Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So I was given a female, who is curently holding some eggs. Ive never had bearded dragons, but I have had other species of lizards, and Ive worked in a pet store for 2.5years. SO my questions really have to do with the eggs. Once mom lays them in the nest box, how long should I wait untill I move them to the incubator? What temperature range should I set the incubator at, and how long do they normally incubate before hatching. I know abys eat more insects, and meaty foods, and less vegies, than adults do, but what should be the first food items I offer? Any extra info will help, thanks.

When the mother lays the eggs you should move them to the incubator immediately. The embryos will attach themselves to the egg fairly quickly and can't be moved once that happens. I would offer crickets and veggies first. If you want you can get some super worms, silk worms, etc... but crickeets are just easier to get ahold of. Incubation temps should be at no higher than 84 degrees and it takes roughly 60 days, give or take, for them to hatch....

good luck!

Robert
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Great spirits have always been recieved with violent opposition by mediocre minds. Albert Einstein

Another thing to keep in mind is that you will need to prepare tanks for the beardies. Young beardies can be cannabilistic and will stress each other out if housed in too high numbers. Keeping them in tanks in groups of no more than five (I prefer 3) will cut down on these issues. Make sure you have the tanks all set up with proper basking spot, high basking temp (110-115 ) and a good quality UVB light.

Make sure that as the time draws close for the eggs to hatch you order a lot of crickets. Baby beardies will eat a LOT of crickets (as they strat growing they can eat 50 a day - each) so you will go through a lot of bugs. Offering ample amounts of crickets, and having veggies in all day will cut down on the babies nipping at eachothers toes and tails. If you do notice any dragons getting toes or tails nipped off, make sure you set them up in their own tank. As the dragons get older you will want to separate them into smaller and smaller groups. So make sure you have plenty of tanks and uvb lights!

One way to cut down on tanks/lights would be to use a large tank and section it into two or three tanks. A long UVB bulb could cover the entire tank.

some good hatchlign/breeding links:

http://www.reptilerooms.com/index.php?categoryid=17&p142_id=111&p142_dis=3&p142_template=Simple

http://www.reptilerooms.com/index.php?categoryid=17&p142_id=110&p142_dis=3&p142_template=Simple
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2.2 Leopard Geckos
1.0 Uromastyx (Mali)
1.1 Corn snakes
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1.0 Bairds Ratsnake
1.0 Rosy Boa
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1.1 House Geckos
0.0.2 Flying Geckos
0.0.1 Red Eye Tree Frog