Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi all, could someone advise me at what age i can expext my famale to be fertile and able to lay fertile eggs. they are 9 mounth old and around 13 inches long.they have been mating with gusto and full intercoure has taken place on numorus ocassions.the female do seem to be swelling up so im going to put in a nest box incase.thankyou for your time and help.

cheers Danny.uk.

I only keep one cage with a nest box, and it is a testing ground for me.

i have used one nest box successfully on another occasion but it was stressful on the female, it was a poor nesting medium, so my guess is that was why.

In all honesty, i would either suggest making the entire cage a nest box at all times or keeping a nest box in the cage at all times.

also, a nest box is not something that is the size of the female. remember, these are monitors, not chickens.

andrew

>>I only keep one cage with a nest box, and it is a testing ground for me.
>>
>>i have used one nest box successfully on another occasion but it was stressful on the female, it was a poor nesting medium, so my guess is that was why.
>>
>>In all honesty, i would either suggest making the entire cage a nest box at all times or keeping a nest box in the cage at all times.
>>
>>also, a nest box is not something that is the size of the female. remember, these are monitors, not chickens.
>>
>>andrew

It's real easy. You just use a substrate which is diggable/burrowable, and allows adequate air circulation, do not use something such as clay which doesn't allow much breathing. A female would not choose to lay in something that her eggs would not be able to breathe in. Fill the entire enclosure with the substrate, to a suitable depth. I would say at least 10-12" at minimum, some people choose to go much deeper than that, for monitors will be burrowing much deeper than that in nature. Make sure that there are areas at the bottom of the substrate which would be favorable to her laying, probably around 85-88F, but you should also give cooler and warmer areas for them to burrow into ato achieve proper temps for their own thermoregulation and comfort. This is the technique I am currently using with my odatria, and it appears to be working out pretty good for me so far, now that I am starting to learn what some of my animals' behaviors and patterns really mean.

I wish you the best of luck with your ackies, they sure are a blast, and what a joy it would be for you to hatch out some babies of your own.. Take care, have a great day!

BOb

The Odatriad

I just reread my post and something I worded strangely. Obviously, don't fill the entire enclosure to the top with substrate, but make sure that you give them a bunch of burrowing areas as well as areas to climb around and 'do their thing'. Providing such a deep substrate might be problematic if you are currently using a front opening enclosure, similar to that of a vision cage. I, as well as many others, utilize a top opening 'trough-type' enclosure which allows you to use as much substrate as possible without worrying about it jamming sliding doors, or flowing out the doors. I hope this helps, I have some pics posted on my site of my enclosures, as well as the substrate that I am currenlty using. Take care,

bob
The Odatriad

Just to add something...

I agree with Bob - I keep my ackies in 29-gallon aquariums with covered tops, and I use coco bark to a depth of around 8-12" - the four clutches I have gotten using this method were all laid at the very bottom of the substrate, so now I am trying to increase the level that I use and am thinking about building some deeper enclosures to give them even more room to dig..

All the best,

-----
Phil Black
www.VaranusWeb.com