she actually needs to lay her eggs. To see the things that you will need please refer back to Egg Laying Etc..
Before you start make sure you have everything you need near by. First clean the large rubbermaid container very well then dry it. Put on your
gloves. Empty the vermiculite into the container and mix the warm sterilized water with it. Don't make it too wet or too dry. If you pick it up a fist full
and squeeze it - it should hold its form. If you squeeze it and tons of water oozes out then it is probably too wet so just add more vermiculite.
You will notice that when you wet the vermiculite it will pack down a bit. The vermiculite should be at least 12 " deep in the bin. It doesn't have to be
consistently 12" but should be at least at one end. Using your hands manipulate it, pack it in a bit and start a hole. It should be about the width of
your fist. Try and make the hole as stable as possible. Add more water or vermiculite as you need it if you find it wont hold the shape of the cave
type hole you are trying to make.
Most of the time the female will go to an already started hole. To save her time and energy this is why we will start the hole for her and pack it as
firmly as we can to prevent any collapses and cave ins. Once you have the hole and you are satisfied with its density and strength then you can
take the lid (if you have one) and cut it in half. Cover the end that you have the hole on. That will help give her the feeling of being underground
and that it is safe to lay her eggs there. At the other end of the bin is where you will clamp the heat light on the lip of the bin.
*** Be SURE that it is secure and that there is no chance that heat lamp will fall into the bin and burn your dragon. If you feel it isn't secure enough
then set the lay bin in a quiet spot with a table near by and clamp the light on the table or something else near by and aim the light for the
opened/exposed end of the lay bin. You will need a good strong light to heat up the lay bin.
Despite the fact that Bearded Dragons are desert reptiles, they want to lay their eggs in a warm moist nesting hole. If your Bearded Dragon lays
her eggs in her terrarium on the sand it was probably out of desperation. Although, there have been few female dragons that will prefer the dry
sand in their cage. It isn't advisable though.
Make sure your lay bin has plenty of time to warm up. When your girl is ready to lay her eggs you will notice a few signals that she will give you.
~ Usually a couple of days before she will lay her eggs she will stop eating or eat very little. This is nothing to be concerned about this is very
normal. Be sure to offer food and water, that way there is something there for her should the mood take her.
~ Digging, Digging, and more Digging! She will go to various locations in the terrarium and dig. She will not be satisfied with anywhere or anything
she has dug and just keep going to a different spot! Sometimes I swear my girls are trying to dig to China lol.
~ You will see a look in her eyes, she will become anxious and she will very restless. She cannot get comfortable. She will sit in a spot for a minute
then quickly move to another location and she will do this over and over again.
When you've seen these signs it is probably time to put her in the lay bin. When you put her in there she will probably sit there for a few minutes
and look at you and around as if to say "okay what am I supposed to do now? Where am I?" Give her some time and stand back where she can't
see you and soon you will hear her start to dig. Make sure she's in a spot where there is no noise. This process of digging her perfect nesting hole,
and actually laying all of her eggs & backfilling the nesting spot will take hours so I don't suggest standing there the whole time :) I know it's very
hard when it's the first time your female bearded dragon is laying!
What I do is usually check up on her progress every 30 minutes. Once she has her hole dug and shes satisfied with it and she is ready to lay she
will back up into or in front of that hole and start releasing her eggs one by one. The average amount of eggs laid can range from 15 to 25 eggs.
When she is through releasing her eggs she will starting burying them by back filling the hole. Take a mental note of where she is back filling so
you know where to begin digging carefully to retrieve the eggs that she has laid. When she has finished back filling she will pack it in with her nose
with rapid thrusts forward.
Once you are convinced she is done with her mission of laying, concealing & packing in her eggs only then you should remove her from the lay bin.
Scoop her up very gently. She's exhausted and somewhat fragile. What I do is prepare a nice warm bath, not too deep because I don't want her
to expend more energy by doing the famous BD paddle. Just somewhere warm, relaxing and where you can clean her face and claws... because
she will be quite the sight! :)
Do not ever attempt to retrieve her eggs from the lay bin while she is still there! She may love you but that won't stop her from trying to protect her
eggs. This is basically her only "maternal" instinct - to locate a safe spot to lay her eggs and conceal them to protect them. She could bite you or
hit you with her nose or tail. Even when you are reaching in to take her out when she is through you should exercise caution.
When you are ready to put her back in her home give her some fresh greens & some water and make sure she can relax with very little noise, or
action around her.
Okay so she is safely away...
You need to check on your incubation unit. Make sure it is the right temperature still (this should have been stabilized for at least 2 days prior).
Make sure you are wearing gloves, open the egg bins and using your knuckle press into the vermiculite making indents - almost like a little
nesting spot for EACH individual egg. Since you haven't retrieved the eggs yet you can estimate and make about 20 little indents. The vermiculite
should be damp. Once you have made your imprints bring the egg bin(s) to your lay bin.
Take off the lid that is covering half the bin allowing you more access and conscientiously and carefully begin to scoop the vermiculite away from
where she laid her eggs. There is no rushing this. You don't want to accidentally break or harm any eggs. Her eggs will be in a cluster. As soon
as you spot the beginning of her cluster work from that and gently move the vermiculite away from the cluster. Once you can see all of the eggs,
starting from the top begin to remove them one at a time. Using your spoon and your hands carefully manipulate the egg onto the spoon without
turning, rolling or injuring it and place it into the egg bin into one of the dimpled indents. Try to place the egg as best as possible in the same
position as it was laid. One at a time take an egg out and place it in a dimpled indent until complete.
Bearded Dragon eggs are a soft shelled egg. If they are fertile they will be white. If they are grayish chances are they are not fertile. Sometimes
female dragons in their attempt to back fill and protect their eggs they can injure egg(s) themselves. Any flattened eggs simply dispose of.
Once all of your eggs are in the egg bin carefully take them back to your incubation unit and place them in there. Place the lid(s) on the egg bin(s)
and cover the holes with tape. In a couple of days or if you see condensation on inside of the egg bin walls and lid then remove the tape.
Excessive water will damage the eggs. Dripping water onto the eggs will damage or kill them. I usually check on my bins once a week to make sure
the moisture level is ok and that the vermiculite in the bins is still slightly damp.
Incubation period can vary between 64-69 days. You will see the eggs grow slowly from the time they are laid to the time they hatch. By the time
they hatch the egg has doubled in size. Here are some pictures of hatching eggs, some new borns and some incubating eggs! No matter how
many times I see it happening it is still a very exciting time for me ;)
Before you start make sure you have everything you need near by. First clean the large rubbermaid container very well then dry it. Put on your
gloves. Empty the vermiculite into the container and mix the warm sterilized water with it. Don't make it too wet or too dry. If you pick it up a fist full
and squeeze it - it should hold its form. If you squeeze it and tons of water oozes out then it is probably too wet so just add more vermiculite.
You will notice that when you wet the vermiculite it will pack down a bit. The vermiculite should be at least 12 " deep in the bin. It doesn't have to be
consistently 12" but should be at least at one end. Using your hands manipulate it, pack it in a bit and start a hole. It should be about the width of
your fist. Try and make the hole as stable as possible. Add more water or vermiculite as you need it if you find it wont hold the shape of the cave
type hole you are trying to make.
Most of the time the female will go to an already started hole. To save her time and energy this is why we will start the hole for her and pack it as
firmly as we can to prevent any collapses and cave ins. Once you have the hole and you are satisfied with its density and strength then you can
take the lid (if you have one) and cut it in half. Cover the end that you have the hole on. That will help give her the feeling of being underground
and that it is safe to lay her eggs there. At the other end of the bin is where you will clamp the heat light on the lip of the bin.
*** Be SURE that it is secure and that there is no chance that heat lamp will fall into the bin and burn your dragon. If you feel it isn't secure enough
then set the lay bin in a quiet spot with a table near by and clamp the light on the table or something else near by and aim the light for the
opened/exposed end of the lay bin. You will need a good strong light to heat up the lay bin.
Despite the fact that Bearded Dragons are desert reptiles, they want to lay their eggs in a warm moist nesting hole. If your Bearded Dragon lays
her eggs in her terrarium on the sand it was probably out of desperation. Although, there have been few female dragons that will prefer the dry
sand in their cage. It isn't advisable though.
Make sure your lay bin has plenty of time to warm up. When your girl is ready to lay her eggs you will notice a few signals that she will give you.
~ Usually a couple of days before she will lay her eggs she will stop eating or eat very little. This is nothing to be concerned about this is very
normal. Be sure to offer food and water, that way there is something there for her should the mood take her.
~ Digging, Digging, and more Digging! She will go to various locations in the terrarium and dig. She will not be satisfied with anywhere or anything
she has dug and just keep going to a different spot! Sometimes I swear my girls are trying to dig to China lol.
~ You will see a look in her eyes, she will become anxious and she will very restless. She cannot get comfortable. She will sit in a spot for a minute
then quickly move to another location and she will do this over and over again.
When you've seen these signs it is probably time to put her in the lay bin. When you put her in there she will probably sit there for a few minutes
and look at you and around as if to say "okay what am I supposed to do now? Where am I?" Give her some time and stand back where she can't
see you and soon you will hear her start to dig. Make sure she's in a spot where there is no noise. This process of digging her perfect nesting hole,
and actually laying all of her eggs & backfilling the nesting spot will take hours so I don't suggest standing there the whole time :) I know it's very
hard when it's the first time your female bearded dragon is laying!
What I do is usually check up on her progress every 30 minutes. Once she has her hole dug and shes satisfied with it and she is ready to lay she
will back up into or in front of that hole and start releasing her eggs one by one. The average amount of eggs laid can range from 15 to 25 eggs.
When she is through releasing her eggs she will starting burying them by back filling the hole. Take a mental note of where she is back filling so
you know where to begin digging carefully to retrieve the eggs that she has laid. When she has finished back filling she will pack it in with her nose
with rapid thrusts forward.
Once you are convinced she is done with her mission of laying, concealing & packing in her eggs only then you should remove her from the lay bin.
Scoop her up very gently. She's exhausted and somewhat fragile. What I do is prepare a nice warm bath, not too deep because I don't want her
to expend more energy by doing the famous BD paddle. Just somewhere warm, relaxing and where you can clean her face and claws... because
she will be quite the sight! :)
Do not ever attempt to retrieve her eggs from the lay bin while she is still there! She may love you but that won't stop her from trying to protect her
eggs. This is basically her only "maternal" instinct - to locate a safe spot to lay her eggs and conceal them to protect them. She could bite you or
hit you with her nose or tail. Even when you are reaching in to take her out when she is through you should exercise caution.
When you are ready to put her back in her home give her some fresh greens & some water and make sure she can relax with very little noise, or
action around her.
Okay so she is safely away...
You need to check on your incubation unit. Make sure it is the right temperature still (this should have been stabilized for at least 2 days prior).
Make sure you are wearing gloves, open the egg bins and using your knuckle press into the vermiculite making indents - almost like a little
nesting spot for EACH individual egg. Since you haven't retrieved the eggs yet you can estimate and make about 20 little indents. The vermiculite
should be damp. Once you have made your imprints bring the egg bin(s) to your lay bin.
Take off the lid that is covering half the bin allowing you more access and conscientiously and carefully begin to scoop the vermiculite away from
where she laid her eggs. There is no rushing this. You don't want to accidentally break or harm any eggs. Her eggs will be in a cluster. As soon
as you spot the beginning of her cluster work from that and gently move the vermiculite away from the cluster. Once you can see all of the eggs,
starting from the top begin to remove them one at a time. Using your spoon and your hands carefully manipulate the egg onto the spoon without
turning, rolling or injuring it and place it into the egg bin into one of the dimpled indents. Try to place the egg as best as possible in the same
position as it was laid. One at a time take an egg out and place it in a dimpled indent until complete.
Bearded Dragon eggs are a soft shelled egg. If they are fertile they will be white. If they are grayish chances are they are not fertile. Sometimes
female dragons in their attempt to back fill and protect their eggs they can injure egg(s) themselves. Any flattened eggs simply dispose of.
Once all of your eggs are in the egg bin carefully take them back to your incubation unit and place them in there. Place the lid(s) on the egg bin(s)
and cover the holes with tape. In a couple of days or if you see condensation on inside of the egg bin walls and lid then remove the tape.
Excessive water will damage the eggs. Dripping water onto the eggs will damage or kill them. I usually check on my bins once a week to make sure
the moisture level is ok and that the vermiculite in the bins is still slightly damp.
Incubation period can vary between 64-69 days. You will see the eggs grow slowly from the time they are laid to the time they hatch. By the time
they hatch the egg has doubled in size. Here are some pictures of hatching eggs, some new borns and some incubating eggs! No matter how
many times I see it happening it is still a very exciting time for me ;)
Written by: Robin Moniz 2006
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