Baby dragon eggies

[tribute2zero]

hello everyone. i've posted a few times before. i change my screen name so often and i never remember my password. oops!!!
Anyways, my mom has two water dragons, about two years old or so... and one of them started digging the floor so she made up a bin of soil. and it dug and layed 9 eggs... WOWWIE 9... lol. anyways, we put them in another container (in the same position) with heat light etc. and keeping the humitiy up.. please wish us luck on this... hopefully they are furtile...

Jodi

[bcshepard]

Hi Jodi,

I have 3 wonderfull chinese water dragons and 4 australians. I breed them and a local reptile specialty store (who takes VERY GOOD care of his animals) retails them for a lot more than petco sells them for - he deals exclusively in in-home captive bred or local resources. If you breed these try to keep them as pets they are very nice lizards I love my dragons!

Anyways.. I take it you want to hatch these eggling. If you dont have an incubator you can work around this. Here's what your going to need to do:

Go out and buy some potting soil WITH NO CHEMICAL ADDATIVES OR ANYTHING.. No pesticide.. Nothing.. Chances are the soil your using has pesticides if it does it can kill the embryo or lead to birth defects (many of which are internal). I use vermuculite which you can buy at most retail outlets that have garden centers. Here's what your going to want to do if you dont have an incubator.. Well here's what I do so you have a general idea.

Get yourself a glass tank. I suppose a plastic tupperware container will do.. A big rubbermaid one but a glass tank will work best. As big as you can. I use a 30 gallon. Set 3 or 4 brucks in this laying down flatly. Next your going to need a fish tank water heater. One good enough for 20 gallons will do just nicely. those are a few items for the home-made incubator. Make sure you get a good heater with a VERY accurate temperature sensor on it.

So that all for your incubator. Then for the eggs.. I use 5 eggs per container. here's what I do. I use a plastic see-through container with a plastic lid. One that you might buy to put cookies in or something. Not a huge one but not some little thing.. About the size of a cake-pan would do nicely. Fill it up about an inch and a half and add a little bit of water and shake it all up. You want it moist but not soggy. If there's water sticking to the container that can be absorbed or you can squeeze enough water to feel it between your fingers you got too much.. you want it JUST moist. Your going to then take a finger and make an indentation just big enough to put the egg halfway down into this mixture. Make sure you have the eggs in the right position (as the mother laid them) I use a black permanent marker and carefully mark them - very carefully.

Then poke 5 or 6 holes in the lid of the container, enough for excess moisture to get out. I like to take a piece of cloth and take it to the bottom of the container lid and replace it every day or two so it absorbs excess moisture. Your going to put the plastic containers on the bricks in the tank and fill it with water the water level is just about level with the amount of soil (vermuculite) in the container. Any more and the containers will start to float and stuff. THen you want the water heater in the tank and I set mine to 86F. This will keep the water at 86F and subsequently, your eggs once it warms up the soil. Water Dragons lay their eggs nearby river sides and water acts a natural thermal ballast. With this in mind the rivers surrounding soil beds would be somewhat moderated by the water plus outside air temperatures so your getting a good mix here. I seal the top of my tank to hold in moisture and I also put a water bubbler in there - the air bubbles keep the water circulating but anything you can do to keep a slow but steady current in the water. This prevents hot spots and cold spots.

I generally have the tank/water (heated) and all of these items ready for when the mother lays the eggs then they go right into this environment.

I've also seen people take old fridges (small one will do), cut a hole in it and stick in a 150W ceramic heating element with a temp probe keeping it at 85F and this works well. You'll want something small enough to keep the fridge a VERY even 85F and the tupperwear container I described would work just fine for the incubation in this stage as well. I prefer the water method myself but old fridges.. thick wooden boxes or similar work well. It needs to be a very strict environment.. Even temperatures throughout, no hot spots or cold spots..

[Patrick Kubeja]

Congrates on the Eggs

Jodi

Ps Good luck!!!!!

[Marie]

Keep us updated.

[tribute2zero]

yay. thank you for the info... I have forwarded it to my mom with hopes it helps her out... Thank you

Jodi

[ChamZilla]

Thanks for helping her out Brian ANd good luck to you and your mom Jodi

[bcshepard]

Here's a few ideas for homemade incubators I decided to look up today. This first design I like and for 9 eggs it would work great.

www.herpcam.com/incubator.htm

Here's a very nice step-by-step guide to the incubator design I use... Just found this one.

www.geocities.com/geckoman93/incubatorf.html

[tribute2zero]

thanks!!!!
But sadly, the eggs shriveled up today Noooo babies... My moms so sad... She loooooves her lizards...
but we will keep this in mind for next time. thank you
Jodi

[bcshepard]

Jodi,

Where about do you live? Two of my females are gravid and should drop eggs any day.. your welcome to have a few of the babies if you'd like them. The father is an australian water dragon the moms.. well 1 is a chinese (thats gravid) so I've got hybrids and the other female is a pure ausy so I got ausy/chinese water dragons and pure ausies on the way. Probably 3 months away from hatching give/take 2 weeks.

[tribute2zero]

Wow, thanks!!!i LOVE the austrialian water dragons. they are so beautiful. Do u have pics of him? and the mum's to be?
Im in Ontario Canada... where are you located?

[bcshepard]

I'm in Rochester NY.. Niagra Falls is about an hour and a half away from me and I go there from time to time.. MAybe we can work something out and get you a few babies if you'd like.

I'll post pics this week - waiting for my camera to be returned (warranty service).

[tribute2zero]

niagra falls is about 9 hours or so from me.. .a little bit far lol