Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello friends!

Can you tell me if she is expecting?

Tra

She looks like Marilyn did before laying her eggs. Can you feel eggs when gently pressing her belly? Has she had a fecal done? I assume this is the new one. I've read they can become bloated if the parasite load is high but my dragon was gravid when she looked like that.
I'll get this all in here. Welcome to you. I'm new to this forum also. I had quite a time getting photos to upload. Mine came from photobucket. Will have to check out the gallery.

Hello and welcome to you too! We have had Olympia for about 6 months, and she is captive bred. She eats a lot, so I thought she was just chubby. I did have a fecal, and she was fine. She is a wonderful creature. How many do you have? Are you breeding? I have three. One boy, Olympia, and one unknown.

tra

I have 7. Adult male and female wild caught (Marilyn and Monroe) Two females I hatched out last year (Red and Junior), a new female (I think. Genie), and a male and female pair of armatas (Mickey and Mallory). I also have 13 eggs Marilyn laid in January and only 3 left from the clutch she laid earlier this month. Originally 7 but 4 have turned. I don't think they are fertile. She had to have the last 5 surgically removed (from the Jan. clutch) because one egg was to big to pass. I do adore these creatures.

How did you handle the eggs? I heard a styrofoam cooler is best. Did you put substrate on the bottom of the cooler? And do you mist the eggs or anything?

ta

PS: I love em too! Such sweet little creatures. Any guess on the gender question I posted?

I'm not sure what I can or can't post as to other websites. Marcia will tell you the best way.
I used a hovabator (incubator) but didn't plug it in. I put the eggs in deli cups with a bit of damp perlite in the bottom and set the cover on loosly. Kept them at 70 degrees and 55 to 60% humidity. It took just under 6 months for them to hatch. I did mist occasionally.

Thanks. Marcia has a section on her site I will print just incase. I like to hear other ideas too. Marcia has been a great help to me... Marcia, if you are reading this, thanks a bunch.

tra

I followed her direction and got a great hatch the first try. They do seem to be fragile when young (as most of us are). I had one die that seemed to be healthy. Also had 3 that wouldn't eat but I've learned alot and have high hopes for this next batch.

Welcome, good to see you have both met and handled the questions so well! ; )

I think that she looks possibly gravid too. I would be prepared just in case. Nothing worse than having a cluch of eggs and nothing to set them up!

I do use just a styrofoam box. My last 2 clutches hatched at about 158 days. My reptile room is about 170 with some fluctuations and humidity in the box is 50-60%. I had 100% hatch on both clutchs. If you don't have the styrofoam box I have heard that a plastic shoebox will work just as well. Just find a quiet spot in a closet or under a bed where the temperature is in the right range and where it won't be disturbed.

Once word of caution with the foam box is that if you leave your lids on the deli cups loosely like I do and the eggs hatch in the foam box the babies will climb the sides. I had one clutch of 15 that hatched unknown to me, at about 140 days. When I went to check on the eggs, or so I though, I lifted the lid and babies went running in all directions! I had to yell for my hubby to come help me catch them all. There were only 14 as one had fallen into the cup of water I keep in the incubatior and drowned. So now I check more frequently and when I see an egg sweating I move the clutch to a tank so that they can hatch out in their home. No more accidents!

The clutch of 13 capra are 2 months old and just this week I lost the 2 runts, I never expected them to live to be 1-month as they were always so thin and tiny. Still you hate to have them live 2 months and then not make it. I still feel that a clutch of 11 is a good size bunch. There is still one small one but he is eating well so I am hopeful.

I see you figured out the photos. They are different on just about every board on the net!

Well, I have made up for not getting to the forum sooner, got long winded! Hope you don't mind. ; )

Keep us posted on Olympia.
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Marcia - FroggieB Dragons
www.froggieb.com/MHDHome.html

Thanks Marcia!

Can you check the images om my other post to see if Phoebe Sue is actually a girl? I have a chance of bringing home a male gono (Petey's replacement), but won't if Phoebe is male. I heard it is not good to house males together. Is that true?

Thanks for the e-mail. I am printing it and taking it home to read. I am so excited that Olympia might have babies. My little boy would be so thrilled, and what a learning experience! You are a treasure, and I hope that everyone on this forum appreciates you the way I do. This is all new to me, and I constantly worry about the litte bugger. They sure have grown on me! How is your new clutch coming along?

Tra

I'm not sure how a male Gono would do with a male capra. Capra males depend on the individual as to weather or not they will get along. Right now I have a group of males who are housed together and they are doing fine. They are clutch mates and were raised together though. I have a male who has never been territorial either and is fine in any group but have had other males who will fight any male they see, even will attempt it through glass. So, when housing males together watch them closely and don't leave them alone until you are sure they will be ok together.

The new clutch is doing great so far. They have taken well to silkworms and phoenix worms. I will have some mini mealworms in a day or two and I am sure they will love them. They are leaving tiny little poops already so I feel really comfortable with their vitality. They are much more active than the capra babies at the same age. They are alway in different spots. I can look and find them moved in just 5 minutes time while I am in the room feeding insects and the other animals.

One little one opens his mouth to scare away the rain when I start misting. Then when he realizes what is going on he calms down and drinks. Tooo funny! They make me laugh. Also, they do have black mouth and tongue as do the adults. That is pretty cool. They also have the same marking variations as the adults. I think I could tell all 5 apart if I would take pictures and label them. Each one is different! So cool. One was pretty thin compared to the others but I put in the phoenix worms and silks this morning before I left for work and this evening I can't tell which one was skinny. They are all nicely filled out. One, however, is a real tubby! I will post pics when I get a chance to take some new ones.
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Marcia - FroggieB Dragons
www.froggieb.com/MHDHome.html

Marcia, I am glad your babies are doing so well. My dragons are all different too. Olympia is sly. Never moves her head, but her eyes are always on me. Mike is still a little flighty, as he is a baby, and Phoebe hangs on the back side of branches upside down. She reminds me of a possum. My friend Val likes my dragons so much, that she is thinking about getting one for her son. Post pics of the babies. I'd love to see them.

Thanks for the male advise. I am going to try them out. I have another tank if things get ugly. Do you think a male gono would breed with a female Mountain Horn? That would be interesting!

ta

I'm getting ready to put up some new shots of the 5 babies so keep checking! ; )

I doubt that the gono and MHD would interbreed, not certain though. I'm not even sure the different MHDs will interbreed.

I've had a lot of people ask me that and I just answer that since I have just started breeding the individual species why would I even want to mix them? LOL!
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Marcia - FroggieB Dragons
www.froggieb.com/MHDHome.html