# Agama Mwanzae eggs



## aatjmom (Jun 27, 2015)

I know this is long, but please bear with me. I apologize for all the questions...
My spider-man agama laid eggs on 6/26. Two of them seem to be hanging in there. I have them in a deli cup with Hatchrite in a Thermal Hovabator. I'm trying to keep them at a consistent temp but it seems to be at 27.3 most of the time but went up as high as 27.8 on a couple of occasions. I hear it isn't typical for them to hatch so I don't have high expectations.

I did receive a reply from a member of this forum regarding incubation back in September before she laid her clutch in October, which I appreciated. All 8 of those eggs were gone within about 10 days. I didn't intend for or expect them to breed, as they were together for a year before I got them and apparently she was never gravid then and I hear it's not common in captivity.

When it was about time for her to lay the first clutch, I took the male out of the tank for approx. 10 to 12 weeks but when she looked gravid again, I put him back in as it seemed they didn't like being apart. 

Do these agamas develop eggs regardless of breeding or not? How can I keep her from developing eggs to give her body a break and let her nutrients get built back up? I don't know when to remove him from their tank, how long to keep him out, how long it takes eggs to develop before being laid. When in the process do the eggs need to be fertilized? I don't know how to tell if the eggs are good or what to do with the babies if they hatch. Any advice would be very appreciated.

Thank you in advance,
Ann


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## aatjmom (Jun 27, 2015)

*Mwanzae egg update*

I lost one egg a few weeks ago. The only egg that was left started to dimple on Aug. 30. We returned home after being gone a few days and the last egg was caved in . I decided to open the egg to see if any progress was being made. It contained a 35 day old fetus. I will continue attempts to hatch Spider-Man Agama in captivity, as I believe I stand a good chance of accomplishing this.


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## aatjmom (Jun 27, 2015)

*A new clutch*

Mary Jane laid a clutch of 7 eggs today. They are larger than the others have been. She was burying them so I hope I didn't disturb them too much while transferring to the deli cups. If anyone has suggestions to increase hatching success, I would welcome them. These arrived exactly 2 months after her last clutch. Wish me luck!


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## Azastral (Jun 6, 2015)

You can see if they are fertile/developing by candling them.

to do this, you will need a light that you can shine through the egg (somehting like an led torch) and in a darkened room put the light to the side of the egg, you should be able to see the blood vessels on the other side of the egg in fertile eggs, and as they progress, start to see the shadow of the embryo etc.


There are videos and guides to explain it better than i can, and i am not all that practiced in doing it either!

Good luck with the plan to breed them, i got a clutch of bearded dragon eggs about 5 weeks ago but out of the three fertile ones it doesnt look like any will survive, only one is still plump the others deflated and i removed them (inside there was nothing but a hardened yolk). It can be heartbreaking, i certainly wasnt planning to breed them but a male got to one of my females when i was cleaning them out and well... first clutch of eggs i had ever had, 10 infertile, 3 fertile, so i tried.

It looks like you are getting fertile eggs, its now just a case of getting the incubation conditions just right! I hope someone can give you some advice, maybe message arcadiajohn to see if he can give any specific advice for the species?


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## aatjmom (Jun 27, 2015)

Azastral, 

Thank you so much for your reply. I think the reason I lost that last egg was bc I was trying to candle it with a small flashlight. I had to handle the egg bc it was sinking into the medium. The next day is when it started dimpling/collapsing. After that, I ordered a candler.

I did read it is good to wait 48 hours after the eggs are laid to try to see the blood vessels? I will probably take your advice and try to contact arcadiajohn about this. Has he been successful breeding and hatching mwanzae?


Good luck with your last egg. Who knows, maybe you will get a baby!


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## Azastral (Jun 6, 2015)

Hes an expert with reptiles, I don't know if he has bred that specific species but he is likely to know far more than anyone else you will find.

But of a walking reptile manual! 

Maybe don't handle the eggs directly, a properly clean pair of forceps?
Or candle from the side without moving or touching the eggs?


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## aatjmom (Jun 27, 2015)

*Candling*

I candled the seven eggs (with an egg candler). Five of them have blood vessels! One is questionable and one was yellow. The two latter were quite dimpled. 

Can eggs regain any moisture once they have started to dry out?

Mary Jane doesn't know I took the eggs and she is guarding the nest.


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## aatjmom (Jun 27, 2015)

I'm down to 3 eggs. I candled them last night and saw movement in all 3 but they don't look big enough to be very near hatching. Do the embryos grow a lot in the final 2 to 3 weeks? They are now 49 days old.


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## aatjmom (Jun 27, 2015)

*Help please*

I'm getting concerned. *The eggs are 66 days old today. *The one egg leaked some about 5 days ago and got the small dimple on top. *2nd egg appears to be flattening from the underside and the 3rd one that is in its own container is doing nothing. *I don't feel like they have really grown much, if any and I've seen no movement from the outside. *Shouldn't they be moving a little bit?*

I've read so many things about them dying in the egg or not being able to get out bc of egg shell getting too hard or them needing to be helped out of the shell. *I'm scared to try something but scared not to. 

Thank you in advance for any thoughts.


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## colinm (Sep 20, 2008)

To me the eggs don't look hydrated enough, have you added water to the perlite?


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## aatjmom (Jun 27, 2015)

I haven't recently. How do I distinguish whether they are dimpling due to dryness or if it's because they are ready to hatch?


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## colinm (Sep 20, 2008)

Before eggs hatch they go grey and then start sweating. At the end they dimple. 

I would say that yours are probably too dry.


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## aatjmom (Jun 27, 2015)

Thank you! I will moisten the hatchrite a bit. Should they stay at 100% humidity?


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## aatjmom (Jun 27, 2015)

I added water to the hatchrite and candled the eggs. 1 & 2, the eggs that share a deli cup, are now yellow inside. I am assuming they have died?


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## Woodsman (Aug 12, 2008)

One of the UK's top Agamid experts is the user Seamus on here. Suggest you pm him for advice.


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## aatjmom (Jun 27, 2015)

I will send a message to Seamus for sure. I opened one egg today as it was getting quite moldy. Thanks Woodsman


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## Salazare Slytherin (Oct 21, 2009)

aatjmom said:


> I will send a message to Seamus for sure. I opened one egg today as it was getting quite moldy. Thanks Woodsman


I think the fact they were developing was meaning you were doing fairly well at the beginning, because this species has rarely been bred in captivity, your probably better off learning from the expeirence, and if your lucky enough to get another batch, try the suggestions from here and keeping them a little more moist. 

I hope the other ones are okay, good luck mate. : victory:


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## aatjmom (Jun 27, 2015)

Thank you Salazare Slytherin. The other 2 eggs had died earlier, as the dead embryos were about 1/4 smaller than the first I opened. 

You are right. I will focus on doing better with the next clutch and watch the moisture level better. Mary Jane is gravid, as usual so I will let you all know when she lays eggs again.


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## aatjmom (Jun 27, 2015)

*Loss of Spidey*

Sadly, I had to say goodbye to my beautiful male Agama Mwanzae, Spidey on Thursday. He was fine all day and then I saw him dead lying in a spot he isn't usually at. There was no warning and no obvious illness. Of course, their ages are unknown. I was surprised he was brightly colored up still after dying.

I so wanted to hatch some of him and Mary Janes eggs since I had been blessed with a captive breeding pair. The last 2 clutches weren't fertilized. MJ does appear to be be gravid again but I doubt they are fertilized. I will treat them as good eggs, just in case. Does anyone know if a male agama might become sterile after a certain age? 

I don't know whether I should try to find Mary Jane a new mate or not.


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