From the chameleon cage...

This post could also be labeled WHAT I WAS DOING AT 1:30 THIS MORNING. YAWN.

A little after noon yesterday, our gravid (as in filled to the brink with eggs) veiled chameleon decided it was time to lay eggs. You can kind of see her to the left of the "birthing bucket." She lumbered down from the top of the cage to scout out possible birthing places. Really, the "birthing bucket" is her only option (in terms of diggable sand); she just hasn't figured it out yet. I ended up warming the sand in the microwave and that helped her decide to get down to business.

She dug a tunnel until she was no longer visible. All afternoon and all evening, I could hear her scritching and scratching away. She was in the tunnel until about 1:20 a.m. By this point, I was panicked. She'd never taken so long. She wasn't making a sound. I was convinced she'd died. (In my defense, it was late, and you know how the imagination runs wild then.)


Here's my "birthing spoon." You can see a little clutch of eggs, just waiting for me to unearth them and place them in the incubator.

I made a cup of tea and starting carefully excavating about 1:30 a.m. My house was quiet and dark except for the kitchen where I was working. Yes, I was tired, but honestly? I was just so thrilled the little mother was okay, albeit tired, sandy and somewhat dehydrated.

Guess how many eggs? Here are two hints. From her head to the base of her tail (so not including her tail), she measures about 6 inches. Each egg is about 1/2 inch in length.