#107680

 A question from a first time breeder...

I have an 18 month old female beardie that has recently mated with my friend’s male. It has not been two weeks yet, but I want to be ready, so I’ve bought a Hovobator, vermiculite, etc. I have a few questions...hopefully not silly ones: 1) Is there any possibility that a beardie is NOT pregnant after mating? If so, does anyone know the odds. My beardie is pretty large for a female and very healthy. They mated 10 days ago. 2) Could anyone tell me if they’ve used the Hovobator and if this is a good method for incubating eggs? 3) Finally, I would appreciate ANY suggestions and/or information I should know before this all begins. I do work at home, and I’m here all day most days and can provide immediate attention to the eggs and mother, and I do have the means to purchase large amounts of food for the little ones. Any other suggestions would be most helpful! Thanks in advance! ~Cate

 #107703

 A question from a first time breeder...

1) Yes it is possible that she isn’t gravid. It is also fairly common for the first clutch to be duds (infertile). Guess you’ll find out in another 10-20 days. Also, if she lays, be ready for more clutches once a month for the next several months. 2) I’ve used hovabators with great success. Be sure to place it in a room that has stable temp. otherwise your incubation temps will be all over the place. Also if you got the kind with the fan, disable the fan, it tends to dry out beardie eggs too much. 3) I generally put the eggs in sandwich containers half full of moist vermiculite. Drill some holes in the lid for ventilation. I also keep a cup of water in the hovabator to help maintain humidity levels. Once they’re in the hovabator, with the exception of candling maybe once or twice, do not open the lid. By using the clear top sandwich containers you can peek through the windows and see if the eggs are doing alright. If they start to dent, they need more moisture. If this happens add water to the vermiculite but be careful not to get the eggs. Good luck Sean

 #107751

 A question from a first time breeder...

OK...my next silly question: What is candling?

 #107772

 A question from a first time breeder...

Get yourself a little mini mag light. A week or so after they are laid if you turn off all the lights in the room and shine the light through the egg (you don’t have to pick it up) you should see veins if the egg is fertile. Later on in development you can see the little babies wiggle even. It’s a primitive form of ultrasound lol. Sean

 #107811

 A question from a first time breeder...

Great....thanks for all the help. Also, if a beardie lays infertile eggs...is she also still able to lay eggs in consecutive months? And if so, can those eggs be fertile, even if the first clutch was not?