Pygmy Eggs

[LittleReptieye]

Hello, I'm new to the forum
I have a pair of Pygmy Chameleons I got for my mother for Mother's day, Are Male Rango we have had since then, but are female Jade we had to wait on because she was gravid and was going to lay soon and we didn't want to stress her out.
She had her eggs and we have had her since August.

In September she had 4 more eggs that we have been incubating since then. They are now up to day 88ish is that normal? I have them placed in a deli cup with some super hatch, and I'm not sure how to tell if her eggs are fertile or not. I tried candling them and I see a little black circle, but I'm just not sure yet if that's them or not.

We keep the eggs in the same room and its usually between 66-74, I know they take longer to hatch at colder temps, but was getting a little concerned.

This month she laid another 4 and I just wanted to make sure I do things right this time in case we did something wrong. Thanks for reading

Moma Jade:

Daddy Rango: ( Maybe?)

Eggs Taken on Nov. 21st Ill get a more Recent pic when I go to my mothers house:

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

Yep that sounds about right! And they may still have a ways to go too. Here's my thread on my Pygmy eggs that hatched: https://www.chameleonforums.com/baby-brevs-finally-hatched-57475. I think they can take up to 140 days or so. I found candling useless. I candled them literally the day before they hatched and the eggs looked empty except for one tiny blood vessel. So don't put too much weight on it. Congrats on eggs, hope they hatch for you! You won't believe how tiny the babies are!

 

[LittleReptieye]

I just wanted to update, we had 3 little hatchlings looking at me yesterday(01-13-12) when I went to go check on the eggs! I was so happy, I was beginning to think a) They where not fertile or b) They dried out. They are the first eggs I have ever tried to hatch and incubate from any reptile and was successful
We did not keep them however because we are still a little inexperienced and did not want anything happening to the baby's so we gave them to the place we bought there parents from and they are going to raise them up for us.

Ther Babies:

The ligher one I think just hatched before I check on them, he was realy tired, but as soon as he had a little rest he was running around with the others He had me worried.

This one was a exact clone of her/his mother

This one was my fav, shhh! His eyes are just so cute and big!

I love this ones color!

The next clutch we are going to keep and raise up, but we want to do more research before attempting to raise them.
I have a few Questions for babies:

1.) Would this be good to keep babies in, a big critter keeper or small exo-terra nano lined with paper towel and plastic plants?

2.) Can you keep babies together? or would they hurt each other? I don't mind separating them at all I want whats best .

3.) The main reason my mom didn't want to keep the babies was because she doesn't want to bring fruit fly's in the house, is there anything else small enough for them to eat? We already get small crickets for the parents.

4.) Is there any other special care babies need compared to keeping adults? Are Adults are happy in a planted 12x12x18 exo terra feed small crickets and phoenix worms.

 

[okiroo]

they are sooooo beautiful!!!!! congratz !

 

[Skyebound]

Wow, so tiny. Congrats and good luck!

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

The next clutch we are going to keep and raise up, but we want to do more research before attempting to raise them.
I have a few Questions for babies:

1.) Would this be good to keep babies in, a big critter keeper or small exo-terra nano lined with paper towel and plastic plants?

2.) Can you keep babies together? or would they hurt each other? I don't mind separating them at all I want whats best .

3.) The main reason my mom didn't want to keep the babies was because she doesn't want to bring fruit fly's in the house, is there anything else small enough for them to eat? We already get small crickets for the parents.

4.) Is there any other special care babies need compared to keeping adults? Are Adults are happy in a planted 12x12x18 exo terra feed small crickets and phoenix worms.

Adorable little ones!!
1. I kept my babies in a large critter keeper with lots of tiny sticks and fake plants and nothing on the bottom (so tiny bugs can't hide in it). You have to put some kind of small mesh over the top or else fruit flies will leak out everywhere. So I had a layer of sheer fabric between the critter keeper and the lid and never had escapees that way.

2. I kept all my babies together and never had a problem. I separated the clutches by age so the older ones didn't steal all the food before the smaller, younger ones got a chance to eat but still kept them in groups with their siblings.

3. You can use pinhead crickets, but they are a pain to get at that size and maintain. Fruit flies are much easier. After a little while I got to where I rarely had any escape. There are wingless fruit flies so even if they do get out they crawl around and can't fly. They can't colonize or anything because they can't fly to food so as long as the area around the pyg cages is clean they die off pretty quickly. Get the wingless ones! You can put the jar of them in the fridge for a minute or two and they get cold enough that they can't move around, which is when you can dump them in without worrying about them trying to escape. Then they start running around when they warm back up so the babies can hunt them.

4. The babies need it a little cooler than adults like it. They needs lots of places to hide to feel safe and need to be misted and fed several times a day. Mine had no problem eating while I was watching and you wouldn't believe how tiny those little tongues are!! I could watch them for hours! Let me know if you have more questions!

 

[BocaJan]

I always feed my babies pins that I hatch out myself. It is so easy. I take some coconut fiber (buy at Lowes or Home Depot). I have used supposedly sterile dirt but sometimes you get some gnats that hatch out also. I'll address that in a minute. Make your fiber very damp and loose, don't pack it down, and put it in a container like a cool whip container filled to about an inch and a half from the top. I took a small nail and put holes all over the top of the container. Put your container without the top on in your cricket bin (3/4" or adult crickets) and leave it there over night. I always prop some egg crates around and over the container so the crickets get the idea to go inside it and lay their eggs. They like the dampness to lay eggs.

Shoo them off the top, put the cover on and put them some place very warm. I keep them in the garage or a closet with a clamp light shining on them. They like to be kept about 90 degrees. Check them in about a week and make sure the top of the soil is still pretty damp. You don't want any standing water. If dry, spritz with your sprayer and recover. After about 2 weeks you will open the top and a bunch (hundreds) of pins will come pouring out. This will happen for about a week.

I made up several of these cool whip tubs about a week apart so I would have pins for my babies. Since I keep a lot of chameleons it was no problem to do so. I buy a box of crickets every week so it worked out just fine.

If you have to use flies, get the melanogascars rather then the hydei. They are smaller and slower. The babies find it easier to eat them.

 

[LittleReptieye]

Wow Thank you guys for the help, I'm gonna look up the wingless fruit flys. That seems like a good idea for us. We are gonna go buy some critter keepers and prepare some shelving for the next babies. Thank again

 

[LittleReptieye]

http://www.ghann.com/store/store_product_detail.cfm?Product_ID=1&Category_ID=1

Would these be a good size for babies? it says there the size of a ant.

 

[BocaJan]

I don't know where you live, but if you have a reptile store in your area it would be best to buy these little guys fresh rather then have them shipped. Yes, get the smallest ones and then grow your own starting NOW. It is really easy. Where do you live? (state)

 

[LittleReptieye]

We live in New Hampshire, We got are first Pygmy's from a place called Dave's Dragons, and that's where are little baby's are being kept too But I showed all this info to my mom and she doesn't mind the fruit fly's as long as they can't fly and get into the kitchen. So we will be keeping the next clutch

 

[EvilLost]

@LittleReptieye: they can also be fed pinhead crickets, but I think FF's are better.

If you do plan on feeding them at home and are worried about the FFs' getting out, there are two tricks you can use:

1) Buy "No-See-Um" mesh (thats what its actually called). It is small enough that FF's cannot get through it. I have HEARD of ppl buying it at HD, but personally I have only found it online (super cheap, I bought 10 YARDS of the stuff for like $15 shipped).

You can wrap the critter keeper exits/etc with the mesh to prevent escapees. Alternatively, you can use a small hot glue gun to just glue appropriate sized pieces as well.

2) Place a small container with APPLE JUICE or any other sweet item. A BANANA also works well. Any FF's that do escape the container will most likely go straight for the banana/juice and stay in that area.


Sell me those babies!!

 

[gtiguy07]

If you get more pygmies let me know looking for a male and a female or two but nobody has any!

 

[Shawntea]

I also am looking for pygmies. I have 3 grown females 1 baby and more eggs, but I want a male outside of the mamas' lines

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

Nothing is coming in from Tanzania still so there aren't any new pygmies to be had. I hope you can find a new male and get some babies going!!

 

[gtiguy07]

Voodoo said they are getting a shipment next week? ? Anyone want to sell me some?

 

[Beachbabies]

try using a catipiller castle cube, i use those to contain fruitflies, then put them in plastic tubs to help hold in humidity.
they are so cute! i've been looking for a few c/b pygmy babies, keep us posted!

 

[Beachbabies]

for small feeders, try red runners, in the catipiller castle of course, they come in all the same sizes that crix come in.

 

[Thezillaman21]

"No-See-Um"

these\ are\ small\ nat\ like\ bugs\ that\ suck\ blood\ they\ get\ thier\ name\ because\ they\ are\ so\ small\ the\ screen\ will\ defently\ keep\ in\ fruit\ flies

also\ thoses\ babies\ are\ CUTE!!

 

[Thezillaman21]

Nothing is coming in from Tanzania still so there aren't any new pygmies to be had. I hope you can find a new male and get some babies going!!

i\ was\ told\ Tanzania\ trade\ bands\ were\ finally\ lifted\ good\ news\ for\ chameleon\ lovers\ but\ more\ will\ be\ avaible\ for\ those\ who\ will\ make\ mistakes\ by\ buying\ without\ knowledge\ at\ pet\ stores.