Reptile Forum, Reptile Classifieds - CaptiveBred

[Dracowoman2]

Hi Soph, I think the 6 that died off early on were just infertile, I mixed the vermiculite 50/50 with water by weight which is the same ratio I have been using for the fat tails and leos, and I made sure that there was about 3" depth of it underneath the eggs so as to try and make sure there was enough moisture in there to see them through the incubation process. I incubated using a Hovabator and calibrated it at 84 to 86f and it seemed to stay stable. Is there anything else I could have done better? I'm collecting new bators next week in the form of bar fridges, which should be better insulated and more stable and will have circulating air flow.

The 7 babies we have are doing really well, I can see them growning daily, and they love their showers that they get 3 times a day, they also have a saucer of fresh water in with them daily so that they can have a bath. Even the little one with the gimpy front foot is coming on nicely, it's the one I had to perform surgery on as it hatched with it's yoke on it's back and it's umbilical cord wrapped around it's waist and it was being constricted, so I had to carefully cut its cord that was nerve racking!! But is seems healthy and alert. They are all starting to show some really nice orange colours now, their mother after and hour or so of basking is the most beautiful yellow with vivid orange markings, I think the Mercury Vapour bulb has been the making of her. Will try and start a new thread this weekend with updated pics of the babies and mum and dad, and the new famale as well. We're hoping to get another clutch at least this season from the new female if my male ever organises himself, she's been throwing her self at him and he's ignoring her and trying to mate the mother of this clutch again, and she's not up for it at the moment

Sorry to hijack the thread Storm Will get another one of my own up this weekend and you can come and hijack me
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www.draco2.co.uk

"Life without animals isn't life, they give much and take little"

Claire

[storm]

lol no probs although i WILL come and hijack yours lol all mine are doing great even the one i also had hatch with odd front foot with cord wrapped around its waist lol
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1.0.0 albino gopher
1.1.0 royal
1.1.0 BRB
0.2.0 hoggies
4.7.0 corns
0.2.0 CWD
1.2.0 beardies
0.1.0 BTS
0.0.3 sandfish
7 steudners
6 hermies
1 millipede
tropical fish

[tigerbaby2k]

Hey Draco, I used to use a large shallow ice cream tub with holes in top and side. Inside it had 2/3 full of 50:50 Vermiculit:soil damp with water mixed thoroughly. Then each egg was placed lengthways 2/3 in the mixture. I then used a Fish tank that had bricks in the bottom and water upto the level of the brick with a heater in the water. Each egg box was then placed ontop of the brick and this then kept the humidity AND the heat up PERFECTLY! I only ever lost 2 eggs tht werent fertile out of 523!!! and one lil un that never made it out. Its a cheap and VERY easy quick set up

Sounds like you know what your doing anyway so just keep the moisture up. The ones that are unfertile will collapse and turn brown within the first 2 weeks. AFter that they all should make it if kept hydrated

Post piccies!
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Sophxx

Counting down the weeks til I get my Cham! My beardie is 10 1/2 years old

1.0 Bearded Dragon
1.0 Lhasa apso
1.1 Lionheads
0.1 Syrian Hamster

[Dracowoman2]

@ Storm, feel free to hijack I'm glad I'm not the only one with an odd little beardie, although I have to say I can't pick my one out of the crowd now, it seems to have sorted itself out, it also had a really weird kink in the last 1" of it's tail and that's gone as well now. I have 3 that are starting to look just like their mummy, I might have to keep them I could do with another male to mate my other female in a year or so as my current male isn't fulfilling his duties

Thanks for the info Soph, I mostly know what I'm doing, but sometimes it never hurts to have someone else point out the obvious that can occasionally be over looked. I did add a little extra water to the incubation medium as we were going along just to be sure and I put 2 5mm holes in the lid of the tub one I stuck the probe through so I could monitor the min and max temps in the tub, and the other I left open, I also added water to the tray in the bottom of the incubator just to be sure. I think if memory serves the 6 eggs that failed completely early on failed in the first couple of weeks, so they probably were infertile (my male obviously wasn't doing his job properly again) and the last one the baby seemed to be more or less fully formed, but it's yoke seemed to be a puss colour and hard, so not sure what happened, but I think I did all I could for it, poor little thing.
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www.draco2.co.uk

"Life without animals isn't life, they give much and take little"

Claire