Babies dying

[xerioc]

I had a clutch of 15 hatch at the end of July, they were all doing fine up untill this past week. Four have died so far and i have no idea why. i feed them crickets when i can afford them which is 2-3 times a week and then i feed them greens every day, they have a uvb bulb and a heat lamp, i mist them every day and fill up their water dish slightly. im starting to get depressed about it all and am worried for the second clutch of 19.

 

[Soulwind]

I had a clutch of 15 hatch at the end of July, they were all doing fine up untill this past week. Four have died so far and i have no idea why. i feed them crickets when i can afford them which is 2-3 times a week and then i feed them greens every day, they have a uvb bulb and a heat lamp, i mist them every day and fill up their water dish slightly. im starting to get depressed about it all and am worried for the second clutch of 19.

Please don't take this as just raw criticism. I AM trying to help you, not just berate you.

You've got 15 babies in one tank? You're only giving babies live feeders 2-3 times a week, which also means that there's no way you're giving them enough even when you are giving them any? And you've got another 19 on the way?

You need to seriously review how to raise babies as you're making a ton of mistakes.

You also need to sit down and decide WHY you are breeding your adults. There's no legitimate reason to be breeding the adults, "just because", and I'll tell you right now that you WILL NOT make a profit trying to breed for sales. The obsessive attitude that many reptile keepers have of "I must breed my animals to be a valid keeper" just really ticks me off.

If you can't afford to properly care for the babies, then don't let them get made in the first place.

15 babies in one tank is WAY too many, even the big breeders out there who don't care if a few die off or get injured won't keep that many in a single tank.

Babies need live feeders EVERY day, and they should be getting as much as they want to eat in about a 10-15 minute time span, 2 or 3 times a day, not any limited count per baby.

Basically what's happening to you right now is that you are starving the babies to death. And the ones who do survive are doing so by fighting/dominating the others.

 

[xerioc]

when i first bred them i had a job and a stable income but after some unforseen events i dont have a job anymore and still had the eggs, i feel bad about it. i love my little ones

 

[Mistyck]

They are probably dying because you aren't feeding them enough. Also you're misting them instead of giving them baths. Plus, if you have them housed together in one tank, that's enough stress to make any number of them die off. There are a number of issues that could be leading to them dying. Stress combined with not enough food...That's a big one.

If you can't afford to keep them until it's time to sell them, then you shouldn't be incubating the next batch. This batch isn't doing well the way you're taking care of them.

I understand you're doing the best that you can now, but you're basically starving the little guys by not giving them enough protein.

 

[PintoBeanDragon1000]

I agree with the above post. THEY NEED to be fed every day 2-3 times a day. You should only keep about 5 in one tank, the skinny ones need to be nursed. Can you post some pictures so we know the condition of your clutch? The eggs in the incubator sorry to say need to be removed, you cannot afford or handle that many babies. Say each baby eats about 20 crickets 2 times a day you have 15 now and 19 on the way so thats a total of 34 babies. So twice a day one baby would be eating a healthy amount of 40 pinheads for all the babies thats a total of 1360 a day and 8160 a week. So you can get 1000 crickets from petco for 23.99 thats less than a days feeding. A whole week would cost 191.92 and I rounded down to 8000. In one months time with the average of 4 weeks you would need $575.76. To feed all the babies you are going to have. Which is a minimal healthy amount. Considering I did my math right, you cant afford that. You need to take the eggs out if they are not to far along shake them or put them in the freezer. The babies you have now, I don't know what you can do about them. They will most likely keep dying if you don't start feeding them more.

I am not trying to be mean I am trying to be realistic and show you whats going to happen. Separate the male and the female dragons. even if you have to out a piece of cardboard between them. More babies is just going to end in more deaths and more heartache for you.

Good Luck