How long to hatch?

MegophryidaeMan

MegophryidaeMan

New member
I did a search on here and couldn't find any information on this. My cats just laid eggs and I wanted to know how long the wait is until they hatch? Would the female still guard them if they were not viable? As it is, I am leaving the eggs with the female since she is very protective and nippy. What should I look out for?
 
S

Steven Busch

New member
Congrats Chad I knew you would do well with them. As to guarding the egg now, they may not feel that way about the little one, as I mentioned on the phone, you may want to remove it once it hatches. We remove them after Marcus made a comment about little ones disappearing sometimes.

Now how about breeding those moustache toads!!!!!!!

I forgot to tell you today when we talked that the Cyrtodactylus sworderi (yellow spotted slender toe) laid for us the other day. Only one egg so far and the pair seems to guard the egg.
 
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MegophryidaeMan

MegophryidaeMan

New member
Thanks Steve! :)

The cryto egg sounds lucky! :) Hopefully they will lay for you again!

I am working on those mustache toads. they just don't want to do anything yet. lol
 
MegophryidaeMan

MegophryidaeMan

New member
Ok, snagged some pics yesterday. They are awful, but enjoy anyhow :) I am a horrid pic taker!! lol
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Question: Will she bury the eggs if it cools down too much? Or move them? I peaked into the enclosure today and there is a little mess of dirt around where the eggs were before and I didn't want to mess with them, but wanted to ask and see if this is normal behavior.
 
S

Steven Busch

New member
Marcus would just leave the cat eggs alone. We are doing both, removing some and leaving some alone.

Janet just found a couple of Gekko smithii eggs from a group we got about 3 months ago. Parents both guard the eggs.

Steve
 
Riverside Reptiles

Riverside Reptiles

Administrator (HMFIC)
I've never had an issue with a female messing with the eggs after laying them. You certainly don't have to leave them in situ though. I've had great success the past few years pulling them and hatching them out with the classic 1:1 ratio by weight water to vermiculite in a deli cup at room temps. I had some hatch out in situ last year though, so I figured I'd give it a go this year as well. But I've not had an incident where I've noticed a female move or eat eggs. Doesn't mean it can't/won't happen. Just means that it hasn't happened to me.
 
Riverside Reptiles

Riverside Reptiles

Administrator (HMFIC)
MegophryidaeMan said:
Have your females ever burried the eggs in order to keep them warm?
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Not after any time has passed from laying them initially. "Warm" is not something that these animals tend to seek out (although I suppose it's subjective depending on what the temps in their enclosure/room are). I have to run AC during the summer in the room that I keep my felinus to keep the animals and eggs cool enough. But, I've not found that my females guard or tend to their eggs at all. I've hatched out a lot of felinus. But they have always just laid the eggs and then left them alone in my experience.
 
MegophryidaeMan

MegophryidaeMan

New member
Hmmm...Well, last night it got into the 50's and I left my window cracked all night but it didn't get below 63 - I checked the temp tracker in my room. Do you think that she may have burried them to keep them warmer? Or maybe they are just gone. :( Oh well, we will see.
 
Riverside Reptiles

Riverside Reptiles

Administrator (HMFIC)
That is a bit on the cool side. Anything's possible. Dig around in there and see if you can find them. It's possible that she just stepped on them and squished them as well. You never know. Since this is your first batch, you may want to pull them out regardless and incubate them in vermiculite/perlite outside of the enclosure. There's certainly more control over various issues if you do.
 
MegophryidaeMan

MegophryidaeMan

New member
Ok, I couldn't help myself. I just rooted around in there to see if the eggs were any good. I found them, they were buried under a 1/4 inch of soil and moss. They still look good. I am going to keep them in there for now and watch.

My male is still currently in the enclosure with her. Maybe if I move him, she will stop guarding the nest?
 
S

Steven Busch

New member
Keeping females together for a period of time is fine depending on the size of the habitat. There appears to be a stress factor if too tightly packed. Two females in a 40 gallon setup would probably be fine. The other option would be to partition your enclosure into 2 or 3 smaller sections.

Steve
 
MegophryidaeMan

MegophryidaeMan

New member
I think I will just get a few more glass tanks this weekend and split them into those. I would like a group of five so I should just get the tanks and get them ready for when I can do it. :) Thanks for the idea though Steve. I am just not very good at splitting things up evenly or neatly.
 
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