Incubating beardie eggs..?

[Miss B]

Yeah. We're getting an air con anyway, but I was just curious. Our herp room is in one of the warmer parts of the house, so I don't really want to take any chances - especially with stinking hot Brissie weather :|

 

[steve6610]

miss b, everything you have said and done is great, i think the temps are at max, so i can't see any troubles, the biggest thing i see is new breeders thinking breeding reptiles is like rocket science, it's not, eggs are made to hatch, now sit back and enjoy everyday and before you know you will have little dragons running around the container,

the only advice i would add is it's more important to watch for over heating then them being a little cold at times, i incubate my dragon eggs with my snake eggs, i just put them in the back corners, but you seem to have everything worked out,

 

[Miss B]

Awesome. Yeah cool, I actually called my partner earlier today and asked him to turn the temps down to about 29 degrees. Would rather err on the side of caution than risk cooking the eggs by accident.

These are my first ever reptile eggs so I must admit I'm being pretty paranoid but once the first clutch is out of the way, I am bound to relax and stop stressing so much :lol:

 

[zulu]

re Incubating

Yeh 30 to 31 is fine Miss B,i just spray water into vermiculite and perlite mix with everything,have the incubator going with the egg containers in there so there is onley very slight mist,you can always add water to surrounding substrate away from the eggs so they dont get wet at a later date,better to err on the dry side than wet.

 

[steve6610]

thats a better temp in my opinion,

:lol: no, it never really gets any better, i'm stressing over 3 gt stimmy eggs because i'm away, and i've hatched heaps of snakes and dragons, lol,

maybe the paranoid stops, but not the stressing........

 

[Miss B]

Have just had a look at the eggs and a few of them seem a bit dented. I added a little extra water to the vermiculite around the edge of each tub (didn't let the water touch the eggs directly). Only a little bit, with an eye dropper. Will they plump up again?

 

[Miss B]

And if they don't plump up, should I add more water?

 

[levis04]

beadry eggs can be incubated at 31degrees have done many times in the past without any problems but 29 is also good. the eggs look a little towards the dry side, they should swell back up with moisture added to the container.

 

[Miss B]

Ok thanks. I'll keep an eye on them and if they haven't plumped up by tomorrow I'll add some more water.

 

[levis04]

i have heard from richard walker before that in some cases of dry eggs putting a little water in the dented area directly on the egg can be benificial can help you would have to talk with him he is an expert in this area with dragons.

 

[JasonL]

yeah, they will fill up again, is there any candensation forming on the side of the egg container?? as you want some condensation, esp if your eggs are depressing

 

[Miss B]

Added some water to the vermiculite yesterday morning, and I have just checked on the eggs - they are looking better! Phew.

Just for future reference, if the eggs begin to look dented again, is it possible to accidentally add too much water? And what would happen in that case, how would I know I'd added too much?

 

[Miss B]

The vermiculite is looking a little dry at the moment. Is that normal?

 

[richardsc]

try not to roll the eggs miss b,as u can harm them doing so,they will sort them selves out,when u dig them out of there nest,u shoukld place them in the incubation container how ever they were laid,also no need for the sponges under the lid,i use the picies cricket and roach tubs for incubation containers,with lots of holes in the lid,meaning the holes in the lid already from the tubs of crickets when u buy them,all the way around the edge,try and keep araund 29 degrees that way if it gets a little warmer or cooler in there,it shouldnt be a prob,good luck with the eggs

 

[richardsc]

heres a tub with gillens monitor eggs thats incubating now,no lid to show u what i mean with holes but just the holes that are around the edge of the lid with picies cricket tubs

 

[richardsc]

miss b,as long as condensation is forming on lid and upper sides it should b ok,u dont want to much wettness,just need enough to give up to 100 percent humidity,if the eggs start to dent usually meand a bit dry,but if they swell to wet,its a fine line,lol,when i mix water and vermiculite,i add extra water then squeeze it out,never done the weighing of each,and hatch ridgeys,beardys and water dragons with no issues,so there is a bit of lee way each way,when u add water,do it away from the eggs around the edges and little amounts at a time,and wait a day to see if that helps

 

[Miss B]

Ohhhh ok. Well, the lids do not have holes - the sides of the tubs each have a tiny pinhole for gas exchange, that's all. But I can use a lid with loads of little holes? As for the sponges, I've noticed a fair bit of condensation on the inside of the lids. If I poke loads of little holes in the lids, will that fix the condensation problem? I just don't want water dripping on to the eggs.

The temperatures have been around 29.5 most of the time, with very little fluctuation.

 

[richardsc]

well its 6 of one,half a dozen of the other in regards to holes,alot of people dont have the holes,i only do cause i use the cricket tubs and holes in the lids all ready,also with holes u have to be careful it doesnt dry out to much over time,beardys usually fine,but with ridge tail monitors,they take twice as long to hatch so i usually have to add water later into incubation,i just look for a bit of condensation and how the eggs look,if they dimple there a tad dry,unless its late into incubation when the eggs usuall dimple before hatching

 

[Miss B]

Ok. Do you ever find that condensation drips into the eggs? And if so, is that a problem?

I thought I had this incubation thing licked, but every time I think of a new question it gets more complicated :lol:

 

[richardsc]

lol,its like that at first miss B,but the eggs are pretty hardy,they have to hatch in nature under varying conditions
its best if u dont get condensation dripping on them,a solution if your lid is developing to much moisture is to take it off once or twice a day and shake it off,its good for gas exchange for the eggs,more so if theres no vent holes in your container,but it may help with getting rid of a bit of moisture for u,just do it when the lid has lots of condensation foming drips if u know what i mean,but like i said it should have condensation on it anyway,perhaps u could show a pic of the eggs in there container so we can judge the condensation in there for u,and remember its quite normal to be nervous and anxious with your early clutches