unprepared for eggs

[AJA]

To make a long story short, I came home to find my WC Carpet Chameleon had laid 10 eggs and she had died .

I read on page 81 of Chameleons Their Care and Breeding by Linda Davison to put the eggs in perlite.


I have put the eggs in a tupperware like container with perlite, wet enough that I can squeeze a few drops of water out of it. The current ambient temp is 78 right now in the house but normally stays in the mid 70's. The container has a lid on it , but it isn't on tight and I have a temp/humidity probe in their now to keep an eye on things. I don't believe I turned the eggs over when I moved them from the enclosure to the perlite. The book says to keep the eggs around the 74 degree mark.

Questions that I have:

Is my current set up okay?

When will I know if the eggs are viable?

How long does it take for Carpet eggs to hatch?

To maintain my 74 degree mark is it okay to leave the lid off? The book says to watch for condensation dripping on the eggs.


I will be away from a laptop all day tomorrow and won't have access until the afternoon, the timing on this is awful, and I have basically been caught with my pants down. Hopefully someone can answer my questions before 6 AM on the 21st.

Note to Sandy> I got in too late to return you call.

 

[Dean Pulcini]

Put two or three small holes in the container for cross ventilation and keep the lid on tight. 74 is good if you can maintain it. You will know soon if the eggs a fertile if they start growing hair or turning yellow they are no good.

 

[Chameleons Northwest]

Hi, Amy. Glad you were able to get some perlite, and glad Dean answered your questions as we have no experience with carpet chams or their eggs. Sorry we missed your call. Too bad the mom died. Was she a WC you got recently? Hopefully you've got a clutch of good eggs.

 

[AJA]

Yes, mom was WC and I had her about a month Since I haven't had time to do all of my homework (excuses, excuses) I am not sure if this is normal for Carpets, or if she was old; was it because she had no soil to dig to plant her eggs though they was a potted plant in with her, she looked 'flat' so don't think she was egg bound, but I am lost so what do I know?


I found my still air LIttle Giant hovabator and trying to set that up now to get a consistant temp. The room dropped to 66 last night.

Thanks for the tip Dean

 

[Dean Pulcini]

The problem with carpets is the same old story most are WC and are already gravid by the time we get them. Then the stress of being caught and shipped to the U.S. then to people who buy them can take months. The stress of all that compounded with laying eggs is what probably killed her.

 

[AJA]

In the future, I am going to spend the extra $50.00 and buy CB. It isn't fair to them.

 

[blackbetty]

I learned the hard way too with WC. Im sorry you lost her. how are the eggs doing?

 

[AJA]

As far as I know the eggs are doing fine. A friend took them because I wasn't prepared for eggs. We will be doing the incubations with the temperature fluctuations (can't remember the term now, as I just read about Lily and not focused) I will be getting them back when we drop the temp to 50 degrees and I give more updates. I hope to start a blog on these guys. Thanks for asking..

 

[jojackson]

In the future, I am going to spend the extra $50.00 and buy CB. It isn't fair to them.

Good for you AJA, best wishes