Guess what I did this morning???

See if you can guess what I did this morning? Here are some clues.

This is our adorable veiled female chameleon. I just love this dopey look she gets. In reality, she's the opposite of dopey. She's a very smart quick-learner. Brilliant, actually, on a reptile scale!

Here's a close-up. Note the telltale bulge by her hind leg.


No doubt you've figured it out by now. Our female veiled laid another clutch last night! That telltale bulge was the outline of an egg or few.

My chameleon midwifery tools consist of Exhibit A: the 5-gallon "birthing bucket" filled with damp sand and, at the time of this photo, eggs; Exhibit B: plastic gloves, which I'm pretty much addicted to for all sorts of chores; Exhibit C: a long-handled spoon for carefully excavating sand from the "birthing bucket" and a big bowl for said sand; Exhibit D: a chameleon crib (a plastic deli dish with damp vermiculite); Exhibit E: my coffee


I uncovered a cluster of eggs. You can get a sense of size from the penny I placed next to them. No, she didn't lay the penny! Ha!


Here she is, post partum. I sprayed the cage, giving her lots of water to drink and I shook in a bunch of juicy, calcium-coated crickets. I'm thinking of ordering a hissing cockroach as a treat for all her hardwork. Yes, she does look a little dehydrated. But wouldn't we all after a night of digging in a bucket of sand? She'll be fine in no time flat.

Oh, you're wondering how many eggs she laid? FORTY-FOUR!