Unexpected Breeding

[Jordan S]

Today while taking my boy Steve out of his cage after a while of not handling him. I decided to introduce him to scarlet, whom I didn't know had receptive colors at the moment. When I introduced them in her cage, he came bashing to her and instantly went on top of her to begin the breeding process. I was not expecting it to happen, which left me in utter shock! I am new to breeding, any tips are appreciated! Pictured below are the two lovebirds hard at work.

 

[Jordan S]

Also, what do I incubate with? When the babies come out, where do I put them? I plan on putting them in Steve's cage since I'm getting him a larger one soon.

 

[Chachi]

You wont have babies. You will have eggs. You need to find out what to do w the eggs, not what you do w babies. You wont have babies if you dont know how to do the eggs

 

[guanagator]

First thing you'll need is a laying bin for the female, washed playsand works well. Then start culturing fruit flys, if you plan on hatching babies you'll need 1000s of them.

 

[Jordan S]

So I start culturing fruit flies? Do pinhead crickets work as well? I know I have to incubate the eggs and I'm unsure on to use a Rubbermaid container or a actual incubator.

 

[chamloveisreal]

Use an actual incubator. The eggs might not turn out right or their might be a birth defect

 

[guanagator]

So I start culturing fruit flies? Do pinhead crickets work as well? I know I have to incubate the eggs and I'm unsure on to use a Rubbermaid container or a actual incubator.

That was meant as a slight joke, you have many steps before culturing fruit flys but having feeders ready on hatch day is very important. First thing you need to do is read up and research. While your learning over the next few weeks ensure your female is getting excellent quality feeders that are well gut loaded and dusted correctly. She is going to need a lot of calcium and vitamins to create healthy eggs so variety and quality of diet are key to ensuring healthy babies. I havn't bred your species so not sure what your exact incubation needs are but that should be easy to find, search then ask questions once you get a firm grasp of what is ahead of you. It's a very rewarding experience but demanding, time consuming, potentially heartbreaking and definitely expensive. The fact that your breeding was "unexpected" is not the best starting place and you've got some catching up to do however you've got time to prepare and you came to a good place to learn.

 

[Jordan S]

Okay so what I know so far is that I need to use an actual incubator, use high calcium feeders (let's say black soldier fly larvae) and gutload crickets and hornworm with high calcium greens. She needs to be fed 4-5 Calcium dusted feeders every other day, and when she is ready to lay she needs to have complete privacy (have her cage outside with a towel over it.) Finally, the eggs need to be incubated at around 80 F. Is the laying bin good enough?