Reptile & Amphibian Forums

What is a full-proof way of incubating MHD eggs? I kind of want Jobi's opinion. Please be thorough, yet brief.
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Ryan

Well, I am not Jobi, but here is my recipe:

Soak Vermiculite in water, let it dry in a sieve for 20 minutes and but it in a tupperware box. Halfly embedd egs and deposit the box in a dark place at normal room temperature. Open once a week for control and air exchange and after two months transfer eggs to a container with only slightly moist vermiculite.

Than be patient...

Hatchlings from eggs incubated at temps above 26°C in my hands tend to be small, weak and often do not eat spontaneously.

Good luck

Ingo

Sorry but theirs no full proof way to incubate eggs, and I cant be brief on such an important question.

Incubation is a variable event, no eggs in nature are incubated at a steady temperature or a steady humidity level, why? Because nature is unstable.

The secret to incubation is to get good strong eggs to began with, and this starts with the husbandry of the parents, if your lizards are well conditioned and have the necessary support and good nesting options, they lay good and strong eggs that will hatch strong babies.

Week eggs result in week babies no matter how good your incubation is. Strong eggs can tolerate flooding and huge temperature variation and still hatch out as strong babies.

So remember this, if you ever hatch out week or full term dead in the egg, it most likely is not about your incubation, its a lot more about your husbandry.

Pro breeders who learned this the hard way will not share this information.
rgds

Yes, that is definitely true. Physiological status of the mother is the most important parameter regarding overall fitness of hatchlings.

nevertheless, developmental physiology is following its own demands and I stick to that that you can harm even the healthiest eggs a lot by using incubation conditions which do ly too far outside from the conditions, these eggs are adapted to.
And for Acanthosaura to all my knowledge this means, to warm incubation affects hatchling vitality.

Regards

Ingo

I have to ask?

Have you ever incubated good eggs in the 75-85f range?

Do you see any benefit incubating eggs at 150-170 days when they can hatch at about 75 days?

Do you think my babies are weaker because they incubated in the 75-85f range?

I successfully hatched 8 clutches and have 19 clutches incubating at present, I know this is no reference, but let me assure you that in the next few years I will have a few 100s clutches under my belt.

I wonder what will be your point of view then?

Rgds

As you may know, some experiences tend to be somewhat location/person specific and what works for one does not necessarily is best for his collegue.
Anyhow, yes, I have split clutches and incubated a half at RT and a half at 28°C. To all my knowledge they were from healthy females (LTC, actice, well supplemented, colourful....but who ever knows?) and I still observed the differences I depicted above.
In any case, its nothing more than personal experience and a snapshot.
Also I want to stress that that applied to my A. capra and -albeit less significantly - to my G. chamaeleontinus. One must not generalize this observation.
I do have lizard species, for which the exact opposite is true: If incubated at lower temps and if hatchlings appear late, they have a tendency to be less vital than their siblings incubated at higher temps. This of course sounds reasoned for desert dwellers - and I see it for my Uromastyx. Anyhow, in my hands it also holds true for lizards from less exterme environments like jewelled lizards or some anoles from the US.

Thats my 2 cts on the topic.

Best regards

Ingo

You mist my point or you are avoiding it?

My incubation is not stable, the NTL is 75f and DTH is 85f
Without a significant drop in temperature they die!

Tell me Ingo is this how you did it? or you used a stable temperature?

Rgds

Yes, thats a difference. I was talking about 28° constantly.
I can imagibne that it may work with a night drop.
I just never tried that for two reasons:
For some other rainforest species I know that eggs tend to be sensitive against temp variations (also temp stays quite constant already a few inch underneath teh surface in many rainforest liek habitats).
But I admit that the most promonent reason ios convenience.
I do not have a herp business, its just a hobby which has to comepte with family and job. So I do only have two incubators which are normally running at 28° constantly or 31° constantrly (for Uromastyx).
o all eggs which need other conditions, I just place at a spot within my herp room at the most convenient temperature. This of course is not fully controlled and subjected to larger day/night changes. And thats how I incubated my rainforest agama eggs most succesfully: In the less warm regions of the room with average DTH in the 23-25° range.

Ci@o

Ingo

I was 100% sure about you incubating at a steady temperature, most keepers do this.

I think it’s a mistake, eggs need a drop in temperature to develop properly, many Indonesian varanids will not hatch if incubated at constant temperature, of course I never talk about this because I do not promote captive breeding of varanids, or any CITES animals for that matter. But still this principal applies to agamid dragons just the same.

Simply taking out your dragon eggs from the incubator when you go to sleep and putting them back when you awake, will ensure good development and much faster incubation.

I wish you get more acanthosaura or gonos ( I love belie) and help us improve there husbandry, there so much a guy with your experience can bring to the study of such poorly known species.

Hers a photo I took today, this female will nest her 4 clutch this year, I know what you said about this specie, but based on my observations I have to disagree.

They have proven to be better captives then bearded, very prolific and tough as nails.
My kids have shown me they are real pet lizards, they allow handling and don’t stress about it. unlike many lizards they do not rub against glass, in fact they understand the invisible barrier quit well, more then any lizards iv kept.

I don’t agree about the babies being difficult, I sold more then 20 and none have caused problems to there keepers, in fact all are very happy and find them personable and fun.

I believe they deserve to be right up there with the 5 best pet lizards, maybe I will try to establish them in herpetoculture?

In any case I was really wondering why you gave them bad press?
Have you experienced problems with this specie?

Rgds

Thanks! You guys told me exactly what I wanted to know.
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Ryan