In chapter 6 of The House of the Dragonthe dragon eggs They take a big role. As has become a tradition among the Targaryens, pregnant women and newborns are given an egg from which the reptile of this new member of the family must emerge. The Rhaenyra’s two eldest sons they already have their dragons, while only the eldest of the two males of Alicent and Viserys he has his. The aemond’s egg has not hatched, nor has that of one of the daughters of Daemon Targaryen and Lady Laena. The common factor to all the eggs that appear unhatched in the chapter is that are kept in suspense to keep warm.
Also in Game of Thrones we see how the three petrified dragon eggs given to Daenerys they hatch only when you draw them into the flames with it. Actually this all makes sense. They are dragon eggs, an animal that breathes fire, so it seems obvious that they need heat.
However, if we stick both science and mythology, this detail could have been expendable. It could even be considered wrong if it weren’t for the fact that we are talking about fantasy.
Mythology and body temperature
Mythology describes dragons in different ways depending on the culture, but most agree that they are capable of spit fire. However, no mention is made of his body temperature. If we look at those who come out in Game of Thrones Y The House of the Dragonits temperature should not be too high, since the riders would burn when mounting them. But not much else is known about it.
Yes, there is more information about the salamander, also known as the fire lizard. This is another mythological animal, similar in appearance to a small dragon, which it did not spit fire, but ate it. Also, she was able to walk into the flames without getting burned. And, precisely because of that, he had an extremely low body temperature, which compensated for that of the fire for which he felt so much affinity. The same could have happened with the dragons. But let’s see what the science says.
How would dragon eggs be hatched?
Myths are myths and, as such, can vary greatly from one culture to another. Instead, science is much clearer when talking about these types of issues.
And what science says, or at least what it said, is that most reptiles are cold blooded. This past tense is important, since today it is out of date, although it is still used. Previously, there was talk of warm-blooded animals when they were capable of regulating their body temperature independently of that of the environment that surrounds them. This is, for example, the case of humans, who stay around 36.5 °C, even if it is 10 °C or 40 °C outside. As for the cold-blooded, they were not supposed to be able to regulate their temperature. But today we know that There are different mechanisms to achieve it.
Reptiles often have their own temperature regulation mechanisms, which are often simply based on moving between sun and shade depending on what they need at any given time. Even so, each reptile has its own ranks, which are generally not very high.
At the lower end we find the tuatara. This is a reptile endemic to the outlying islands of New Zealand, known to have an optimum body temperature of between 16°C and 21°C. The lowest of all reptiles.
At the other end, one of the reptiles with higher body temperature, is precisely a dragon. But not a fire-breathing dragon. Its about Komodo dragon, thus known from one of the Indonesian islands on which they live. They do not fly, but their ferocious appearance makes them perhaps the most similar reptile to the mythological dragon. And, thanks to a great facility to regulate its temperature, it usually stays between 34 ° C and 35.6 ° C. Although it is not the reptile with the highest body temperature, there are few above it and, even so, it is even below that of humans.
As for the eggs, very extreme temperature conditions are not needed to incubate them. In fact, reptile breeders often recommend keeping the eggs between 24°C and 32°C.
The reality of ‘The House of the Dragon’
In fact, The House of the Dragon is not the only work of fiction to reference the high temperature required by eggs. Also in Harry Potter it is said that the eggs need to be at a very high temperature to hatch. In fact, in the first installment of the saga we see how Hagrid, protected with oven gloves, takes out an egg, from which it later hatches. Norbert the dragonfrom a bucket inside the chimney.
So it’s not that far fetched that dragon eggs need a lot of heat to keep. The rest are just simple games to get into science through television. You don’t have to take it literally, just enjoy what series like, of course, offer us. The House of the Dragon.