Sky the mama being gravid with this clutch. She laid this clutch July 3, 08. 8 eggs, six hatched August 23 and 24, 08.

Indigo the papa.

Hatchling getting pinhead crickets.

Hardening off sphagnum moss container inside of permanent home container. They spend a week in this moist sphagnum moss so they don't desiccate, and can find the pinheads easily. As soon as they hatch in the incubation tub I gently move them into this sphagnum moss tub, as they want light and warmth, and are ready to commence eating within hours of birth. The red jar lid contains food and a carrot for the pinheads, and egg crate shelter, so they are easy to find and will survive until eaten.
The eggs were incubated in vermiculite at 80.5 degrees Fahrenheit for 51 to 52 days. I threw away the two duds about two weeks into the incubation. The good eggs plumped up with a pink tint but the duds stayed small and yellow.
The mama was provided a quart sized glad tub filled with moist sand and covered with a piece of cardboard for privacy, in her enclosure. When she laid her clutch I transferred them to the sterile moist vermiculite, being careful to do everything as sanitary as possible so as to successfully avoid mold contamination. I took great care to not shift the orientation of the eggs. I put the probe to the thermostat and the probe to the indoor outdoor thermometer in the incubation tub, with a couple of small holes for aeration, and put this affair into a big Styrofoam fish shipping box with a seed germination mat, a small rack to lift the tub off the mat, and an insulated shipping envelope for the tub to sit on, like a baffle.
August 9th Sky laid a second clutch of 10 eggs all of which look viable. I am doing the same thing with this clutch.

[ Reply To This Message ] [ Subscribe to this Thread ] [ Hide Replies ]