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How To Incubate Bearded Dragon Eggs (Guide)

Are you interested in hatching bearded dragon eggs and want to make sure you’re taking good care of them? If so, we are here to help! 

First things first, to incubate bearded dragon eggs, you’ll need an incubator to carefully place the eggs inside after they’ve been laid. Once you’ve got that set up, make sure the temperature stays between 80Ā° – 85Ā° degrees Fahrenheit (27Ā° – 29Ā° C), the humidity is around 75%, and then just sit tight and wait for 40-90 days. 

Keep reading as we take you through the whole process of how to incubate bearded dragon eggs and answer your common queries. 

how to incubate bearded dragon eggs

Steps For Incubating Bearded Dragon Eggs

This section will go through the steps for incubating bearded dragon eggs.

Follow these steps, and you’ll have a good idea of how to get started on hatching these reptile eggs.

Make Or Pick Your Incubator

The first thing you need to do is make your incubator or buy it.

Making one yourself isn’t tricky, but just buying one is the easiest option.

It’s best to get one with a thermometer and hygrometer built-in for help telling what the temp and humidity are.

Look ahead for more details on making your incubator.

Zoo Med Reptibator Egg Incubator
  • Digital controller with LCD display and LED heat indicator light
  • Pulse proportional thermostat for stable temperature regulation
  • Temperature control range from 59Ā°F to 104Ā°F (15Ā°C to 40Ā°C
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Wait For The Eggs To Get Laid

With the incubator at home, all you need now are some eggs.

Bearded dragons mate after their brumation period, so if you’re doing the breeding yourself, put a male and female bearded dragon together after they get up from brumation.

After mating, the female bearded dragons lay eggs in the soil (often buried).

bearded dragon eggs

Once the egg laying process is complete, be ready to remove them.

You may want to take the bearded dragon out while you get the eggs.

And if you’re curious how long these lizards stay pregnant, read our post on how long bearded dragons are pregnant.

Move The Eggs Carefully

After the bearded dragons lay eggs, it’s time to move them.

Rotating or turning eggs over can cause them to die before they’re born.

Be careful to handle them gently and keep them level the whole time you move them.

As you move the bearded dragon’s eggs into the incubator, make sure you are as gentle as possible. 

move bearded dragon eggs

Set The Temperature

Once the eggs are in, you need to set the temperature at 80Ā° – 85Ā° degrees Fahrenheit (27Ā° – 29Ā° C).

Some incubators will track the temperature and adjust automatically.

In contrast, others require you to check and adjust the heat manually.

The temperature is the most critical aspect of incubating eggs, so you need to keep a close eye on this.

If the incubator adjusts automatically, it just makes your life easier, but still, check on it a few times a day.

set temperature and humidity

Set The Humidity

You also need to set the humidity.

Adult bearded dragons like the air to be dry, but eggs need high humidity.

Aim for 75% relative humidity.

This is checked with a hygrometer.

Some bought incubators come with a built-in hygrometer.

Many incubators need your help with the humidity.

You may have to add water to a pan at the bottom or in another part of the machine.

If eggs get too dry, they won’t hatch and could have issues.

Check On Them

Once these are set, all you need to do is keep checking on them.

Make sure the temperature and humidity stay in a reasonable range.

Depending on your incubator, you may also want to keep an eye out for mold on the exterior of your eggs’ shells.

This is a sign the surface of the eggs is getting too much direct moisture.

Lower the humidity or dab dry the eggshells to help keep the mold down.

Then, you wait.

Hatching bearded dragons eggs takes almost 40-90 days as long as they’re fertile.

Congrats! Now you know how to incubate bearded dragon eggs.

How To Make An Incubator For Bearded Dragon Eggs

Making an incubator isn’t too tricky, and there are many ways to do it.

You need the following:

  • Container which holds the temperature steady
  • Heater
  • Thermometer
  • Hygrometer

For example, one setup may go like this:

You could use a styrofoam insulated cooler filled with some water in the bottom and an attachable heating light above inside the lid.

Use chicken wire and solid slats of some kind to create a platform for the eggs to rest on while still letting the water into the air.

Attach a thermometer and hygrometer to the inside of the container.

Now, you’re all set!

It’s not tricky, but the big things you need to watch for are containers capable of holding their temperature steady and a place for water to go to keep the air humid.

Try looking at this video for another idea.

Or, if this all seems like too much, buy one of our picks for the best incubators for bearded dragon eggs.

How to make an Incubator for your bearded dragon eggs

How to make an Incubator for your bearded dragon eggs

How Long Does It Take For Bearded Dragon Eggs To Hatch

It usually takes 40-90 days to hatch eggs once they’ve been laid.

This is, of course, only if the eggs are a result of successful female and male bearded dragons mating.

Female bearded dragons can lay eggs without mating.

These eggs don’t contain baby bearded dragons and will never hatch.

The best way to check if an egg is fertile is through candling.

Take great care not to turn the bearded dragon egg over, remove an egg, and put a bright light behind it to see through.

If the bearded dragon egg has blood vessels, a pinkish hue, and you see an embryo inside the egg is fertile.

When you see nothing, this means the bearded dragon egg is infertile, and it’s disposable.

We have another post with more details on bearded dragons laying eggs without mating if you’re interested in learning more on this.

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Successfully Incubating Bearded Dragon Eggs

We hope you found this information on incubating bearded dragon eggs helpful.

It’s not hard if you choose to incubate the eggs rather than keeping them in the soil where they were laid.

Follow these steps for a good experience and start your beardie breeding adventures.

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