A trick for finding eggs

[KevinS]

I just thought I'd mention this to see if anyone else uses a similar technique. If you don't and you have a large nest box, you may want to give it a try. I've got a 5 quart rubbermaid half filled with soil for a nesting box and my females seem to really like it. Because of its size, it seemed like it would be a little tedious digging around every time I suspected eggs so I came up with a very simple solution.

I took a slab of wood about 1 inch thick and roughly 5x4 inches wide and laid it flat across the surface of the soil. With one exception, the females always dig very shallow depressions under the edge of the wood to deposit their eggs. I can just lift it up to check for eggs and when any have been laid, they're right under the slab of wood-no excavation required. It's light enough that it should present no danger to them if they dig under it too much, and they seem to always want to deposit their eggs under it instead of digging a hole and burying them anywhere else.

[Silly-atus]

I use gallon sized ice cream tubs and put a piece of bark over the substrate. Works the same way as you mentioned - they almost always lay the eggs right under the bark.

Even a small pile of leaf litter works the same. I've experimented with magnolia leaves (they last longer, don't decay for months) piled in one corner. The girls like that spot just as much as laying under bark. The advantage to this is that you can tell if somebody's laid eggs under there because the leaves have been moved, the pile doesn't look like it did yesterday.


Of course, there's always that same female who decides she can't use a laying box so I have to hunt for her eggs all over the place. She'll even lay hers on the bare floor.

[Phantom Dragon]

That's a good idea. I know some people that put a thin layer of orchid bark on the bottom of the cage, with a piece of green moss in the corner. They spray under the moss a few times a week, and the cresteds lay there every time with no problems. Josh

[Syrus]

I just make a pen imprint(laying on its side) in the dirt, when my female gets ready to lay eggs she tears up the whole nest box. I know when she has laid the eggs because the imprint is gone.

[livialeigh]

I just make a pen imprint(laying on its side) in the dirt, when my female gets ready to lay eggs she tears up the whole nest box. I know when she has laid the eggs because the imprint is gone.

This is a great idea! I've tried the whole hide thing (logs, wood, leaves), but my female doesn't like to make things easy on me :D The whole bottom of her cage is dirt but because I'm new to breeding I still like searching the cage for eggs ;)


Olivia

[KelliH]

Hmm, I guess I'm old school or something, I just dig around in the peat moss until I find eggs. #-o

That's a great idea though for larger nest boxes though.8-)

[poison_iv]

interesting idea... but some of my girls dig around for weeks before laying, and i've even had geckos sleep in nest boxes...

I have to try the wood thing... I had 3 girls together i thought were done laying because they werent using their nest box anymore... turns out they piled up a bunch of dirt under a branch and laid there, I found 8 eggs ... all under the one branch. Crazy chicks makin me dig. The only reason i found the eggs is because i could see the bottom of their enclosure where they had been moving the dirt from. I thought it to be a little suspicious, and started digging around...



I just make a pen imprint(laying on its side) in the dirt, when my female gets ready to lay eggs she tears up the whole nest box. I know when she has laid the eggs because the imprint is gone.