Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ok i read about your egg laying area and the egg box. well this whole pregnancy thing was quite a surprise to me and i am going home in may for like two weeks so once the eggs are laid i am going to take them to this really good pet store and they are going to hatch them for me so i went ahead and made a box with the vermiculate (spelling?) stuff and put it in the cage for ivan the girl to get used to. should i put sand in it also? i just want to be able to transport them easily and safely. i know it is not ideal but it is better than them being left alone. also should ivan be in a separate cage from the other two lizards? and if so should the cage be sandless so she will definitely dig in the box? and the box needs a lid right? the box is a tupperware container about a 12 by 6 inches and about 5 inches deep and i have a lid but i have not put it on yet because i have not cut a hole in it i am just afraid she will not like the box with the lid because they do not like being confined. any suggestions are greatly appreciated and thank you very much for helping me out.
vonnie

I use two bricks on one end of the tank...I pile the sand deep in this corner, using the bricks to hold in the sand. The bricks also allow me to put a flat rock over the top without the worry of it falling on them. I dampen the sand in this deep area. I only use about 1" of sand throughout the rest of the tank. I try to make one spot as ideal as possible for laying.

If I see them scratching around near their lay time, I will dampen any area they seem to scratch around in.

I wouldn't worry about letting the petstore hatch them...depending on when you anticipate being gone. The eggs won't hatch for at leat 45 days, and the hatchlings will be fine for a week after they hatch. The incubation deli cup should hold enough moisture to keep them from getting too dry, and the incubator should keep them warm. Moving them around too much, and trusting a pet store to hatch them for me are two things I would advise against.

John Eddington

well, the reason i wanted the box is so that when she laid the eggs i could just pick up the box and take it to the pet store and not have to worry about touching them or moving them except as a whole and how she laid them. this pet store isn't a chain pet store and the guys who work there are really good. like they really do care about the animals and you can tell by how they act with them and talk to you about them. i have been harassing them too with this whole pregnancy thing. ha ha. i don't know. i just don't feel right leaving the eggs alone for 2 weeks and i definitely don't want to transport them two hours up to my friend's house where she is watching the adult lizards. anyway, so i should add sand to box along with that other substance?
thanks vonnie

I have never allowed my lizards direct access to the Vermiculite. I have always let them lay the eggs in the sand, then I carefully remove them one by one, and place them in a deli cup with the Vermiculite. This way, I can position each egg on the surface, carefully allow a bit of vermiculite to pile around each egg. I actually use my finger, and make a small indentation in the vermiculite, and set the eggs in its own little resting place.

well, then i definitely will go get some sand. thanks for your help.
vonnie