monitor mating help

[monitor-mania]

We've had our pair of pygmy mulga monitors now for about a month and over the last few days they have been mating like crazy. We are very excited and happy about it as this is our try at breeding, but I'm now wondering about the next step.

We do have an incubator ready for eggs, it's more the laying process that we'd like info on as there really isn't much out there about it.


I have loads of questions so any information is of great help!
I'm wondering how much sand she needs to lay in?
Does it need to be wet/or moist?
Should it be up towards the hot or cool end of the tank?
Do I need to remove the male from the enclosure?

Cheers

 

[monitor-mania]

Bumpity, bump!!!
Anyone???

 

[Goannas]

If your substrate is deep enough, is able to hold a burrow, has the right humidity, and has a temperature of about 30 degrees Celsius, then your monitor will probably lay in the substrate. If the above criteria are not met, then you will want to add a nest box into the enclosure. This can be done by filling up a plastic or wooden box with dampened sand and cutting a hole one of the top corners. Be sure that the temperature of the sand is around 30 degrees Celsius. I hope this helps.

 

[Reptilian66]

Yes you should remove the male from the female, so she does not get stress why trying to lay her eggs, the male will eat the eggs if given the chance to, l have had quite a few Sand Monitor eggs, eating by one of my male Sandy's.

May l wish you the best of luck in breeding and incubating your Pygmy-Mulga Monitor's good luck.

 

[CraigColeman]

I have had good sucsess with those small blue foam esky's you buy from the supermarket for picnics etc... they have the blue rope as a handle. Cost about $3 each.. I fill them 2/3rds with a sand/peat moss mix that is nice and moist but by no means wet. I cut a small hole in the lid, remove the rope and put a strip of tape over the lid to hold it on. I place it in the cool end of my enclosure which is around the 28-30 degree mark.

I did have problems with them laying in hollow logs for the first clutch so I removed all but one log when the female was noticably gravid and that seems to have fixed the problem.

Make sure you check in the substrate regularly as she might lay in it and cover them.

Also if you feed roaches, and like my cage, some always manage to aviod getting eaten and seem to happily live in the enclosure, make sure you remove them, the roaches with destroy your eggs rather fast.

 

[monitor-mania]

Thank-you all for yor very helpful replies!
I took all the advice and put in a nesting box and am very happy to say that she is in there digging around.
Thing is she's been in there for 2 days now and I was wondering how long it usually takes for her to make her burrow and lay?
I'm getting a bit edgy, she hasn't eaten for 3 days now and I just want to make sure things are on track. I feel like I'm an expectant mother, eager, nervous, excited......

 

[Goannas]

They lay their eggs around four weeks after the last day of mating.

 

[monitor-mania]

Thank-you,
We now have 3 eggs in the incubator!

 

[SlothHead]

well done and all the best with it.
Dustin

 

[Goannas]

Congratulations!
I hope they hatch out.