Help with Gecko's not the Insurance Company!

[wdw4us]

Does anyone know anything about Leopard Gecko’s. My son has 3 and one of them appears to be in the family way.

Any words of wisdom or sights on the internet that can help?

Thanks

denise

 

[Pam]

Sorry, I don't have any answers, but I can bump this back over to page 1.

 

[Baboo]

DS has an anole rather than a gecko, but lizards lay eggs rather than getting prenant, so I don't think it would look any different because of it.

 

[poohandwendy]

Yes, we have 5 leopard geckos (4 of which we hatched). The father died about 2 years ago...so no more babies for us. It is important, if you want the eggs to hatch, to remove them within a few hours after she lays them and place them into an incubator (instructions below), she will bury them in the sand. She will dig and dig and dig. If you leave them in with the geckos, the conditions will most likely be unstable and even if they do hatch, the adults will eat them quickly. (this really ruins it for the kids, LOL) In the wild, they lay eggs and leave so the babies have a much better chance to live.

We made an incubator box out of a plastic shoe box (walmart has them) with a lid. I'll try to describe how we did it.

We took a small, submersible aquarium heater and put a couple of inches of water in the bottom of the shoe box, enough to completely cover the heater. Then add a few rocks and wire mesh screen on the rocks (the screen should not be under water). Then we put a cheap thermometer (to regulate the temp)on top of the screen and 2 flat, small plastic lids (from margarine containers) with a bit of vermiculite (sand may work also)moistened (not wet) with water. The eggs will lay on top of the moist vermiculite.

We cut a hole on the top side of the box for the heater cord (so that we could close the lid). We also cut a square 'window' in the lid and covered it with saran wrap (sealing it with duct or electrical tape) The point is that you want to see into the box so that you can make sure the temperature stays regular. Moisture will form in the window, we just would open the box enough so that the water drops would slide off and clear the mist off. If you can set the box up before the eggs are laid, you are more likely to get the temp regulated before you add the eggs.

The whole point of the incubator is a warm, moist (but not wet)environment. The screen is to keep the eggs from becoming wet and to keep the baby geckos from falling into the water (drowning) when they hatch. The eggs will be leather like, soft and pliable. If they are hard, they will not hatch. If you shine a flashlight through the eggs you can see whether they are fertilized (there will be a dark spot in the center). If there is no spot, no baby.

I will have to find my book and see what the incubation time, temperature specifics and all. I'll try to get the info for you tomorrow. I do remember that the incubation temp determines the sex (we have all females). They lay 2 eggs at a time. And it takes a long time for the eggs to hatch. (a couple of months). It really sounds like a total pain in the neck, but the materials used are cheap and once you get the incubator set up, you don't have to do anything else until they hatch except watch the temperature. THE BABIES ARE SO CUTE!!!!!! About 2 inches long and black and white striped (the spots come later). Our 'mommy' gecko (Mystic) laid 10 eggs, we were able to hatch 6 (2 died later) and the remaining 4 are alive and healthy 5 years later!!!!

If you aren't able to get these eggs incubated in time, don't worry the mother will keep laying 2 eggs every couple of weeks, I think. I'll have to check how often. I'll check back tomorrow. And I'll try to paste some pics of our geckos, if I can figure out how, LOL.

wendy

 

[poohandwendy]

but lizards lay eggs rather than getting prenant, so I don't think it would look any different because of it.

Actually, you can tell when they are pregnant, their belly does get swollen (more to the sides) and if you hold them upside down, you can see whitish oval eggs through the skin, close to the hind legs. The tough part is getting them to let you hold them (LOL). But if you put them on a clear plate, you can see what I am talking about when you look at their underneath. It's kind of hard to tell, but after the first time, you get a hang of what to look for.

Btw, to add to my previous post, the mother will start digging before she lays the eggs, but a few hours after she has finished digging, you can check for the eggs. Also, it is important to make sure she is fed well at this time, it takes alot out of her. She will look skinny afterwards and will be depleted of the fat she needs to be healthy.

It is a good idea to keep a 'wet box' in the warmest part of the aquarium...she will deposit the eggs there and you can just remove the box when you want to check for eggs. We use a plastic sour cream container (on it's side) with a moist paper towel on the bottom. It dries out sort of quickly, so add water daily.

The eggs will be larger than you think she could lay, about an inch long, 1/2 inch wide. They may be covered with sand (they are wet when she lays them) you can brush them off gently with your fingers if you want, either way, it doesn't matter.

 

[poohandwendy]

bump