Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi Everyone,
I'm a newbie to the site, and am really glad to have found you! My son (7) has caught an alligator lizard which has just laid 8 eggs (so far). Based on some of the earlier posts, I've put them in a plastic container of moist soil, but am concerned about having turned the eggs. I notice that each egg has a side that appears to be red (inside the egg). Is that the embryo side? Should this side be facing the top of the container or the dirt?

Hit sent before I was done!
Any help would be appreciated. I'd hate to jeopardize the eggs. Also some do seem to have 'dents', but guess that's not a death sentence.

Hope my question makes sense. Thanks!

It is best not to turn them at all.
If they were very recently laid - they probably are OK - and the best course of action would probably be to leave them.

I'm not sure what the red you are referring to is. They do have a pinkish tint to them.
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3.6 L. getula californiae - 16 eggs (Cal. King)
1.1 L. getula nigrita (MBK)
1.0 Pantherophis guttatus guttatus (Corn)
0.1 Pituophis catenifer catenifer (Pacific gopher)
3.3 Elgaria multicarinata multicarinata - 14 eggs (Cal. Alligator Lizard)

Thanks for the reply. I'm going to leave them as you suggest. Before you responded, I did turn then so that the 'pink' (not really red) side is facing down in the soil. Could the pink I see inside the shell, be the embryo? All the photos I've seen only show a white side facing up. We're up to 9 eggs now. It's weird, she didn't lay them in a clutch, but rather all over the cage, including two in a shallow water dish.
What about heat? They are in the house. Thanks!

She could not find a suitable place to make a nest so she laid wherever.

Laying in the water is very symptomatic of them not finding what they feel to be a suitable place to lay. Unless they are removed from the water very quickly, those eggs usually die.

They like moist but not wet soil type substrate to make a nest in. I use that coconut fiber bedding product (comes in compressed bricks). If they don't have it, they'll lay wherever - often in the water dish.
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3.6 L. getula californiae - 16 eggs (Cal. King)
1.1 L. getula nigrita (MBK)
1.0 Pantherophis guttatus guttatus (Corn)
0.1 Pituophis catenifer catenifer (Pacific gopher)
3.3 Elgaria multicarinata multicarinata - 14 eggs (Cal. Alligator Lizard)

Thanks. Really appreciate your input!

My son also has a pair of aligator lizards (southern, I think, based on the egg laying, vs. live birth) that he caught, individually, we then were really little. They've grown to about a foot long, from tip to tail. We were moving them to a bigger tank a few weeks ago and found a single egg under the water dish. Based on a advice from a friend, we removed the egg to discard, because it had sunk in some. She said it wasn't viable.

Turns out there was an embryo in side (my son was curious to see what was inside). Guess that answers the question about what sex they were. It doesn't appear that she's laid anymore eggs, but she seems to be hiding in the substrate. Is this normal?

Yes. Instinct is to guard the eggs - and they want to even when removed. It's possible she layed more eggs and the male ate them.
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3.6 L. getula californiae - 16 eggs (Cal. King)
1.1 L. getula nigrita (MBK)
1.0 Pantherophis guttatus guttatus (Corn)
0.1 Pituophis catenifer catenifer (Pacific gopher)
3.3 Elgaria multicarinata multicarinata - 14 eggs (Cal. Alligator Lizard)

oh No! How do you stop the male from eating them?
Kid curry

Remove him when the female is gravid.
I'm not positive the male would eat the eggs, but I do know they sometimes go after bird eggs in the wild, so I suspect they may.
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3.6 L. getula californiae - 16 eggs (Cal. King)
1.1 L. getula nigrita (MBK)
1.0 Pantherophis guttatus guttatus (Corn)
0.1 Pituophis catenifer catenifer (Pacific gopher)
3.3 Elgaria multicarinata multicarinata - 14 eggs (Cal. Alligator Lizard)