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Threewatersv   Dericka

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#1972753 Threewatersv View Profile	Got an egg problem I work at a pet shop and although I am a reptile owner, I am not an owner of a MHD. Well, I took ours home recently, after discovering that she was gravid... I gave her a laying area and some privacy and she successfully laid them last night. I’ve done some research on the incubation and just a few minutes ago, unburied the eggs (11 of them) and without turning them, placed them into a rubbermaid sandwich container in the same substrate that she buried them in (eco earth, light moisture). They’re all beautiful and white and I have yet to candle one to see if they may really be fertile... I know the reasonable incubation temp is 70-75* but I don’t have an incubator and was wondering what would be best to do incubation wise, just in case they are fertile? What would I need to do as daily maintenance?
03/22/09  01:45pm
#1973058 Dericka View Profile	Message To: Threewatersv   In reference to Message Id: 1972753  Got an egg problem That is very cool! I am glad you realized it and brought her home! Are you going to keep her or just the eggs? If she was wild caught there may be a good chance the eggs will be fertile. When I got my first wild caught female her first clutch was fertile, well, 7 of the 12 ended up being fertile, but every year of the 4 years she laid after that they were infertile, even though she was in with a male... Anyways, if you haven’t yet, check out http://www.froggieb.com/MHDHome.html , that is the best source of MHD info and has a breeding and egg section. The eggs actually take around 5 months till they hatch if you keep the temps around 65-70, which is recommended. I just used a styrofoam container/cooler which was used to ship fish in from the pet shop where I work, and put a humidity gauge and digital thermometer in there. I kept the eggs in plastic cups and in moistened vermiculite, 4-5 eggs in each cup. You do not want to cover the eggs with a lid or with vermiculite, just make a little indent in the vermiculite and lay the eggs in it. You do not have to turn the eggs or anything while they are incubating. (I had got all this info off FroggieB site when I got my first MHD) I kept a small, separate dish of water in the cooler, for humidity, and left the lid on except to either open it every day or two for air to get in, or cracked it if the humidity was too high or the temps too warm from being closed up. I actually had good luck maintaining the temp at 66/67 just by keeping it in the basement which is nice and cool. You won’t be able to see anything by candling until around 3 months, but any infertile eggs will dent and turn dark colored within a few weeks I believe, which is always a let down. And they are beautiful, once they are dried from being laid and harden a bit, if you look close they have this incredible pattern almost like snowflakes or stars. I always thought that’s was so very cool! deri
03/22/09  09:53pm

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