# Unexpected beardie clutch - advice please



## euphorion (Oct 7, 2011)

My girl laid 20 eggs sometime during the day today. I don't know how long they've been in there for, laid in damp sand but the ones at the top were a little dry. 

I've moved them (after marking the top and maintaining positioning) to some moist vermiculite in an incubator borrowed from a friend etc. 

My question is; how long can they remain in an enclosure before they are compromised? The sand was freshly moved and warm although they were laid at the cool end of the unit. 

Thoughts? Advice?


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## Wally (Oct 7, 2011)

How did the eggs feel? Were they still soft to touch or dry and hard?


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## gregcranston (Oct 7, 2011)

Usually they will be fine in that short time, and if they were a bit compromised, they should recover at high humidity.


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## euphorion (Oct 7, 2011)

They were still soft, at least the shells were leathery and pliable in my fingers. ive never felt beardie eggs before so i'm unsure how they are supposed to feel. I did spray the ones that were closer to the top and were already feeling a little dry and papery (just a fine mist) before putting the tub in the incubator. The incubator is around 29C although i hate to say it's still stabilising :/ what is an acceptable range? I've read 28 - 31 in most places.

Wishing i had books on this now, wasn't expecting a clutch this year as the female was a bit small for my liking but i know i should have been more prepared. I did make sure i fed her up well just in case but now she is so skinny. What diet should the girls have after a clutch? Same as for putting on breeding condition?


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## GeckoRider (Oct 7, 2011)

Found this guide... 

How to Hatch Bearded Dragon Eggs | eHow.com

Hope it helps


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## maddog-1979 (Oct 7, 2011)

give her a warm bath to relax and then offer some salad and crickets/woodies , she will be ravenous


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## Morgan_dragon (Oct 7, 2011)

28-31 is fine temp wise.

The eggs should be fine, no different to when they drop them in the middle of the night!

Make sure your girl gets plenty of calcium, remember beardies can lay up to 4 clutches from one mating and developing the eggs strips the calcium out of her. 

It's also normal for them to look really skinny right after they drop their clutches, if you make sure she gets plenty of food and nutrients and she will recover quickly.

Congrats on the clutch too! I personally would check in a day or so and make sure there is no visible moisture on those eggs you sprayed though - keep the substrate damp but not moist (it gets sticky before it gets too wet and this is about right). Beardy eggs can have big mould and rotting problems if they are kept damp.

Good luck!


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## euphorion (Oct 7, 2011)

Thanks guys! All great advice  I've got some tinned Hills AD i will give her tomorrow (she loves eating from a syringe!) and i have woodie colonies going great guns so she can have all she wants. Calcium check (big tick!) and some mixed salad here we come. I think i'll put her in her own condominium as her boyfriend is a guts and tends to steal things right out of her mouth the piggie. I really hope she doesn't go with more clutches as she is still small, i don't know how old she is either but she wasn't all that well looked after when i got her, bloated belly but skinny limbs, always black and listless, poor lass. So hoepfully i'll get her fattened up again quickly.

As for the eggs, i'll be sure to check on them tomorrow in case i've make them too damp. If they are should i sprinkle some more vermiculite in there to soak up the extra moisture or what? I did the 1:1 by weight and then squeezed out the extra water that i could, it did seem too damp before i did that. And that's true, i didn't think about clutches that might be laid in the middle of the night, i'm a worry-wort so it seems!

Thanks so much all, i took a photo of the eggs before i put them away, i think i'll try to document this. If any hatch (if) thsi willbe my first time breeding anything. How exciting! 

I'll post pics of the mumma and stud soon, dad is yellow pastel with lavender while mum is (a bit boring most of the time but is apparently) yellow/grey pastel. Maybe she doesn't like showing off? Maybe i'm used to my boy being coloured up even when he sleeps, weirdo.


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## JasonL (Oct 7, 2011)

Beardie eggs are as tough as nails, and will hatch at warm room temp, no need for an incubator ect, just put them in an unused enclosure or just on a shelf in a sunny room, (not in direct sun though).


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## euphorion (Oct 7, 2011)

OMG. What the heck to i feed something so small!? Tiny little woodies?? TINY WOODIES!?? (panic!)

Okay, so in theory i have two months to get a whole HEAP of baby woodies available on a regular basis right? Looks like i'll be separating my colonies into a million more tomorrow!


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## JasonL (Oct 7, 2011)

Small crickets or small woodies, woodies are better if you can get them, it ideal if you breed them as you never run out of small ones


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## euphorion (Oct 7, 2011)

phew, sorted then. i couldnt stand the thought of doing crix too, bleh! i can do woodies


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## nagini-baby (Oct 8, 2011)

if its to moist just leave the lid of the tub for a few hrs and come back and check. i found that if it was damp enough to stick to your finger without feeling damp it was good. 
and yes the bubs eat alot!!
out cricket bill went from $100 to $300 a fortnight and we had about 20 bubs at one time. i envy your woodies . just make sure the bubs have enouh room to move around when eating and they dont bite each other. as can happen in a crowded feeding frenzy. mist them daily atleast once. some are stupid and dont drink from a water bowl and at that age dehydrate fast. also dont ever leave crickets in with young beardies if they dont eat them. as the crickets will kill your dragons. our litle girl double clutched though they were only 11 and 12 in each clutch the big girl had 25 23 22 and she tripple clutched. but as said before they are pretty tough. i had a clutch sit in an enclosure in the vermiculite mix for 2 days waiting on a second incubator. good luck


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## euphorion (Oct 8, 2011)

Well i made sure she had a good feed this morning; dusted salad, wet dog and baby food and as many woodies as she wanted. I've checked on her a few times and she's eaten most of her salad now too. I should have taken a photo of her skinny belly this morning because now it's nice and full!

Thanks again for the help guys.
View attachment 221099
This is them straight after being moved and sprayed last night. They look a lot more plump now and there are no beads of moisture on the shells. Too little vermiculite? Should i ever change the substrate or should it stay fresh? Do i need to do anything to clean the eggs, what if they get mould spots on them like i've seen in other threads?


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## euphorion (Oct 13, 2011)

Eggs are still looking good and mum is eating well. I'll have to candle them soon to see if they're viable.


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## hendog64 (Oct 29, 2011)

I am guessing that you will selling them once they are feeding well. I would love at least one maybe two depending on price.
thanks


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## nagini-baby (Oct 29, 2011)

i never bothered candling if ther are no good youll no.. they stink.. and look gross.


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## euphorion (Oct 31, 2011)

Well the eggs are all looking good, no stinkers, no mould. Called a friend who has bred oodles of beardies and got some advice on the humidity levels, all looks good in there! Mum is looking good too, making sure i don't feed her up too much as i don't want her to double-clutch but she is active and happy


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## JAS101 (Oct 31, 2011)

shooshoo said:


> Well the eggs are all looking good, no stinkers, no mould. Called a friend who has bred oodles of beardies and got some advice on the humidity levels, all looks good in there! Mum is looking good too, making sure i don't feed her up too much as i don't want her to double-clutch but she is active and happy


 more then likely she will double clutch on u , so be ready for them .


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## euphorion (Nov 1, 2011)

reeeeeeeeeeeeh no more eggies please! she is looking good but not looking gravid, but i have no idea what the timeframe between clutches can be.


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## maddog-1979 (Nov 1, 2011)

about 4 weeks between clutches, in my experience anyways. my 1st clutch dropped on the 09-09 and my second on the 10-10 this year, so maybe at 11:11 on the 11-11-2011 i will get clutch number 3, lol


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## euphorion (Nov 2, 2011)

four weeks hey? that's less than a week from now. she doesn't look like she will, for which i am thankful!


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## Wally (Nov 2, 2011)

They can be a bit deceiving sometimes. Provide her somewhere to lay anyway, if you haven't already done so.


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## jham66 (Nov 2, 2011)

Congrats on the clutch Shiona!


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## euphorion (Nov 27, 2011)

well, lost an egg today. i think too much humidity but there is no condensation anywhere and the other eggs seem fine. no other eggs were in contact so just removed the dead egg. gave the rest of the eggs a fan for a second to move the air around.

also found two little eggs in the enclosure yesterday but no others. don't know if there were more or if she's got any left to lay but belly is feeling empty. deliberately have resisted the urge to feed her up heaps to try and prevent the extra clutch but not sure what to do now.

should i feed her up now? have seperated her and will keep her apart from now on unless i want them to breed (as i know i should have done from the start) i really feel for her, i think i'll give her a few big protein feeds this week just so i stop worrying then cut back to the regular salads with a touch of extra woodies.

does everybody else worry like this or am i just a stress-pot?


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## nagini-baby (Nov 27, 2011)

no you always worry, i had one girl who didnt look in the slightest bit gravid, the only time you could feel the eggs inside her was the day she laid not before. she laid not once but twice! also if there was no condensation it might not have been to much humidity. although a tad dry is better than to wet


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## Sel (Nov 27, 2011)

You should be feeding her up, if she does have another clutch she will be skin and bones. It takes so much out of them.
Good luck with the hatchies!


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## Poggle (Nov 27, 2011)

wow shoo you have been busy mate. Hope all is going well with the eggs  i would feed her up now mate just incase she was to double clutch.


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## euphorion (Nov 27, 2011)

alrighty, thanks everyone  

tomorrow starts Willow's MEGA ANTI DIET... dear woodies; please forgive me, your end is nigh!


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## euphorion (Dec 1, 2011)

Eggs are hatching! So far there are three little ones hanging out with two making their way out of the egg. Should i help them? What is the chance of them exhausting themselves trying to get out if they are having trouble? Am i supposed to 'pip' the eggs? OMG. Was NOT expecting this so soon. 

Also, another 16 eggs in with mum, she's skin and bones so is now getting absolutely stuffed full of whatever food she wants. Silly bugger, no way is she staying with her boyfriend next season. I want her fat and happy again.


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## Chris1 (Dec 1, 2011)

congrats on the bubbies!!!


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## miss2 (Dec 1, 2011)

yay!!! im very jealous


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## Wally (Dec 1, 2011)

Just leave them be shoo. They can take awhile to fully emerge.


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## ingie (Dec 1, 2011)

Yay Shoo babies!!!! Can't wait to see them they will be so cute  Hope they look like the daddy he is the best beardie I have ever seen


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## euphorion (Dec 1, 2011)

omgggggggggg they are so adorable!!!!!!!!

i have spent the morning seperating out the tiny woodies into a seperate colony so that i can easily get my hands on the right size quickly when they start eating. BABIES! hehehhehe

and yes they will be for sale in a couple of weeks when eating  ready in time for chrissy, i didnt even think they would hatch before christmas!

So many babies!

View attachment 228642


Daddy 'Doc' straight after waking up in the morning, literally the colour he while he sleeps and this is almost as dull as he gets. Will try to get a brighter pic later today when it's a bit hotter and convince Mumma 'Willow' to wake up. Although she looks dreadful, so skinny :'( poor darling. She has a pretty face though, pics to come!

View attachment 228644


one bub already eating, amazing!

Some are also enthusiastic about the mixed salad, i thought it would take so much longer but i guess some of these are quick starters.

Mum just had a bit meal of Hills A/D + water and Calcium, she loves that stuff!

omg i am in love with these guys! they are all so interesting to watch  mum has had more ad+calcium this morning, eating a whole heap of her salad from yesterday too.


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## Skitzmixer (Dec 5, 2011)

congratulations on the babies 

Just a quick question, how many days did they take to hatch?


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## nagini-baby (Dec 5, 2011)

shoo your pics didnt work


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## Poggle (Dec 5, 2011)

pics not working mate... I WANNA SEE BUBBIEs


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## euphorion (Dec 5, 2011)

stupid uploader never works for me, i'll try again!

View attachment 229039
View attachment 229039


Only took 56 days to start hatching, all out by day 58. That's a pretty short incubation period isn't it?


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## Skitzmixer (Dec 6, 2011)

Hmm.. mine have been incubating for 64 days now, hope they're ok... I had issues with the incubator failing at night, it'd basiclly hold the eggs at 18 degrees then during the day keep them at 30, happened only a few nights, then i replaced the incubator. Maybe thats delayed them a bit.


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## euphorion (Dec 9, 2011)

babies are all doing so well, all eating woodies and all but a few eating salad


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## Skitzmixer (Dec 9, 2011)

congratulations  just had my first 2 hatch today..


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## euphorion (Dec 9, 2011)

good to hear skitz!!


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## gosia (Dec 9, 2011)

Pics still not working - upload them in the advanced reply - they never work in the quick reply!

I got my girl yesterday and straight away my boy jumped her - so I guess we will be expecting babies too!!! ....I am sooooo not ready for that for some reason it never crossed my mind that they will mate!!! So good luck and I want PICS!!!! :lol:


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## euphorion (Dec 10, 2011)

Hope these finally work!


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## gosia (Dec 14, 2011)

OHHHH...they are soooooooo cute!!! 

Well done!


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