imperial county subspecies

BSM · #1 07-19-2009, 03:05 PM

What sub species of banded geckos are located in imperial county,CA. I just recently got a 1.3 group and two of the females are a light white color and the male and the other female are a yellowish with no white coloration. I will post pics of them later tonight
To me they seem a little small to breed, they all weigh between 10-12 grams. To my understanding of what other people say this is big enough to breed.

thanks,Bryan

VICtort · #2 08-23-2009, 02:30 AM

Dear Bryan,

per the emminent herpetologist Robert Stebbins, the Imperial County subspecies is the desert banded gecko, Coleonyx variegatus variegatus. In my experience, the coastal San Diego (C. v. abbotti)type is quite a challenge to find, and you have to get midway into Arizona before finding the Tucson (C.v.bogerti) type. I am happy to report Desert banded geckos are a common site here, I find a half dozen or more each Summer in my yard, often under bales of hay or just cruising at night.

By the way, young desert banded geckos tend to be banded, and as they mature, the bands break up. Old adults are spotted.

I have eggs incubating now, looking forward to working with the hatchlings if all goes well.

Buen suerte, Vic

BSM · #3 08-24-2009, 09:55 PM

Thank you for the info, i have had 6 eggs total so far but only 3 were vital. Hope you have some success and one more question does your animals vary alot from each other. 2 of mine are a nice white color, one is a bright yellow and the other one is a light pale yellow

Bryan

VICtort · #4 08-25-2009, 02:04 PM

Bryan,
I think variability is normal within this species. In fact, certain zones/locales may have somewhat consistent patterns, i.e. tend to be more banded, tend to be large spots, tend to be small/minimal spots, tend to be tan or yellowish etc. Of course, right when you think you have it figured out, you get a genetic "curve ball" and something very different turns up...the genotype expresses differing phenotypes.

There is a good chance the founder stock or your wild caught animals came from different regions within the large range of this species. So you may have a lot of genetic diversity, and that manifests itself in the variable phenotypes you describe. Or they came from a population with a lot of variations in pattern. It's in the genes!

So, getting to the point, it is common to see a lot of variation, and I think that is the fun of hatching eggs, you don't know for sure what you will get. Some breeders will try to select for colors or patterns they find attractive, not necessarily what would occur in nature. That is one way "morphs" are created. And remember banding/spotting may change with age.

Above is my opinion, if some trained taxonomist or geneticist disagrees, please chime in and educate us.

Good luck and have fun, Vic H

BSM · #5 08-28-2009, 11:34 PM

While i was getting some pics for a potential buyer for one of my argus i decided to get some pics of these guys as well. These guys have been breeding like crazy so far and i really like them. The male has been loosing weight in the week or so and down to only 5 grams while the girls are 8-11

Bryan

BSM · #6 09-26-2009, 12:41 PM

I just looked in the incubator today and look at this little guy i found. I only have 2 more eggs left as a few went bad, 1 should hatch soon and the other one is a few days old. i had a few bad things happen to 2 of the adults, one female died egg bound and the male broke his leg and lost his tail when he escaped. Besides those 2 bad things that happened i hope i hatch the remaining two and hopefully this one i hatched today is a male (incubated at 87F).

Cant believe how small these guys are, gonna try and feed him/her sometime this Monday. Lets see can this guy take some mini meal worms.

Bryan