How To Care For Bearded Dragon Eggs: Full Guide
When it comes to bearded dragon eggs, there’s a lot to learn. It may seem difficult to take on the responsibility of breeding and caring for beardie eggs, but with the right knowledge, skills, and planning, it will be a comfort!
Get your dragon eggs ready for hatching. With this article, you’ll have all the resources needed to ensure that everything goes smoothly and your bearded dragons get a healthy start.
What Are The Signs That A Bearded Dragon Is Getting Ready To Lay Eggs?
There’s a potential that your bearded dragon’s eggs were fertilized if she was around a male in the previous year. This can happen at any age, from as young as nine months to several years into adulthood. Being gravid refers to a female who is growing eggs but has not yet laid them.
As your precious beardie’s pregnancy progresses, you can expect her tummy to expand noticeably. Closer to egg-laying time, the eggs can even be seen from outside and they’ll cause a distinct sensation when touched. She may also begin to feel lethargic and she’ll spend more time basking beneath the UV lamp.
A gravid female dragon will typically be sluggish and prefer to bask beneath the heat lamp. Her appetite may be reduced, and she may be lethargic. She will spend more time basking in the heat lamp, but she will also spend more time hiding.
She will be less interested in moving around and more interested in basking. Your bearded dragon may lay her eggs in a large nest, which is a substrate, or she may choose to lay her eggs in a depression or crevice in the substrate.
Bearded dragons usually lay one egg at a time, but occasionally, two or three eggs will be laid in a clutch. If you have any doubts that your bearded dragon is ready to lay eggs, or if you notice that she’s been laying eggs for a long time, contact your bearded dragon keeper for advice.
Bearded Dragon Eggs: How To Incubate
Bearded dragons are hardy, reptile species that can survive in a wide range of temperatures and habitats. However, they are sensitive to environmental changes. It is therefore important to keep them in a constant, warm, and comfortable environment.
In the wild, bearded dragons are born in the nest of their parents. However, when it comes to bearded dragon breeding, you’ll need to incubate the eggs at a constant temperature and humidity level. This is the reason why it is important to provide the proper incubation facilities for the eggs.
It may seem difficult to take on the responsibility of breeding and caring for beardie eggs, but with the right knowledge, skills, and planning, it will be a comfort!
Here are some tips for incubating and caring for eggs.
1. Give the female a place to lay her eggs.
Ensuring your beloved bearded dragon has the proper resources to lay eggs is essential in keeping them healthy and content. Providing the right environment will help ensure a safe hatching process. As previously said, when the time comes for females to lay their eggs, they will begin looking for a suitable location.
It’s not always the greatest spot to lay the eggs in a typical enclosure. Bearded dragons enjoy digging a hole in which to lay their eggs. There’s a good chance her normal container doesn’t have enough depth for this.
A nesting box should be a rectangular box that is about the size of the enclosure. Bearded dragons don’t care about the size of the box.
However, they prefer a box that is about three inches wider than the enclosure. If the enclosure is at least three inches taller than the enclosure, it will be easier for the female to reach the top of the box.
You’ll also want to provide your bearded dragon with a safe, dry, and warm spot to lay her eggs. Many bearded dragons will choose to lay their eggs in a location where they can bask in the sun. It’s important that your bearded dragon has a suitable location to bask in the sun.
It’s important to provide a warm habitat. Adding an external heating pad is just one way you can create the terrestrial environment they need and your pet will thank you.
You can take your bearded dragon out of the box once she has finished laying her eggs. Make sure she has plenty of food and fresh water at all times. After the experience, she’ll need some time to rest and refill her body.
2. Put The Box In An Incubator
You may leave the eggs in the nesting box, but it is essential to monitor the temperature and humidity levels to maintain a secure environment. Because this is a difficult undertaking, most breeders will rely on an incubator.
Incubating eggs requires a great deal of care and attention. In order to ensure successful hatching, it is essential that the temperature in the incubator remains between 80-85 degrees with humidity. Appropriately maintained over those initial two days a crucial period.
3. During incubation, keep an eye on the eggs
Bearded dragons have a natural hatching process that involves a series of behaviors. When adjusting the humidity in their terrarium, keep an eye on its bedding.
Add more if it’s too dry and remove some when there’s a bit too much moisture. You can also add more moisture by spraying the box with water.
Unsurprisingly, the development of any life begins with a hatching egg but only if those eggs have been carefully incubated.
Without optimal temperature and humidity levels, you won’t get to witness that adorable moment when baby bearded dragons emerge from their shells.
If this is the case, you’ll need to do some additional research and planning before you hatch the eggs. You should be checking the eggs every few hours for the first three days of incubation. You’ll want to check the eggs to see if they’ve hatched.
If they’ve hatched, you’ll need to remove the eggs from the box and place them in a hatching basket. It’s important to know the hatching process for bearded dragons.
Hatch the Eggs Without an Incubator
Let’s discuss the methods for looking after bearded dragon eggs when an incubator is not available. Clean the bedding after your gravid female lays her clutch in the dirt to prevent germs and mold growth.
Making sure that the nesting material is moist but not soggy will help ensure a healthy environment free from rot. Meanwhile, place the eggs in a plastic or glass container with a few cups of moistened substrate. If you can’t find a suitable container, a Tupperware-style container is a good option
Bearded dragon eggs need to be kept at a temperature of 80-85 degrees Fahrenheit. You’ll have to wait 40-90 days for them to hatch. Keep the eggs away from the female bearded lizard.
How To Look After Your Bearded Dragon While It’s Laying Eggs:
when a bearded dragon starts laying eggs, you’ll need to look after her even more carefully. Laying eggs is an important part of a bearded dragon’s life, and there are a few things you can do to ensure that the eggs are safe and that your bearded dragon doesn’t harm them.
Supplemental calcium should be given to your beardie to assist it to cope with the physical stress of egg-laying. Calcium is found in eggs, which the body obtains from calcium reserves in your pet’s body. If your beardie does not get enough calcium, her reserves will be depleted, and she may develop hypocalcemia.
Hypocalcemia makes bones and teeth more brittle. If not treated promptly, it can develop into metabolic bone disease, which causes bone weakness and deformity, as well as osteoporosis, which causes bone tissue to deteriorate.
If your pet’s blood calcium levels are low, or if she has other signs of bone disease, such as loss of appetite, lethargy, and a poor ability to move, it is best to take her to the vet immediately.
It is also important to monitor your bearded dragon for signs of eggshell thinning, which may indicate that she is laying eggs too quickly.
If your bearded dragon is laying eggs too quickly, her body may not have time to make sufficient calcium to build the eggshell.
Ensure that your pregnant beardie has a greater nutritional and protein diet, as it will require more energy to get through this period than usual. Your beardie may want some assistance to physically recover from the exertion once the eggs have been laid.
Conclusion
We hope you liked learning about bearded dragon eggs and how to care for them. If you take great care of your beloved Bearded Dragon’s eggs and make sure the temperature and humidity are just right, they should hatch at an ideal rate.
Don’t forget to feed your bearded dragon properly. Providing your pet with a diet rich in essential proteins, calcium-based nutrition, and an abundance of vitamins and minerals will help ensure their active lifestyle stays strong.
In the end, you can’t guarantee that your bearded dragon will lay eggs. While caring for your bearded dragon, it’s vital to ensure its safety and health are paramount. Additionally, providing a secure environment free from potential harm is essential.
If you want to keep your bearded dragon happy and healthy, make sure that she’s fed well, and get her the right temperature and humidity for incubating eggs.
Maintaining the health of your female bearded dragon helps guarantee that she lays healthy eggs. To help in the incubation phase and ensure that the eggs develop properly, a comfortable cage with a dig box or nest at the proper temperatures is also essential.
FAQs
How Long Does It Take For Bearded Dragon Eggs To Hatch?
It takes between 40 and 90 days for a bearded dragon to hatch.
Can a female bearded dragon lay eggs without a male bearded dragon?
Yes, she can even lay eggs without any assistance from her male counterparts. However, in a bearded dragon, the egg development and the depositing process are similar to female menstruation in mammals.
Unfertilized eggs in bearded dragons lead to the production of infertile eggs. If a female bearded dragon lays eggs without having mated, those eggs will be sterile.
If the egg has a pinkish embryo and a little form inside, it is pregnant and will hatch. They will not hatch if you bring the egg up to the light and see nothing.
These eggs should be discarded because they are empty. Warning! If you rotate the eggs too much, the reptiles inside can expire. Only move them as much as you need to and with extreme caution.
What Do Bearded Dragons Eggs Look Like?
Freshly-laid eggs start life with an almost ethereal appearance, their delicate shells a translucent white. The shell is usually thinner at the top of the egg and thickest at the bottom.
A pinkish network of blood vessels and possibly a little embryo may be visible when a bright light shines beneath the egg.
The eggs will continue to develop for around three weeks. The eggs will start to crack and change color as they develop. The shells will eventually hatch.
How Many Eggs Bearded Dragons Lay?
With a single clutch, these scaly cuties have the potential to create quite an extended family of up to twenty little bearded dragons. During pregnancy, a bearded dragon will usually lay one to three clutches.
This will yield anything between 20 and 60 eggs. First-time breeders may be surprised to find that their bearded dragon lays more than one clutch during pregnancy.
What Should I Do When My Bearded Dragon Lays Eggs?
When you notice that your bearded dragon is laying eggs, the first thing you should do is put her in a separate cage. Don’t place her with your other bearded dragons or other reptiles.
When housing multiple bearded dragons, it’s important to provide separate dwellings for each fuzzy friend as they will typically prefer their own space.
Doing so can help foster a happier and healthier environment that is ideal for all your beloved lizards. The female lizard should be kept away from the male lizard during this time.
Bearded dragons are very territorial. The female lizard should be kept away from the male lizard during this time.
This is because a female bearded dragon will usually try to lay eggs on her own territory. That’s why you should place the female lizard in a separate cage from the male lizard.
What is the Best Way to Care for a Bearded Dragon Baby?
Consequently, you should be very careful when handling your baby bearded dragon. Bearded dragons have an impressive ability to sense the subtlest shifts in their environment, from temperature fluctuations to changes in humidity.
This sensitivity makes them truly remarkable creatures. Providing them with an appropriate nest box for sleeping, as well as being mindful of the temperature in their habitat will ensure they are comfortable.
Additionally, feeding them crickets, waxworms or mealworms makes up a varied diet that meets all of their needs. Lastly don’t forget to keep everything clean.
This is essential for helping your little one thrive. Bearded dragons can get parasites from dirty environments. If you don’t provide your baby bearded dragon with a comfortable temperature, humidity, and a good diet, it may develop health problems.
How Long Do Bearded Dragons Live?
Bearded dragons can live up to 15 years in captivity. They can live for much longer if they are well cared for. Bearded dragons are very long-lived reptiles. This is why you should provide your baby bearded dragon with a good diet, a clean environment, and a comfortable temperature.
Bearded dragons eat insects and worms for several reasons. Some of these reasons include, but are not limited to:
- To clean their skin.
- To help them build up their muscles.
- To help them grow
- To help them fight off disease.
