Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ana, my little blotchie girl, finally laid her 4 eggs tonight. All of them have dents in them, one looks almost pinched. Is this OK? Here are pics
Link

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Chameleon Help & Resource Info
1.0 Nosy Be Panther Chameleon - Cyrus
0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Luna. She's now hanging from her big jungle gym in the sky
1.0 Beardie - Darwin
1.1 Side-blotched lizards - Ana and Stan for now
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skippy
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh, Died 4/21/06
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha, donated to science 4/4/06
?.? Pinktoe Tarantula - no name yet

Hello lele .Sorry for the late thanks to your responce . Right after I wrote that we had a serouse outbreak of tent catipillars. I have never seen them out like this before its even been on the news. So I am glad you answered that for me Are the hairs on them thier defence to getting eaten. I have been messing with them the last couple of days and I cant believe they dont hold on to me better like a silkie can. anyway congrats on the eggs I hope they are allright. I have 4 vieled eggs incubating They are my first attempt breeding. I am keeping my fingers crossed.I will post a new pic of maro the superworm king.
Thanks again I am sure I will have more ?'s as summer goes on.
kevin

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chameleon76

Hi lele, they do not look good, but is your substrate damp enough? Did you see any pink (oval) on them , that side usually goes face up in the incubator container,

I would put them in my dampened vermiculite anyway and see if they fill out again.
If they stay like that then they are not fertile. Hopefully they will plump back up for ya.

Let us know if they plump up
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PHEve / Eve

Contact PHEve

Hi Eve,

She just laid them yesterday in moist sand (though she dug all the way down so they were on the glass) I moved them to damp vermiculite last night. I think the moisture is OK( I made it sort of the same as Luna's laying tub and/or the sand that Ana just laid in), so they came out that way I had a previous email from you about the pink halo and I think I can make it out on two and knew to keep them to the top. The denting seemed to happen as I removed them (used a tiny spoon and careful as possible. Working with my hundreds of wild silk moth eggs and larvae I have a pretty gentle touch )

I have them laying in "thumbprints" and using the temp-gun to check temps - they are holding at about 84-88. Gary Ferguson said 80-85 degrees. I am hoping they are fertile, but if not, I am sure there will be more in the future. If they are not, will I know soon? Will they just collapse?

thanks!!

lele
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Chameleon Help & Resource Info
1.0 Nosy Be Panther Chameleon - Cyrus
0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Luna. She's now hanging from her big jungle gym in the sky
1.0 Beardie - Darwin
1.1 Side-blotched lizards - Ana and Stan for now
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skippy
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh, Died 4/21/06
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha, donated to science 4/4/06
?.? Pinktoe Tarantula - no name yet

definitely get the temps about 84 / 85 at the highest and YES if they just continue to cave in or stay caved in and shively and dry than they are pretty much beat this time. This may be her second clutch and she just did not have enough sperm to fetilize them.

They do retain sperm, but I see with my collareds even though 3 - 4 clutches are possible a season, 1 or 2 may be but the 2nd and after you get either a few fertile eggs or none as opposed to the first clutch.

Hope they fill out, but hey you will get plenty from these two
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PHEve / Eve

Contact PHEve

I got her which was 4/15. They mated on 4/19. They were not together as a pair when I got them so who knows who she'd been messin' around with! They only live about 2 years and I think she is older than my boy - he is smaller - so we shall see.

Would it be helpful if I cover the eggs lightly rather than having them exposed? I have them in a plastic critter keeper with a towel on top to keep heat and moisture in. I am using a heating pad setup (that I made for Rosa before she died). I have a UTH and wonder if that would give off more consistent heat. I have them sitting on about 2" of verm.

Here is a pic of the setup - it's a mini critter keeper. You know, looking at them it looks like 2 may have plumped up a little

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Chameleon Help & Resource Info
1.0 Nosy Be Panther Chameleon - Cyrus
0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Luna. She's now hanging from her big jungle gym in the sky
1.0 Beardie - Darwin
1.1 Side-blotched lizards - Ana and Stan for now
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skippy
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh, Died 4/21/06
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha, donated to science 4/4/06
?.? Pinktoe Tarantula - no name yet

First of all I know very little about hatching blotchies. (I have kept a couple of similar lizards, but not blotchies.)Judging from all the other lizard eggs I've seen over the years, the eggs look "too white" to be infertile. Eggs can un-dent if the humidity problem is fixed soon enough.

Which two eggs showed the pink?

Yes, they do look white which seems to indicate that they are fertile. In the Kritter Keeper, I think too much air is allowed to get to them. A towel is too porous to hold the humidity in unless it is also damp. Dampen (not soaking and dripping) the towel to keep the moisture in and then they might pop back up. Better yet, move them into a tupperware like container with very small holes drilled in it. I don't really know anything about blotchies either. Usually if a species does not incubate long (like Leopard Geckos - 60 days), I don't make any holes in the container so the vermiculite will not dry out. I'll check the container everyday for hatchlings after about 40 days. If a species incubates a long time (like Panther Chams - 200 days) I will drill small holes in the container to insure the hatchlings have air if I don't check it everyday.

Thanks! B/t another forum and some special help from kinyonga I have done just what you suggested They are in a small tupperware container which sits on some screening on top of a UTH. This seems to be maintaining temps around 82 now (had to get it down a little).

Side-blotched (Uta stansburiana) are related to swifts, fence and spiny lizards. Apparently Gary Ferguson (Panther cham book, etc) worked with these a long time ago and replied to my emails when I first got them. He said they incubate 40-60 days. I just hope the eggs plump up, they all have the pinkish blush that Eve said to look for. Here's hoping!

lele
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Chameleon Help & Resource Info
1.0 Nosy Be Panther Chameleon - Cyrus
0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Luna. She's now hanging from her big jungle gym in the sky
1.0 Beardie - Darwin
1.1 Side-blotched lizards - Ana and Stan for now
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skippy
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh, Died 4/21/06
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha, donated to science 4/4/06
?.? Pinktoe Tarantula - no name yet

Yeah the deli cup or sandwichy container with a lid with a hole in the top the size of a nickel/ quarter approx works well.

I thought I told you that last week Anyway I also breed emerald swifts, which even though the blotchies are realted the emeralds give LIVE birth But I think the blotchies are close in size and body shape.

Hope those eggs bounce back for ya. Also glad ya got your temps down from 88, I thought that to be too high.
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PHEve / Eve

Contact PHEve

Yes, I think you did tell me, but when they came along the critter keeper seemed like a good size so I grabbed it - not considering other things ;-/

Even the one that is "pinched" has a bit of rosy glow

I'm going to email the pics to Gary, too and see what he says. Thanks for all your help (and didn't mean to overlook anyone :-O)
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Chameleon Help & Resource Info
1.0 Nosy Be Panther Chameleon - Cyrus
0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Luna. She's now hanging from her big jungle gym in the sky
1.0 Beardie - Darwin
1.1 Side-blotched lizards - Ana and Stan for now
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skippy
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh, Died 4/21/06
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha, donated to science 4/4/06
?.? Pinktoe Tarantula - no name yet

You don't have to thank me, I was not lookin for that, eheheheh LOL We all SHARE our info just beacause we love animals

I just was wondering why you decided to use the critter keeper

I have in years past experimented with a method that a buddy used ( A large plasic empty prezel JUG (BIG one)
filled atleast halfway with wet and rung out sphagnum moss about 6 inches of it, and 6 inches of empty space up to the lid . The lid is taken off daily for new/fresh air circualtion or if you see condensation on the sides.

But the whole thing acts like a wick, the water that is at the bottom is constantly wicked back up through the sphagnum keeping the eggs moist. I kept this Jug in my reptile room and it stayed in the 80's because of all the lighting. It was fun to try and I hatched a few collared eggs that way. Large scale ya need an incubator though
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PHEve / Eve

Contact PHEve

I just was wondering why you decided to use the critter keeper
(I only used the keeper b/c it was there! lol!)

I have in years past experimented with a method that a buddy used ( A large plasic empty prezel JUG (BIG one)
>>filled atleast halfway with wet and rung out sphagnum moss about 6 inches of it, and 6 inches of empty space up to the lid . The lid is taken off daily for new/fresh air circualtion or if you see condensation on the sides.

>>But the whole thing acts like a wick, the water that is at the bottom is constantly wicked back up through the sphagnum keeping the eggs moist. I kept this Jug in my reptile room and it stayed in the 80's because of all the lighting. It was fun to try and I hatched a few collared eggs that way. Large scale ya need an incubator though
cool idea! Might try it with some future clutch. I sent the pics to Gary and he said they should plump up OK and if they are to "go bad" it will happen soon.

thanks for help!
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Chameleon Help & Resource Info
1.0 Nosy Be Panther Chameleon - Cyrus
0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Luna. She's now hanging from her big jungle gym in the sky
1.0 Beardie - Darwin
1.1 Side-blotched lizards - Ana and Stan for now
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skippy
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh, Died 4/21/06
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha, donated to science 4/4/06
?.? Pinktoe Tarantula - no name yet