Re: Hatchlings
Hi “shagywow”, You’ll be surprised how easy it is to incubate the eggs and get them to hatch provided they’re fertile. As you have experienced, it is not a good idea to incubate them in soil due to scavenging and physical injury to the eggs. Leaving the eggs in water will also certainly kill any developing embryo and cause the egg to spoil. There are 3 options that I will recommend: 1) Purchase an incubator at a feed supply store (they’re used to incubate chicken eggs, etc.). Put the eggs in a small shoebox or tupperware container filled with vermiculite at a ratio of 1:1 water and vermiculite weighted, not volume. I would incubate at temperatures around the high 70s to the low 80s F. The eggs should hatch within 2-3 months. 2) Make your own incubator out of a styrofoam box and fill it partially with water. Place an aquarium heater in the water to regulate the temperature and place the shoebox containing the vermiculite:water mixture with the eggs on a platform above the water. Make sure the top of the styrofoam box is ventilated. Incubate at the same temperatures as suggested above. 3) Just place the eggs in a shoebox with the vermiculite:water mix and incubate at room temperature. This generally takes a little longer but will work nevertheless. Good luck! – Chun