Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I bought a female to go with my male and just noticed that the female is carrying eggs. (Nothing was said about this by seller) What i need to know is what substrate to use for her to lay her eggs and how to set her up for egg laying. I have an incubator already set at 85 degrees so that much is ready. Thanks for any and all help.

I use a 50-50 clean top soil and play sand moistened enough for the dragons to dig into without it collapsing. I put the dirt into a large Rubbermaid and angle the dirt on one side like a slope with a dome light clamped on the side shinning on the slope. Here are a few sites with good info on egg laying and incubation. WWW.Dachiu.com and copy and paste the following too for more info.

http://www.biology.lsa.umich.edu/research/labs/ktosney/file/BDcare.html

Here is a pic of my female Amber laying her infertile eggs. Amber does not breed for me so she lays infertile clutches. Just wanted to show how I set things up and how she was able to dig into the mound.

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Mystical Dragons webshots pictures
Mystical-Dragons Website

I did the exact same thing, except I used vermiculite as the laying medium.

Thanks for the info. I read this forum all the time and value your help.

Do the females still produce eggs whether they mate or not? I plan on getting 2-3 dragons next yr and I am not sure whether I plan on mating them. If the females do produce eggs then I must plan at some point for egg laying.

yes, females can produce infertile eggs, and must have a place to deposit them when the time comes. Lots of females when the time comes go nuts digging and pacing the cage looking for a spot to lay. This behavior is a warning to put them in the egg laying bin cause her time is coming. If they cannot find a suitable spot they could hold on to them and become egg bound. Egg binding is very dangerous and if not taken care of will cause death. Females can lay any time but usually for the most part it is not until after 8-12 months of age. Higher chances for infertile eggs come if the female sees a male and is stimulated (not always the case). This is the reason why it is not suggested to house females with males cause they can and will become gravid at young ages when they are not through growing.
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Mystical Dragons webshots pictures
Mystical-Dragons Website

OK. Thanks. Now with that in mind and I am not sure whether I plan to breed what should I get. I have 2 Vision 332 cages (36x28x18) and I was going to get 1 male and 2 females. Because i live in a condo I am not sure if i can entertain breeding. Any suggestions?

If you have no intentions on in the future breeding a pair, and only want pets go with males. Males have to be housed separately cause they will fight for territory, and those cages are great for single males. Males are for the most part cheaper as well. Females of course have the possibility of having eggs, but if your lucky and get a pair that are compatible (meaning they get along together) you can house them together in the future, and later on get a male if you choose for the free tank. I personally house two females in 4x2 cages though, but the 36x28 is very close in size. The only thing though is if you get females from separate breeders they need a quarantine time to make sure they are both healthy, and they just might not get along. This is why I would suggest to stagger the purchases if you still want the 1.2 to give the females separate cages until you know for sure they can live together. Just to me personally the 36X28 is borderline to what I would house a pair in. You will get mixed opinions on housing them together in that size. You could keep them in that for a while though before upgrading if you would like when they are adults. Good luck they are wonderful pets, and the best reptile in my opinion..
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Mystical Dragons webshots pictures
Mystical-Dragons Website

Thanks Matt. I had several over the years and had one that lived for 11 years. It has been over 2 years since I have entertained the thought of another. Yes i had 3 males in one cage at one time and had on serious incident with 2 the (other 2 got along) which resulted in an expensive trip to the vet (2 broken legs and $2000later). So now I am doing my research. I keep hearing so much about quarantine (never did that when I got my batch). I will be following the posts here and hopefully learn a lot before i purchase some in spring.

Well, welcome back!! 11 years, wow that's a nice ripe age good for you. Sorry about the vet bill though oouch!! Yeah things have changed a lot. Especially with the growth of the Internet, now everyone can research and share what is working for them, and what to look out for. That's what I did before I got into dragons just read and studied the pages and read about possible symptoms of illnesses to watch for. Basically the quarantine is protection for you and any other reptiles you might have. It's just a set period of 2-3 months where you check the new reptile for parasites, and to observe them and make sure nothing pops up that can be spread from dragon to dragon. Lots of the illnesses are hidden by the dragons until the late stages that you notice the fast downward spiral. Funguses and other viruses like adeno can pass from dragon to dragon unseen until it's to late. Good luck though they are great pets, and there are many safe and responsible breeders around. Just got to ask when the time comes.
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Mystical Dragons webshots pictures
Mystical-Dragons Website