How long between mating and egg-laying for leopard geckos?

[LzzrdBoy]

Incredible REPLY! Thank you so much Saskia! I'm sure the OP will be very thankful. You just made my friends list!

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

Thanks, Saskia! I believe in details.

 

[NosiphoGeckos]

Hello!
I read your thread, and I see all the mess that has been made regarding the tone of the replies, eventhough I think the first response was a little rude, it is not my business to judge anyone since I am not in anyone else's position..... I believe that the primary information that you need has not been given completely!

First, the females lays 2-4 weeks after copulating, usually the warmer the enviroment they are in is the faster they lay! I live in tropical Venezuela and they lay as soon as 12 days after copulating in my case.... if you provide a warm spot to the female she'll probably lay faster... keep her separated from the male, provide her with a humid and warm lay box, and (in my personal opinion) feed her as much as you can, with enough calcium and D3....

I would definitively advise to turn on your incubator inmediately, sometimes it takes days to get the temperature stable... set up a thermometer, and (again, as a personal opinion) put inside the incubator the box where the eggs will be incubated, in order for the substrate to get the proper temperature before the eggs are placed in, because it wouldn't be the best to put them into substrate that has just been moisted (most likely with cool water) when the eggs are already laid.... it is always best to have everything set as soon as possible!! that way your eggs won't have to suffer from a sudden change in temperature! Remember to get the temperature stable according to the sex you'll want your newborns to hatch before placing them in the incubator..... the sooner you get prepared the better
Good luck!

Thanks Saskia! I set up the incubator 2 days ago and am going to put the substrate in dampened tonight. I think this will be useful as it will also allow me to monitor how quickly substrate starts to dry out, I have heard different things but a few peple have told me not to directly spray the eggs or substrate with water but to lay a piece of paper towel and dampen that?


Wow u lot all seem stressed, I can tell some of you work in IT (not a dig, don't bite I work with computers too!). Think I'll take a back seat from now on, be seen but not heard!

 

[LzzrdBoy]

Wow u lot all seem stressed, I can tell some of you work in IT (not a dig, don't bite I work with computers too!). Think I'll take a back seat from now on, be seen but not heard!

Not stressed, just don't appreciate attitudes in what should be a helpful community such as this. Glad you got all this figured out.

And yes, IT here as well. Specifically, software development. Eeeeeeeeeeeeek!

 

[Saskia]

Thanks Saskia! I set up the incubator 2 days ago and am going to put the substrate in dampened tonight. I think this will be useful as it will also allow me to monitor how quickly substrate starts to dry out, I have heard different things but a few peple have told me not to directly spray the eggs or substrate with water but to lay a piece of paper towel and dampen that?


Wow u lot all seem stressed, I can tell some of you work in IT (not a dig, don't bite I work with computers too!). Think I'll take a back seat from now on, be seen but not heard!

Good that you do it ahead of time, one little tip: the deeper the substrate is the slower it'll dry out, meaning, if you put (for example) 6 centimeters (about 2 inches) of moist vermiculite the humidity will last longer that if you put 3 cms (about 1 inch), also it depends too on the air flow... the ideal is to place the eggs in a closed container, with a few holes on the sides to allow the eggs to "breathe" , not too many holes because that would make the water to dry out quickly, you should NEVER wet the eggs directly!! if it happens that your substrate gets too dry this is what you do (or at least what I do and it has worked for ME, other methods could work too, but this is proven effective, and just an advise :biggrin: ) :

I warm a little water, and with a thermometer check that the water is at the same temperature I am incubating the eggs, after that I take the eggs out of their container, and also take the substrate that is directly adyacent to them, and after that I spray the substrate remaining on the container with the "warm" water, until it is damp again, and then place the eggs back in, with their "surroundings" intact, that way they don't go thrugh a sudden change in humidity, but the moist substrate starts to moist the substrate that is around the eggs slowly....

Always remember that sudden changes of any kind are VERY bad for the eggs..... this is what I do if I notice that the humidity is too low but the eggs still look good, now, IF the eggs are denting due to dryness I would do this and ALSO cover the eggs with a layer of moist warm vermiculite of about 1 centimeter (0.5 inch) deep, for them to be completely covered, and after a couple of days, if they are still good the dent(s) must have gone out and the eggs should be perfect again!!

I highly advise checking your eggs 3-4 times a week in order to make sure everything is looking good, it is a good sign if you see little drops of water in the container's inside, it means the humidity is good.... if you don't see little drops you should touch it and check...
Keep us posted ok??

And by the way, I am not stressed AT ALL, hehehe, at least not about this, you should speak (well, write) as much as you like ;-)

 

[Riverside Reptiles]

My apologies to all involved here. This thread was just brought to my attention. While it is indeed true that it's best to do your research prior to being in a given situation, the fact of the matter is that Allee was indeed rude and this is NOT how this forum is allowed to run. GU has a zero torrence for negativity like this and Allee should know better. Of all people on this forum, Allee should be the MOST patient with newbies as she herself was one not that long ago and has NO ROOM to talk about "doing research first". To Allee, if you can't help the newbies nicely, don't help at all. Period. I'm not going to start having to deal with you as a problem member AGAIN.

To the OP and others involved in this thread, my apologies again. In the future if someone is being outwardly rude, please feel free to contact either myself or one of the moderators and let them know. We are all here to learn from each other. And nobody should be scared to ask a question. On the same hand though, please do take the time to search the old threads before asking as the answer is likely already there somewhere.

 

[NosiphoGeckos]

Admin - thats fine don't worry about it. Anyone else wouldn't have said anything, its just im supporting admin on a staffordshire bull terrier forum. i see it all too often and by being patronising like that you will only driv ethe original poster away from the site. The only one that is going to suffer is their pet. Knowledge is free to everyone and we shouldn't be selfish sbout sharing it, especially if an animal benefits from it!

Saskia - I didnt even think of that! Great idea thanks a lot. Dont know if i will be able to check the eggs that frequently though without losing the warmth from the incubator (its freezing here even though its April!). Thanks a lot, now I just have to wait for her to lay the eggs! Im so excited its going to be my first clutch!!

 

[Eclair]

I'm just going to add my friendly 2 cents here. While it may be good to do your research, sometimes answers don't come easily. Asking is a lot faster, and you're likely to get a more detailed response catered to what it is you asked, like Saskia's post. Some people are also more skilled with search engines than others are. ;-)

 

[Saskia]

Admin - thats fine don't worry about it. Anyone else wouldn't have said anything, its just im supporting admin on a staffordshire bull terrier forum. i see it all too often and by being patronising like that you will only driv ethe original poster away from the site. The only one that is going to suffer is their pet. Knowledge is free to everyone and we shouldn't be selfish sbout sharing it, especially if an animal benefits from it!

Saskia - I didnt even think of that! Great idea thanks a lot. Dont know if i will be able to check the eggs that frequently though without losing the warmth from the incubator (its freezing here even though its April!). Thanks a lot, now I just have to wait for her to lay the eggs! Im so excited its going to be my first clutch!!

Actually it's not good to open the incubator that often if the weather is too cold, maybe you could check trough the window?? Does your incubator have a little window? you'll just need to see if there are little drops of water in the inside of the container usually that is visible from the outside, without needing to open the incubator, from MY personal experience (and once again just my humble opinion) the moist tends to start to dry out about 25 days after, but I also believe that could change a LOT due to the outside temperature and humidity, I actually live in a warmer country so that could be different!

Once again, best of lucks!! and by the way, when she starts laying be prepared for the next pair of eggs.... my oldest female has laid 10 eggs from February 15th (first pair) until 4 days ago when she laid again, she has laid every 13-15 days on the dot :banana: ! so, be prepared for more!! and give her a lot of calcium because her levels will lower due to the producing of the egg's shell, as soon as she lais her first pair have a second container ready for the second and so on....

 

[bwoodfield]

I was surfing gecko sites yesterday and came across this page. They go into depth regarding the temperature of incubation, how to check the eggs and lighting them to check for infertile eggs.