[Salzy]

Tonight I took a look at the incubation box and saw this ....



So, after 81 days of incubation we finally ended up with a little hatchling. I guess they typically hatch in about 45 days or so, so this was a longer than normal. This little bugger is still absolutely tiny though....still a bit bigger than young Mourning geckos, but not by much. (not the BEST photos that we could have taken, but good enough to show it off a bit)

I wish we could have seen it hatch, because it looks like it looks like it exploded out of the egg.








We have a couple of other clutches incubating within the adult enclosure. They glue their eggs, so there are a few of them stuck inside the bamboo sticks that we're just leaving alone. We'll see what happens in a couple more weeks.

[daggekko]

Congrats! Is this your first time hatching Phelsuma? Give your hatchling about a month and so much more color comes out. 81 days is a waaaay long time. What temperature did you incubate at? What is the incubation medium?

[Salzy]

Yes, first time hatching Phelsuma. I didn't do anything special for incubation...just room temperature. The egg wasn't glued or hidden anywhere when it was laid, so I was able to pull it from the enclosure, put it on a cap of dry superhatch, and put it into my normal incubation box of moist superhatch. Temps would vary from about 68 to 76 I would say over the course of the incubation.

[princeandrewsajenes]

hi everyone, im from the Philippines and i want to have a gecko as my pet. can anyone tell me what is the gecko for beginners? i also like tokay geckos but then all the natives here are hunting them. suggestions anyone?

[daggekko]

Temps would vary from about 68 to 76 I would say over the course of the incubation.

Wow those are some low temperatures. I incubate mine at about 82F. Thats why it probably took so long to hatch. P laticauda don't really glue the eggs to anything(but each other from what I've seen). I have had them adhere to bamboo but just a slight bit of pressure has gotten all mine loose from the bamboo.

can anyone tell me what is the gecko for beginners?

Leopard Gecko, Golden Gecko, Green Eyed Gecko, Skeleton(or Skunk) Gecko. Those are the most common I ever see minus the Green Eyed Gecko. If you are looking to get Phelsuma I would probably say the Gold Dust Day Gecko(P laticauda) or maybe the giant(P grandis)

[Salzy]

Wow those are some low temperatures. I incubate mine at about 82F. Thats why it probably took so long to hatch. P laticauda don't really glue the eggs to anything(but each other from what I've seen). I have had them adhere to bamboo but just a slight bit of pressure has gotten all mine loose from the bamboo.

Yeah, I wasn't going to incubate in any special way. I didn't mind waiting a bit longer for the hatchling...it appears to be exremely healthy, and to be honest a bit bigger than what I thought it would be.

I'm only going to gather their eggs if they are in an easy place to get them. I don't plan to break them free of anything, but will tape a deli cup or something over them for the duration of incubation if that's what it takes.

[mkschaefer]

Congratulations! Way to go. Laticauda hatchlings are always great looking. Keep the pictures coming.

I left a Phelsuma klemmeri clutch that was laid in April to incubate in the enclosure and it is still looks good. The female of this pair laid a clutch yesterday and I may put it in the incubator. I also have one or two, if I can find it, borbonica clutches in the enclosure as they are glued.

I have always removed kochi in the past and had them hatch anywhere from 41-44 days on the low end (these did not survive long) to 60+ days on the high end (these all did well). I may try incubating one at room temperature and see what happens. I had a klemmeri clutch that was incubated "too hot" last year and they did not survive long upon hatching. I know a few keepers who leave some clutches of a number of species in the enclosure and have greater success in hatching and viability of the young.

A night drop either while incubating at room temperature or in an incubator really helps.

[Salzy]

I definitely think that if an egg incubates at a pretty constant temperature for a longer period of time, that the resulting offspring are much stronger and slightly larger. I've seen that with all of our Rhacodactylus for sure...anything that incubates down around 60 days doesn't seem to be nearly as healthy as one that goes for almost 100 days. I don't see why Phelsuma would be much different than that, so I incubated around the low 70's mark and had success. Since this is the first one, I have no idea how well it will fare, but I'm keeping my hopes up for it. It looks nice and healthy at least, so hopefully that continues.

Laticauda will leave the hatchlings alone if they are in the cage right? That's what I've always heard and read at least, unless the adults aren't well fed in which case they might start looking at the babies as a food source.

[jadrig]

Hey, the reason why your baby was so big is because it was a single egg. When they lay two eggs...they are smaller. Mourning geckos are smaller than klemmeri though, usually. My klemmeri's first meal was a D.hydei...which suprised me. I think that, especially with Phelsuma, the temps have little significance on the health of the gecko, with the health of the hatchling being determined by the mother. Phelsuma put a lot more into their eggs than Uroplatus do. The temps DO however have a direct result on the sex of the hatchling. If the so-called 'Male' temps are 83F and up...I would imagine that it is healthier to incubate Phelsuma eggs above 80 F during the day time. Phelsuma eggs are extremely forgiving though. I had a female standingi that would always escape...I would find hatchlings basking on the windows...