Egg

Two Dark Dragonologists flee an ill-advised attempt to steal a European Dragon egg.

Dragons' eggs vary enormously in size, color, and shape. The largest belongs to the Wyvern, the smallest to the Dwarf. Some are round as opposed to egg-shaped and most need to be incubated at temperatures of more than 100 degrees and take many months to hatch (except for Frost Dragon eggs which need to be kept very cold to hatch). Never, under any circumstances, should you remove an egg from its nest unless it is in imminent danger. You are likely to land you in hot water if you you do so (especially if you are dealing with a Japanese Ryu).

Known Eggs of Different Species

European Dragon:

Mottled brown or purple, often with blue spots or swirls, becoming darker towards the end of the incubation period. Eggs can be kept warm with a charcoal brazier but that must be kept in a well-ventilated location.

Knucker:

Various shades of green in an almost cat's-eye pattern. Usually found with a good coating of mud, which provides camouflage and -therefore- added protection. They may be kept warm on top of an ordinary stove as they do not require the extreme heat of some species.

Gargouille:

Mottled grey-blue with knobby surface that prevents the egg from rolling. If it were to fall they have been recorded to be dropped from a great height with no visible ill effects.

Frost Dragon :

White or blue with silver markings and always two eggs per clutch. The Mother Draco Occidentalis Maritimus uses her frosty breath to incubate them at a temperature well below freezing. Strangely enough there have been report of some eggs smelling slightly of chocolate, but this is unconfirmed to be due to recent temperament by Dark Dragonologists or would be egg thieves.

Dwarf Dragon:

Similar sized to a bantam's egg -about 2 inches long- these eggs are brilliant red with markings like a European Egg. Many hundreds are laid together in a so-called hive solely by the "Queen" of the swarm at any given time.

Wyvern:

Very large (averaging 2-3 feet tall) with a thick, knobby shell similar to Draco occidentalis minimus. These Eggs are white at first, but gradually change color to match their surroundings. Only a single egg is ever laid at a time in a bed of sandy dunes, it is incubated by heat of the sun. They are often confused with Roc eggs but the avid Dragonologist -and Monsterologist at that- know those eggs are smooth and much, much harder to take care of due to the frequent movement of the chick inside.

Lindworm:

Long and pale, clutches of up to twenty are laid at a time and buried. It is theorized that Draco serpentalis Eggs may be soft and leathery like Varanus komodoensis or other large living reptiles. Often only two eggs will survive but it is unknow if this is due to viability, predation, or competition of nest mates.

American Amphithere:

Bright Green with Paler markings these eggs are long and pointed in shape. Clusters from multiped parents are laid together and taken care of communally. To aid in nocturnal location these eggs have a faint phosphorescent glow comparable to the Oyster Mushroom (Panellus stipticus) of which they share habitats with.

Mexican Amphithere:

These hard stone-like eggs are hazelnut shaped and able to float. They are laid in clutches of three and have a mottled brown coloring with orange markings.

Marsupial Dragon:

An almost metallic Coppery-Brown, these eggs are about the size of an orange and kept in the mother's pouch. As multiple eggs would be jostled around, they are often decorated with pieces of leaves, pilfered paper, or etched with delicate patterns to tell them apart.

Cockatrice:

Similar in size to a chicken's egg but gold with metallic swirls. A single egg is laid in a rocky nest near a source of water. A nanny toad -or less often Nanny snake- is chosen to help foster the offspring. Never a frog or lizard which Gallicus halitosis eats with relish or feeds to their young.

Tibetan Dragon:

Perfectly round in shape, a biological difference exhibited with all Eastern Dragon Species. These eggs are often yellow, green or orange with marbling that swirls to one side. Also present in all Eastern species, only one egg is ever laid at a time.

Chinese Lung:

Perfectly round, smooth and pearlescent white this egg changes colors to blue with silver swirls when wet. Though it is often smaller in size than the egg of Draco Africanus, it has always been known as the heaviest of all dragon eggs. The egg is often hidden amongst the hoard due to its similarity to a giant pearl but would stand out due to its inherent heat.

Korean Young:

Perfectly round but rough to the touch these eggs exhibit the same patterning of Draco Orientalis Magnus Eggs but in Chrome Green with Gold swirls; about two thirds the size as well.

Indonesian Dragon:

Round and pink the smallest of the Lung Species eggs. It has faint swirls and has been called a "Gobbstoper" in some journal entries.

Japanese Ryu:

Almost identical to the Chinese Lung, this round egg is half the size and often laid in boiling-volcanic pools.

Sargasso:

The eggs of Draco Aquatilium are laid by the female and immediately transferred to the pouch of the male, they are tiny and almost undistinguishable from normal fry eggs except that the pupils of the young beasts are more slit than round. Unfortunately, if one sees Sargasso eggs free-floating or washed up on the shore it is very likely they are unviable but advances in modern science could make the recovery, re-cooperation, and incubation of these eggs possible as long as they were innately created by a pair and properly fertilized.

Komodo Dragon:

A clutch of Komodo Dragon eggs can reach sizes of 24 per nest but 40 can be laid in one season. These eggs are oval-shaped, white, and have a soft, leathery shell -about the size of a grapefruit- they have an average diameter of 5 inches. A nest is dug up to 3 meters deep in a multi chamber burrow. They are guarded by the mother for 6 months before they hatch.

Arabian Phoenix:

Even though it is known that Phoenix arabica hatch from eggs, an unhatched specimen has never been properly recorded and eggshells that are unscorched from fire baths are exceedingly hard to find. There is some rumor that the eggs bare a visual similarity to that of the Male Avis sinbadi eggs, with a light pink shell and coral markings and keep the smell of cinnimon for years even if removed from the nest.

Pagona Dragon:

Typically oval-shaped, soft and slightly rubbery to the touch, with a chalky white color when fertilized -more yellow if unviable. These eggs are described to feel almost like marbles or grapes and can grow slightly in size during incubation. These will be laid in moist dirt and are often slightly visible.

Hydra:

Hydras are the only dragon that reproduces by splitting, something that only happens at a great age. Only one record exists of this occurrence, an Egyptian carving at a temple in Abu Simbel. It would appear the split off head is guarded by the "parent" until it has grown sufficiently enough to defend itself -hypothesized to take about a year. Because of such scant records it is also unknown if this is a blastogenesis process or more like when a flatworm is split and left to their own devices.

Unconfirmed & Extinct Eggs

Basilisk:

Until recently, it was supposed that the eggs of Draco basiliskos have never been seen, because they share the shape-shifting qualities of their parents, and could disguise themselves as rocks or pebbles for protection. However, recent observations revile that Basilisks -like cuckoos- actually lay their sole egg in the nests of other dragons. The egg takes on the appearance of its neighbors so as to remain unnoticed, all the while emitting a poisonous vapor from its shell that prevents its unfortunate nest mates from hatching. The foster parents then raise the chick as their own in total ignorance of its true identity. It is unknown if the venom of the Basilisk is so toxic that even at an underdeveloped age it can effect eggs or if this is some coating left behind by the true parent.

Amazonian Amphithere:

If theories are true, Draco americanus incognito is an Amphithere like dragon species, and that would mean it has similar eggs. However, seeing as it is thought to have color changing capabilities, who's to say the eggs cannot do the same, maybe even camouflaging as drastically as Draco basiliskos eggs were thought to have once been.

Patagonian Dragon:

Being a sub-species or related to Draco Marsupialis, it would be safe to say the eggs are similar in size and shape. Possibly the same coppery brown colors could be shared as well but no record has been found to as if they decorated their eggs as some Marsupial Dragons so fondly do.

Sea Serpent:

Serpens monstrus -in its many reported forms- is often reptilian enough for one to assume it lays eggs. Though it is uncertain to say the least, one could easily picture the massive oceanic creatures deep underwater with a nest among volcanic vents, raising hatchlings in sulfurous waters.

Monkey Dragon:

The eggs of Draco simius ovilator were actually so significant and well documented that it even effected their Latin name. Of course, its habit of throwing their coral colored, oval shaped, rock hard eggs at potential threats is often cited as to why this species went extinct in the first place.

Easter Island Dragon:

There is not much of anything fanciful to note about the eggs of the extinct Draco stupidus other than it is noted to lay large clutches directly onto hardening lava. perhaps this helped the light grey eggs incubate or perhaps the dragon did not know how to make a nest.

Proto-Dragons:

Proto-Dragons are the Draconic equivalent to Dinosaurs on an ancestorial scale. These include specimens such as Draconodon estimated to be from 200 to 70 million years ago. Dragon Fossils can be hard to find as they are often mistreated or misinterpreted but many Proto-Dragons seemed to have more oval shaped eggs similar to the Sauria the shared the planet with at the time.