Henrietta laid an egg!

[hemingway155]

Finally, my high-red pair got their act together, and the female (Henrietta) felt like sharing an egg with me. The male (Herbie) stopped calling a couple/three months ago, and they may be hiding eggs somewhere -- they have lots of hides that I don't want to disturb. But this morning, like a present, she laid an egg front-and center on a piece of Ethan's bamboo litter, on the floor of the cage. I don't know if that's ok or not, but here is a pic of the egg, being removed for incubation. I figure since it's on a piece of loose substrate, removing it makes sense. I think I have it under control, but any incubation tips, wisdom, and experience would definitely be appreciated.

Kris

 

[Riverside Reptiles]

Congrats Kris!!! If it's just a single egg and it was laid on the ground, don't be too shocked if it ends up being infertile. It wouldn't be unusual for a first lay. But, it's still a good sign of things to come. I'd still treat it as if it were fertile though. I just had one hatch out that I thought for sure was infertile when it was laid. I stuck it in a gladware container up on a shelf, and to my surprise, a baby popped out the other day!

 

[hemingway155]

So how/when should I be able to tell if it's infertile? Most of my experience breeding has been with beardie morphs, so I'm used to being able to candle after a few weeks and look for blood vessel development. If it is a dud, might she still lay subsequent fertile clutches in the upcoming weeks?

Right now, it looks a little odd, one egg all by itself in a refrigerator-style incubator with redundant thermostats, so I hope it gets some company soon.

Kris

 

[Riverside Reptiles]

You should be able to candle it the same way. And yes, even if it's a dud, she should start laying some (hopefully) fertile eggs in the upcoming weeks. Make sure to start really gutloading her food and providing plenty of calcium to help her maintain while she's laying. Fingers crossed, she should start producing on a regular basis for you now. The hard part is waiting for them to hatch! Can't wait to see what comes out! I think that you're going to end up with some hot babies from that pair.

 

[danniel]

congratulations