Green Water Dragons by Philippe De Vosjoli

Author:Philippe De Vosjoli
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lumina Media
Published: 1992-03-14T05:00:00+00:00

A melanistic (left) and a normal colored (right) juvenile water dragon meet nose to nose on a branch.

A sailfin lizard (a related species) breaks out of its shell.

Egg Laying and Incubation

Place a layer of sandy peat moss 8 to 10 inches deep in the enclosure for gravid females to lay their eggs. If you place a board or a section of cork bark on top of the peat/sand area, many females will dig a nest starting at the edge of these structures and end up digging a burrow underneath. Once the eggs have been laid, carefully dig them out and move them to a suitable incubator.

Incubation

For incubation, put the eggs in an incubator in moistened vermiculite. Use equal amounts of vermiculite to water by weight or ten parts vermiculite to one part water by volume (10:1). Bury the eggs on their sides with one-third exposed above the vermiculite. The eggs should not be turned during the entire incubation period so mark the tops with an “X” using a magic marker if you need to move the eggs. Place a layer of moistened sphagnum moss on top, and maintain the eggs at 84–86° F. Well-known reptile veterinarian, Douglas Mader, D.V.M., recommends incubation temperatures of 88° F, but I suspect that this may be in the upper limits of suitable temperatures and that upward fluctuations could prove fatal in the latter stages of development. At exceedingly high temperatures, the water dragon’s metabolism may demand more oxygen than the amount able pass through the eggshell and membranes.

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