Advice needed on flapneck chameleon eggs

[joneill]

Hi everyone,

I am new to this forum and only registered today. I need some expert advice please. I live on a smallholding in Crestholme, KZN and we have lots of chameleons in our garden. Unfortunately, my dalmatian killed a female flapneck chameleon yesterday and she had 24 eggs inside her. I have collected the eggs but don't know what to do with them. Is it possible to incubate them and how would I go about it? I really feel terrible and would like to try and hatch at least 1 egg. I can't bear the thought of leaving the eggs to rot outside. Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks, Jenni

[fuscusV2]

This was my fav project
In the late 80s I managed to secure 59 eggs from an expired gravid flapneck female and we laid them in pearlite (vermiculite should do too). You should be able to get the substrate from a nursery.
Put them in ice-cream containers with a nice thick layer of pearlite/vermiculite and punch decent sized holes in the lid then put them either in a controlled incubator or (as I did) in a dark cupboard in a sunny room to assist with incubation. Cover them slightly with substrate. I honestly can't recall how long it took for them to hatch, but of 59, we got 52 hatched eggs. Google should help with incubation periods...

The PE weekend post did an article on my chameleons, at the time I believe 59 eggs from a female was a record. My female died from exhaustion before laying her clutch. She died while digging the hole. Depending on how advanced the eggs were, they may survive.
Good on you for attempting to rescue them!

[TonyK]

You will have to mix the perlite or vermiculite with water and then drain the excess water off .Make sure the medium does not dry out so add a little water from time to time.

[fuscusV2]

You will have to mix the perlite or vermiculite with water and then drain the excess water off .Make sure the medium does not dry out so add a little water from time to time.

Very good point, how I forgot the moisture I don't know
They should be checked for moisture every now and then, and as mentioned in another thread, don't turn them once they are in the substrate. Hoping you have success!

[Sonjat]

Great advice from all the other people, that is the basics for incubation! After my chameleon laid her eggs i was lucky enough that my local exotic pet store said they will incubate them for me in their incubator!! Maby you can also find out from your local exotic pet store. They are not charging me anything for the 9 to 11 months it takes to hatch, payment will giving them one or two to raise and sell again!

[fuscusV2]

Some more info for you:

http://www.chameleonforums.com/how-long ... tch-25053/

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