Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi. I have 4 female bearded dragons and 1 very hyper and on going loving male can't seem to get enough. My problem now is their gonna have eggs. If I had a checklist of 10 things I need. What would it be. Thanks.

Egg laying bin (I use 55L sterlite)

sand/soil to put into the egg laying bin (also water, so its wet enough to clump and form burrows without collapsing. A trick I developed last year was to bury a wide plastic bowl with one end broken away (wide enough the dragon can easily get into it and out). I make sure this opening in the bowl faces away from the sides of the egg laying bin. I filled half a 55l container with sand/soil mix and started a tunnel right where the bowl opening was/ My female dug into the bank and made her egg laying 'nest under the bowl, so I didn't have to worry about any tunnel collapsing.

Hooded light fixture to mount over the egg laying bin (if unable to put it into the cage itself.

Lid for the egg laying bin. (i just stapled aluminum window screen to a wooden frame big enough the wood part hangs outside of the bin.

1 Incubator, or moreYou want to get this at least a week before eggs are expected. This you want to get set up several days or more before eggs are laid so you can make sure you have the right temperatures and humidity)

Deli dishes or small plastic tubs - these should be big enough for one clutch and fit comfortably in your incubator. Make sure your incubator is big enough to hold at least 6 clutches.

Incubation medium: (vermiculite is most commonly used, perlite as well. You can buy this in large bags at any feed/seed or nursery/garden supply store. Buy the really big bags, far cheaper in the long run than buying the smaller bags.)

Long 4' UVB fixtures and bulbs (these you are going to rest over 3-4 tubs for hatchlings)

Plenty of hooded light fixtures and bulbs to heat the babies.

Plenty of feed dishes and paper towel.

Plenty of plastic tubs for babies. (I figure the 55l sterlite tubs are best, as they are a good size without being too big, easy to get and are tall enough you can lay the long uvb fixtures right on top, and clamp the heat fixtures on the side. No screen top necessary unless you have cats, or curious children who may grab the babies. I recommend no more than 5-8 babies per container...sort out fast growing ones so the smaller ones aren't out competed for food etc.

Basking rocks/platforms. Small black paint trays flipped over work great...cheap and easily clean and you can fit 2-3 of them into a 55l sterlite container. They stack nicely too so you can provide multiple heights.

Multivitamins and Calcium powder (with D3)

Alot of crickets...check suppliers as there does seem to be a shortage of crickets due to some virus going around killing them. Check online suppliers and make sure they have a good stock before ordering. You don't want to find out just as hungry babies are hatching to learn your usual supplier has no more crickets to sell. Expect to be buying 5000 or more 1/4 inch crickets a week per clutch. If you can't get crickets, then you will need to use something else, like phoenix worms, small roaches etc. Mealworms are not a good staple insect for baby dragons.
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PHLdyPayne

I know this sounds exciting for you,but 3-4 clutches hatching at a time is ALOT of work,especially if you have large clutches. I read about dragons laying 15-20 eggs at a time and new breeders think that's a lot...that is SMALL compared to what the average dragon lays,and they usually lay more than one clutch.....you MUST line someone up who will be buying these babies. You have no idea how much work they will be,they need to eat several times a day,cages will need cleaned several times a day,and hungry or extra hyper babies may bite tails/toes of siblings and you will be frantic about what to do. A little blood on a tail/toe nip will get attention from the others and you can get mangled babies in no time.So line up your buyers when they hatch...but try not to sell until they are at least 5.5- 6". Babies that are smaller are less hardy...that's a fact,even though some big-name breeders love to ship them out when they are barely out of the egg.

Ill tell you from my experience as a first time breeder this year. I only breed one female. I now have 23 babies, 42 eggs in the incubator, and im pretty sure she will lay at least one more clutch. Keeping crickets for these little things to eat is a pain, and thats not to mention the cricket virus or whatever going around closing down all the cricket farms. Im not saying not to do it but its a tough job. I would definitely not try to hatch all 4 females clutches unless you have a lot of money, room and time. They are pretty hard to get off your hands as well, You wont really make money in the long run, not much, its more for the experience. I would recommend discarding most of the eggs if you dont want 400 babies. Good luck and keep us posted on what you decide to do.

If you decide not to hatch all the eggs, the humane thing to do is to freeze them right after they're laid before discarding them.

If I were you I'd consider only incubating a few if you want the experience. Seeing 5 eggs hatch is just as exciting as 50 and way less work.

This cricket virus is expanding and who knows if there will be any crickets to feed your babies when they hatch in a few months. Better to start small.

I plan on breeding for the experience of it all. How much time between clutches before eggs being laid? Do they have to breed in between every clutch? Is the reptibator by zoomed any good, and how many incubatores would I need to hatch a half a dozen clutches. the incubator size seems kinda small. thanks to any tips

I have hovabator and the new Zoomed one. I perfer how the Reptibator is made, but for three times the price, I dont think it is any better than the standard, fan-less, hovabator.
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www.moonstonedragons.com

Clutches will be between 2-4 weeks apart. Usually on the lower end if they have adequate food and good conditions. They do not need to be bred between clutches. One mating could produce 6 fertile clutches. All my incubators are fanless Hovabators, so I've never tried the Zoo Med. For only 6 eggs one incubator will be plenty.

Anyone breeding their own crickets?

The Europeans were wiped out a few years ago and warned the American breeders, who, as you can see, most didn't listen. The cure is to go to black crickets, as the virus only affects the brown or house cricket.

I am trying to breed my own at the moment, as my roach colonies will not support the number of babies I will produce this year. If anyone has any home grown cricket tips, I would love to hear them.
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www.moonstonedragons.com