Will my Bearded Eggs make it?

[mongrel]

So my Bearded just laid her second batch of eggs. The first one caught me unaware and they all died. I have never had them bread before, so I was surprised. Anyways...

This time round though I was ready. The incubator has been on for 3 days, vermiculite set and ready.

So I get home at 7.30 tonight after being out all day and take a look in the tank, no eggs. Hmm.. Then my wife tells me she has been scratching all day. So I decide to move some of the sand, and low and behold, I unearth an egg!!

Long story short - 12 in all. I candled them and set them the right way up in the vermiculite and now they are all in the incubator - which incidentally is a ExoTerra jobby with thermostat. The water tray is full and the surface temp of the Verm is 27c. thanks to a digital probe.

So... My question is... She laid them in the very dry sand at the other end of the enclosure, and only 1 of them was really plump. The rest were a little saggy. Not a lot - they were still firm if I put pressure on them - but not full like a balloon.

Am I too late?

 

[oOLaurenOo]

Hmmm... depends how long ago she lay them. After 4 hours they become very sensitive, and you CAN NOT rotate them, or they will not live. Not that I'm an expert.. this is my first breeding season with them too, but thats what I have been told. Saggy is not a great sign either.. But you never know your luck.

 

[loungelizard]

They should absorb a bit of water and 'pump up' a little.
Should go ok .

 

[mongrel]

I hope so!! I can only hope. I did everything I could to make sure they got a good start this time, and she had to bloody lay on a work day, and a day I had to work back!

I guess I will know in a few days.

Also - Re the vermiculite... I mixed it at 5 to 1, and it clumped when I squeeze in my hand, but it doesn't feel that wet. How close do I have to be to the "perfect" mix?

 

[mudgudgeon]

Be patient and let nature do it's thing.
They aren't as fragile as people say.

As an example, I rescued a waterdragon egg at the start of the year at work. A water dragon laid eggs in a stock pile of mulch at work, we loaded it into a truck with a bobcat, dumped the mulch in a pile, shovelled it into wheel barrows, dumped it again, spread it with rakes and shovels. I found a few broken eggs with partly formed dragons in them. A full week after we'd spread the mulch, I found an egg laying exposed in full sun, I took it home thinking it would be a miracle if it survived. Two weeks later I helped it hatch out, and its going strong and my son calls it Miri, short for miracle.

Treat them carefully absolutely, but I wouldn't stress about them.

 

[Xcell]

Can i recommed that u build a lay box to help give her a good place to lay the next clutch. You need an area were u can build up an area of damp sand fairly high to give her a chance to dig a hole to lay in. I will also make it easier to find the eggs. I wish you all the luck with the eggs and keep us posted on how they are going...... Pics would be good too

 

[mongrel]

Thanks guys.

Pics attached. Ignore the temp on the front of the unit, its slightly out. Surface temp according to the probe I have in s 27c. So should be about right.

 

[mummabear]

I use damp paper towel such as the viva stuff and lay it over the top of dehydrated eggs. It's takes about a week but eggs plump back up perfectly.

 

[Morgan_dragon]

Can i recommed that u build a lay box to help give her a good place to lay the next clutch. You need an area were u can build up an area of damp sand fairly high to give her a chance to dig a hole to lay in. I will also make it easier to find the eggs. I wish you all the luck with the eggs and keep us posted on how they are going...... Pics would be good too

Mine never use lay boxes, even the couple of times I provided them....

Just make sure she has some good, damp desert sand next time (I drop about a litre of warm water into mine when I know they are getting close) - they love digging into it and it holds up really well for them to burrow and tunnel etc. They normally lay under the heat light or not far from it. You can tell when they lay because they are just so skinny....feed her well now and make sure yoiu get heaps of calcium into her (mine quite often lay 3 clutches).

Dont stress to hard, those eggs look ok if they were candled and showed as viable, should plump up and go ok.

Goodluck!

 

[jordo]

I use damp paper towel such as the viva stuff and lay it over the top of dehydrated eggs. It's takes about a week but eggs plump back up perfectly.

I second that, a bit of damp towel on the egg every day until it puffs out again.

 

[mongrel]

Hello Lads,

So - I am not sure if my eggs are going to be OK. Should they puff up again?? They still all seem to have collapsed a little, and I am worried they are dead.

 

[Justdragons]

If you watch the blood bank dragons video on youtube they breed hundreds of beardies and they dont worry at all about keeping them the right way up. They just chuck them in the vermeclite any old way.. To be honest they are quite rough. Has anyone ever turned say 2 eggs and seen wether it makes much of a difference? I would be interested to know?

 

[leamos]

My understanding is that you have a period of time once the egg is laid before the embryo adheres to the side of the egg, and it doesn't matter if you roll them. Obviously rolling them after this time can cause the embryo to drown. But beardie eggs are alot tougher then most people believe

 

[Justdragons]

Ahh, i understand. That makes sence now, i was thinking how could a fertalized yoke drown but i wasnt sure if the initial development of the egg inside the dragon would have the embrio develop to a point it would be formed inside the egg already.

 

[jordo]

Also there's a period before hatching when it doesn't seem to matter as well, presumably because there is a nearly fully formed animal in the egg that can move around a bit if the egg does get rolled.

Mongrel, if you're doing what we said they should puff up.
The 5:1 (vermiculite:water) ratio is also a bit drier than what most people would incubate them at so don't be afraid to add a little more water (keeping the original, dry weight of the vermiculate in mind so you don't make it too wet)

 

[Umbral]

They should be fine, a rabbit dug up a clutch at work and I took them home (God knows how long they had been exposed for. All were saggy and every single 1 hatched, I had no idea which was was 'up' as they were all out of the ground. I just sat them on a heat cord, a long time later EVERY single one hatched! I had a lady who rehabilitates native wild life watch me take the eggs and then release them so she knows I didn’t keep any. Have pick of eggs and release too.
May not have technically been the right thing to do but it’s against my nature to not help where I can.

Back on topic... They are a lot hardier than people give them credit for.

 

[mongrel]

Hello Lads,

I think they are all cactus!

I followed the recipe of 5:1 - actually made it a bit wetter. But found a site that reckons it should have been 5 water to 1 verm - so I am confused.

Anyways... I think they are all gone. They are all shrivelled and hard. ****IT!


Read this.
How to Hatch Bearded Dragon Eggs | eHow.com

 

[leamos]

I use a 1:1 mix based on weight

 

[mongrel]

Fark!! Oh well. Live and learn I guess.

Next time - I will be ready "again" <sigh>

 

[Umbral]

I'm not sure how shriveled you mean, they could still be ok. Post a pic?