[windeindoiel]

Hi,

I'm new to this section of GU and to day geckos. I'm wanting to get a trio of blue geckos and after reading this board a bit I think most of my questions and possible future questions are answered, but I still have a few.

First I think it was said but just to verify, can I use calcium powder in a dish instead of cuttlefish bone? Also do powdered supplements expire? I have some still from like 10 years ago and am wondering if this will still work or if I should get new ones.

Maureen said in a post not to mix calcium and multivitamins on the same food item, and I was wondering why?

My last question is about incubation. I have long tail grass lizards and they lay eggs and if I leave them alone (and if the parents don't stomp all over them) they hatch just fine, but so far every time I try to remove them I end up doing something wrong and the eggs mold or dry out. So to all you successful ones, what do you do to incubate the eggs?

Thanks,
Erin

[hexentanz]

Originally Posted by windeindoiel

Hi,

I'm new to this section of GU and to day geckos. I'm wanting to get a trio of blue geckos and after reading this board a bit I think most of my questions and possible future questions are answered, but I still have a few.

First I think it was said but just to verify, can I use calcium powder in a dish instead of cuttlefish bone? Also do powdered supplements expire? I have some still from like 10 years ago and am wondering if this will still work or if I should get new ones.

Maureen said in a post not to mix calcium and multivitamins on the same food item, and I was wondering why?

My last question is about incubation. I have long tail grass lizards and they lay eggs and if I leave them alone (and if the parents don't stomp all over them) they hatch just fine, but so far every time I try to remove them I end up doing something wrong and the eggs mold or dry out. So to all you successful ones, what do you do to incubate the eggs?

Thanks,
Erin

You can use Calcium powder in a dish instead of cuttlefish bone. People tend to use the cuttlefish bone because from what I have learned because it is pure calcium with no extras (esp no D3). If you used a calcium powder with D3 added and D3 in the main supplement for dusting insects, you could possibly cause an overdose.

It is normally not recommend to mix supplements on the same day because the majority are designed to be used on different days so as not to cause cancellation of one or more ingredients or cause an overdose of one type. However there are a few which can be used together safely on the same day, you just need to mix them together when you plan to dust and not hours beforehand. Some companies (Repashy) for example sell a supplement that is all in one without any mixing needed and without worry something bad will occur that they are going to cancel each other out or be too strong. With so many changes over the years, plain and short you need to read the labels carefully to see which ones can be used in combination the same day and which ones should not be.

All vitamins break down overtime however, which is why it is recommended to freshen up your supplements by purchasing new batches every 6 months. So the one you have had for 10 years will be of little use.

Your eggs are most probably molding over because there is too much moisture in your incubation media and not enough ventilation. What media were you using to incubate and how much water were you adding?

[windeindoiel]

Alright then, new vitamins for me.

I've been using an old cricket tub and just sticking some dirt in there and then leaving the whole thing in the tank seeing as the temperature is apparently good for the eggs actually hatching. I try to keep the soil just moist but maybe I'm overdoing it.

[hexentanz]

Originally Posted by windeindoiel

Alright then, new vitamins for me.

I've been using an old cricket tub and just sticking some dirt in there and then leaving the whole thing in the tank seeing as the temperature is apparently good for the eggs actually hatching. I try to keep the soil just moist but maybe I'm overdoing it.

Dirt makes a pretty poor incubation media when used in boxes as not enough airflow gets over it, even when there is ventilation holes. Not sure if your tub had this or not, but even if it did, they would not help with dirt.

The most trusted incubation media for me has always been vermiculite. I use this inside a small box with ventilation holes. I mix it with some water so it is moist to the touch, but not wet. Then I take a milk cap and add some dry vermiculite to it and place the eggs on top of this.

I will take a pic for you tomorrow of my in situ egg box.

[hexentanz]

Sorry got really busy...

Here is one of my in situ boxes, I also use these in my incubator without issues.

First pic shows an egg (its a dud, but it worked for the demo). In this case I have placed it on some shrunken styrofoam. Sometimes I use straight pins to help hold the eggs in place so they do not roll around.

Next pic is the lid for the box, i usually tape this down, so as to avoid it coming off accidentally if i bumped a box. In this my husband has drilled some tiny ventilation holes.

Last pic shows the whole box with the vermiculite in the box.

The box is an old candy box.

[Yoshi'smom]

Btw: Most calcium and vitamins do expire. They should have an expiration date printed on them. Mine actually expires soon! Time to get more!

[lauraleellbp]

Is there any particular reason I've noticed Day gecko breeders tend to use vermiculite inside incubators over fired clay products (superhatch/aquatic plant soil/Turface, etc)?

[hexentanz]

Originally Posted by lauraleellbp

Is there any particular reason I've noticed Day gecko breeders tend to use vermiculite inside incubators over fired clay products (superhatch/aquatic plant soil/Turface, etc)?

For me honestly I do not like the fired clay products because they do not hold moisture as long as the vermiculite. When properly moistened for me the vermiculite lasts several months when I use it in situ. The clay products need to be re-moistened several times during such a period (why disturb the eggs so much just to do that?). Certain eggs need more humidity than others to hatch and for me I have always trusted the vermiculite to deliver that.

[lauraleellbp]

Thanks Maureen. You are a treasure of information!

[windeindoiel]

Sorry I've been neglecting this post for so long.

Maureen you really are a treasure of information... and dedication to helping those of us who don't know what we're doing yet!

So I tried the vermiculite and still the eggs imploded. Although I had trouble finding info on how much humidity grass lizard eggs need seeing how the parents need fairly similar conditions I imagine the eggs probably incubate in similar conditions to L. williamsi.

I've just been using a small deli cup sized container with probably a little less than an inch of vermiculite and I put the eggs in a milk jug lid on some dry vermiculite. So I'm wondering if maybe I need a bigger overall container? Is it possible that the small size of my "incubator" is causing the problem and the humidity levels might be maintainable at a higher level in something bigger?

My other thought is that maybe seeing how all my vitamins were way too old the adults weren't getting enough calcium to make good eggs in the first place.

I tell you what, not being able to incubate what are supposed to be super easy eggs is very frustrating!