Please, if you have any suggestions or tips, let me know.
Thank you in advance!

ETA: It looks like some of you have done it a few times, how many of your babies usually end up surviving?

 

[ChrisnLisa]

I keep my babies in large plastic tubs with no lid on. Just make sure any branches or plants are not too close to the top edge so that they can not crawl out. As far as food in concerned you can also feed them pinhead crickets, newly hatched silkworms, and depending on how large the babies are, 1 week old crickets. Quite a few places sell fruitflies, you might be surprised how easy they are to find. I know Petco/Petsmart usually have them if you are in a pinch. Hope this helps you some.

Edit: Just saw you are in Hawaii, not sure what you have down there. I would call any and all local pet stores.

 

[ciafardo 4]

They can also eat 7 day crix.

 

[Smokey]

Congrats on the babies. Have any containers that u might be able to cut a hole in the top for air. Maybe something u were gonna use for bugs. Big tuppaware. Might be aBle to get some small pinheads. If Im wrong someone will give better advise soon

 

[Rem]

Yeah, I have the top off right now, but these guys seem to be pretty good climbers-yours haven't made any great escapes? My other issue is I have cats, but I think I can manage them, for the most part.
Good to know about the fruitflies, we have have a Petsmart in town; I'm sure they'll have them there, thank you.

 

[ChrisnLisa]

No problem. No, we have never had any escapees. But like I said, make sure they are not able to grab onto the rim and climb out. If the container is smooth plastic you should have no problem. As far as the cat...could you put the babies in a room that you could block off from the cats? Cats are sneaky little devils, I would not trust them out with them either.

 

[Rem]

Good to hear. It is smooth plastic; it's like one of those hermit crab carrier/homes-I'm just nervous they aren't gonna get air; maybe I've just read too much.
I can try, yeah. I think I'll be around to keep an eye on them pretty much 24/7, but the whole condo is pretty open.
Also, how do I know if they're warm/cool enough?

 

[xanthoman]

i have a clutch of 14 xanths born 06-29-09 and they are all doing excellent, if i remember correctly, there are some pics of my setup in my public album, i think a standard 10 gal aquarium makes a good nursery for the first 6 weeks, you can use true pinheads, or true one week, crickets, or ff larvae , or really small silkies, but its unlikely you can get any of that stuff any sooner than you can get ffs any way, when you get ffs, i would get the hydei and just skip the melongaster altogether, they do take longer though and you will need at least 2 or 3 cultures,they can go through a lot of food, they can polish off most of 250 pinheads in a day, in less than two weeks you can move up to house fies, or blue bottles by 4 wks. i have a terry cloth liner cut to fit and it is usually changed every three days , two small plants that barely reach the top of the tank, mist about 5 times a day, lightly so as to avoid inhaling of any water or you can use a stream and just gt the parts of the plants wee they are not , bamboo skewers from the corners up to the pots its all setup so they cant reach the top of the tank, so i leave it open during the day , temps above 78* are not recommended, i keep the light about 20"+ away to start. you need a fairly high concentration of feeders, i gave a one time ultra sparingly dusted pinheads with reptivite ,and then on to a super sparing regimen of d3 once weekly (or not, if they get any natural sun) and just plain repcal every other feeding i keep the substrate covered with paper towels (edges tucked between the pot and the dirt) they are really bad about eating debris, they can easily handle temps down to 65*f, also i would give them some form of filtered water, not just plain tap water (at least like brita water or something)also you can rub the inside perimeter of the tank with olive oil and it stops 99% of the hydei from escaping

 

[dragongoddess]

For baby enclosures, I use shoebox sized plastic containers you can get from Walmart. Make sure it is smooth plastic and leave the tops off. I divide them up into small groups to make sure everyone is getting enough food and they are not stressing each other out. Sometimes the babies have big differences in size and you will want to divide them by like sizes, as they can bully even at this size. I do not use substrate for baby enclosures, just cover the bottom with paper towels. Pick up feces at least daily or more often, they will accidentally eat the feces if food walks across it. Remember to keep them hydrated.
Hope this helps. I have sternfeldi not xanths but they are also live born.