Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi there folks. I am hoping the accumulated weight of your experience will help me to answer a couple questions.

I am new to breeding, and never plan on it being more than a hobby or a way to pass on genetics of my favorite dragons (In this case a 7-year-old buddy). I have a couple clutches from my orange male and an orange female, of which one clutch (25) has hatched. They're a week old, eating crickets and starting on greens. Misted 3-4 times a day. Housed in groups of 5 in tubs with full spectrum lighting and a temp gradient from a basking spot of 110 to a cool of 80. So, basically, I've been following instructions pretty closely, but two questions have arisen...

1) What methods do folks prefer to mark dragons for record keeping purposes? I've heard fingernail polish, but wanted to see what else was out there or if nail polish is really the best.

2) How often should they be "fired up"? These guys seem to spend a lot less time that way than my adults -- is this explained by the fact that they haven't had their first shed, normal behavior, or does it imply that they aren't happy?

Thanks so much for any input. I just want to do well for my little guys and girls.

Kris

The earliest I have had babies shed was about 2 1/2 weeks old. At just a week old they are really just starting to get used to "life in a tub". Give them time, sounds like your setup is great for them. I dont know if they need to be misted that often, 3-4 times a day seems like a lot. I think they stay stressed looking more often than not when they are newly hatched like yours.

You mentioned "full spectrum" lighting and not uv. Babies need uv too.
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www.moonstonedragons.com

Sorry, I thought "full spectrum" was explanatory enough since that's the way the manufacturer describes it. The babies have reptisun 10.0 bulbs 6" from the basking spot, so are getting UV.

Kris