Hey all!

First off, thanks for the welcome. Second, there is tons of good advice on this forum! So in a couple months, (gotta prep the herps), I'm going to breed two of my Bearded Dragons and one of my friends beardeds. I've been trying to find a good incubator that I don't need to sell my first born to get, but that will still be very reliable. This is my first breeding venture so I'm hoping that it will all turn out great. Any favorites out there for an incubator? Anything in particular I should look for? I'm planning on using vermiculite for the substrate to incubate. Will that be good, or is there something better? I anticipate two decent size bearded clutches. Both the girls are 19" and chunky little things. They are both mature, ones 2, the other is 4. Speaking of which, what is an average clutch size for these guys? How long after mating should the female lay her eggs? And just what do I need for her nest box? I keep reading "put in a nest box and then carefully excavate the eggs". Not very informative. So what size should it be, and what substrate should I use for it? Thanks guys, I appreciate the help.

I use a Hovabator (fanless). They usually run around 40.00 and can be found on line at many different supply sites. I also have one I bought at the local feed store that is usually used for chicken eggs and it does the exact same thing.

Here is a section from our caresheet regarding breeding the bearded dragons

Egg-laying generally occurs between three to five weeks after a successful breeding. Signs of a gravid female include restlessness, continuous digging, rapid weight gain and lack of interest in food, or an increased appetite quickly followed by a decreased appetite. A gravid female will dig what she believes to be a thirty feet deep burrow before she will lay her eggs, and needs to be provided with a suitable egg-laying area. A box filled 8-12 inches deep with moist, but not wet, soil and vermiculite, or an equally as suitable medium, should be placed in the enclosure. Alternatively the female can be taken out and placed in a separate enclosure away from the male, where you may design an egg-laying site. Allowing the female to be on her own while gravid will decrease the stress that she encounters. Click here to read the rest of the breeding information.

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MARSHA
A man without a woman is a bachelor, A woman without a man is a genius!.

We have enough youth, how about a fountain of smart!

Firstly, before you undertake a project such as breeding make sure you fully research this and are aware of exactly what you will need; look at the care sheet on here for further information.

A cooling period over winter is recommended by some breeders, as there is the opinion that this makes the sperm more viable. Make sure you add extra calcium to the females' diets as they will use a lot of their calcium reserves developing the eggs. First time breeders may not produce as large or as fertile clutches, but don't be disappointed if this is the case, as it is quite normal and better clutches are produced later. An average clutch size for a good sized female is 15-30 eggs. Fertile eggs will be quite solid and nicely formed with a white/pink appearance. Slugs or infertile eggs will appear yellow and will be smaller and softer, however, we prefer to put all eggs in the incubator and take out the infertile ones at a later stage just to make sure; the infertile eggs may go moldy and smell slightly, but will do no harm to the good eggs.

You need to make sure you allow the females some quiet time pre-laying; they will lose their appetite and will begin to dig in various areas of the tank - this is because in the wild they will dig a hole in the ground in which to lay their eggs which is extremely deep so that predators cannot get to the eggs, however she will hopefully choose to dig her last section in the nest box you provide and lay her eggs in there; a nest box should be a box or container of some sort filled with a medium such as moist sand or soil. Let her finish laying the eggs and start to dig back over them before you remove her and then the eggs; leave her alone for a few days to rest as she will be very tired, and make sure you feed her plenty with lots of calcium supplement.

Regarding incubators; we use our own home-made. Get a polystyrene box and put some wooden ledges in there slightly above the floor area. We use a heat pad on the floor attached to a thermostat, placed on the wooden ledges, for heat, and then put smaller plastic boxes in there. These should have air holes and be filled with a medium such as moist vermiculite or perlite. Check on the eggs every few days to allow an air flow and mist the vermiculite if it becomes too dry; the eggs will begin to collapse early if the humidity isn't high enough, so simply increase the humidity and they should fill back out again.

When the eggs are ready to hatch - usually after about 8 weeks - they will begin to collapse and you may worry that they are failing. Don't - this is normal and after a few hours or even a day or two you should have a hatchling Bearded Dragon! Once one has hatched the others should follow on fairly close together.

Good luck and if you need any more advice, or want to share how you're getting on you know where to come!

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"If you know everything you may as well blow your brains out because the reason for existence is to learn more everyday." - Mark O'Shea, 2004

Thanks for the info, that gets me started. I'll let you know how they're coming.

Link the the hovabator that Marsha refers too... This is the hovabator we use as well and have been very happy with it, and at a great price you can beat it.

http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog/...tor-incubator/

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Jayr & Mandy Robinson
J&M Herp Shack
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