Post by mark68 on Aug 20, 2010 5:17:30 GMT
Hi to you all
I live in central portugal in part of the warmest part of the natural range of Timon lepidus. I cannot keep that species but instead keep Timon pater and T. tangitanus in large outdoor enclosures. Each enclosure has a large insulated hide box sunk into the ground. Each box is around 25cm deep and has a mesh bottom. I keep the soil in these boxes permanently moist and the Timon almost always lay there eggs at the bottom of these boxes. I also during the summer months water a sunny area of the enclosure where many other species such as Aussie water dragons, Laudakia stellio, gallotia sp. lay there eggs. When i find these eggs the soil is also nice and damp around them.
Timon eggs naturally have long incubation periods. In my experience when eggs are kept at 28c they take 3 months. I believe they naturally hatch in the autumn in the wild. Bert Langerwerf told me in Alabama, with a climate similar in terms of temps to here, his Timon lepidus hatched in the Autumn when the adults had ceased feeding. Therefore he had no need to dig up eggs !
The Timon eggs I dig up are laid in the coolest spot of the enclosure, nice and deep. The outside areas in the sun are definately much warmer. The Timon females deliberately lay the eggs in cool moist areas where they will survive the long incubation time. I thought it would be interesting to see what temps were like where these eggs were found. I have thought for a long time that temps of 29c that some people here have recommended just seemed unnaturally hot to me. I installed a digital thermometer probe at the same point where I repeatedly found Timon pater, T. tangitanus eggs (and T. lepidus eggs when I kept that species several years ago). It was installed for the last five days of July and the first five days of August. Coincidentaly we have had the hottest July temps here for around 60 years.
more in a mo...
I live in central portugal in part of the warmest part of the natural range of Timon lepidus. I cannot keep that species but instead keep Timon pater and T. tangitanus in large outdoor enclosures. Each enclosure has a large insulated hide box sunk into the ground. Each box is around 25cm deep and has a mesh bottom. I keep the soil in these boxes permanently moist and the Timon almost always lay there eggs at the bottom of these boxes. I also during the summer months water a sunny area of the enclosure where many other species such as Aussie water dragons, Laudakia stellio, gallotia sp. lay there eggs. When i find these eggs the soil is also nice and damp around them.
Timon eggs naturally have long incubation periods. In my experience when eggs are kept at 28c they take 3 months. I believe they naturally hatch in the autumn in the wild. Bert Langerwerf told me in Alabama, with a climate similar in terms of temps to here, his Timon lepidus hatched in the Autumn when the adults had ceased feeding. Therefore he had no need to dig up eggs !
The Timon eggs I dig up are laid in the coolest spot of the enclosure, nice and deep. The outside areas in the sun are definately much warmer. The Timon females deliberately lay the eggs in cool moist areas where they will survive the long incubation time. I thought it would be interesting to see what temps were like where these eggs were found. I have thought for a long time that temps of 29c that some people here have recommended just seemed unnaturally hot to me. I installed a digital thermometer probe at the same point where I repeatedly found Timon pater, T. tangitanus eggs (and T. lepidus eggs when I kept that species several years ago). It was installed for the last five days of July and the first five days of August. Coincidentaly we have had the hottest July temps here for around 60 years.
more in a mo...