Egg laying behaviour

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steve56616

New member
Thought i'd open my own thread for advice regarding Gold dust gecko's and egg laying.
I got a pair last week and noticed the female was gravid - the eggs looked quite big and well formed. I put in Bamboo that was advised and now she has spent the last two days inside. My question is, how long will she stay hidden if she is laying and what is the normal behaviour prior and during this time?
 
terradas

terradas

New member
I can't speak to this species specifically, but I've observed behavior with my grandis that I hear is pretty common in phelsuma. Right before laying, the female spends a great deal of time frantically moving around the tank almost as if looking for an escape. In your case, she might be frantically entering and exiting the bamboo before laying.
 
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steve56616

New member
Seems as though he also seems to spend more time away hidding now as well. Before I put the Bamboo in they were always out but now, they spend most of the time in it. He does come out now and then but haven't seen her other than a nose in days :?
 
terradas

terradas

New member
In that case, it might be a temperature thing. Do you have a basking spot or 2 for them?

In my experience hiding = stress whether it's low temperatures or fighting.
 
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steve56616

New member
I have basking spots and nothing has changed regarding temp etc. Just thought as she was close then that might be why. I have read on here that the males hid away when she is laying. Spose I will have to wait and see
 
daggekko

daggekko

New member
Depends on the individual geckos as to how shy they are. I had one pair of Gold Dust's that sat out ALL the time, even with bamboo they could hide in. The pair I have now rarely come out when I'm in the room.

If the female is happy with laying spots she won't search frantically for laying spots. I have observed this in a couple species, but a couple of my girls have their favorite laying spot.

If the male starts to hide and turns a darker color it is a very good indicator that she is laying eggs. But, if the male doesn't come out in the first place, you'll never notice. What I do is check every day or 2 in the bamboo they can get into. Usually just with a flashlight. If you decide to take the eggs out I personally always mark the top of the egg with a dot from a sharpie marker. Some other keepers just roll the eggs out though, without any issues.

One good trick is to find a favorite fruit food and feed it to them every couple days. You'll see the female will look skinny up through a few days after laying. Mine really like the Repashy Day Gecko MRP and the Clark's Gecko Diet(papaya and banana). If you get some of that stuff you might be able to lure them out to eat a bit!

Might have gotten a little off, but to answer the hiding/laying time frame question, I see all of my geckos daily(except that pair some days) and when miss seeing a female on a given day there is a good chance she laid eggs. Some lay at night as well, so you might not see. But like I said, just check the bamboo daily or every couple days. You'll figure out where she likes to lay if you don't make a bunch of changes on a regular basis with decor and temperature.
 
mkschaefer

mkschaefer

New member
The less you mess with the female/ pair (even introducing bamboo), the more she will feel secure. I have had female klemmeri, sundbergi, kochi, madagascariensis, cepediana, etc. retreat for a day or 2 before laying. I have also seen these and other species bask out in the open, tuck away for a few hours to lay a clutch of eggs, and reappear. I just found two single-egg cepediana clutches today that I was not even planning on or looking for.

My opinion (based on working with Phelsuma, Varanus, and some other species) is that if females are frantically running around, something in the habitat is not right. Granted, this is my opinion. In other genera, females will hold onto their eggs and die if conditions are not appropriate. I have not observed this in Phelsuma. The key is to provide many options in or near the warm part of the enclosure: foliage, horizontal bamboo, slanted/ vertical sections with shallow hollows and deep hollows. The aforementioned cepediana clutches were not in a location I would have expected it to be, haha. They were in a bamboo hollow at about the midline of the Exo Terra.Basically, I try to observe them and have them teach me what they like. Then I try to mimic that.

I too have found laticauda to be both bold and secretive. I have some that like to hide and it appears to be part of their normal behavior.

I have not observed males hiding away. I did observe a female standingi go after a male standingi who got too interested in what she was doing when she was laying a clutch. I'll have to look for this more often. I think I just get too excited when the eggs are nearing deposition and I just think about them and ensuring the female recovers well.

Tape on the end of a long object works well, rolling out works.....fingers and tweezers never work. I painfully know that from saying to myself, "I know I shouldn't be doing this, but surely I won't mess this up. Surely, I'll be careful and won't pinch them too hard or drop them." Yeah, right. I have screwed that up every time!
 
daggekko

daggekko

New member
Tape on the end of a long object works well, rolling out works.....fingers and tweezers never work. I painfully know that from saying to myself, "I know I shouldn't be doing this, but surely I won't mess this up. Surely, I'll be careful and won't pinch them too hard or drop them." Yeah, right. I have screwed that up every time!
Click to expand...

I forgot about you using the tape. I'll have to try that next time. I have been lucky so far(I use long tweezers:biggrin:) or roll the eggs out. The times I have dropped eggs is when I am not even thinking about them and go take a piece of bamboo out and flip it trying to set it down. I have done this a few times with laticauda. I broke a cracked a couple eggs once. But I had to un-screw a piece of wood out of my dresser enclosure to get to them. Somewhere along the way of getting the wood out they had to have cracked.

What kind of tape do you find works best? This idea is a lot better than hoping you don't break an egg trying to pinch, also hoping you don't drop it.
 
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Ivan M

New member
I have no clue or experience, but If I had to guess, I would say painters masking tape, as I believe it is NOT to sticky, yet sticky enough for retrieval. If I am wrong please correct me. I would NOT even want to try DUCT TAPE, way too sticky and strong.
 
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steve56616

New member
Thanks for the information. The male is back out as normal and acting in his normal bold way.
She has been out a few times but mostly in the same spot, deep inside the Bamboo.
Both are not shy, and when she is out she sits with him and both watch me, looking at them lol
I asume I have to look inside everyday to see if she has laid or should I just wait until she is back to her normal self?
 
mkschaefer

mkschaefer

New member
Painter's Tape is the way to go. I just put it on the end of a pencil or something else, if I can't roll out the eggs, and fish them out into my hand. They are easily pulled off the tape. Good suggestion, Ivan.
 
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steve56616

New member
Managed to get this picture. Is she gravid?



IMG_0791.jpg
 
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steve56616

New member
I was pretty sure but as nothing has happened I thought I had imagined it... until last night I got this photo :banana:
How long until she has them?
 
terradas

terradas

New member
I'd guess any time in the next 2-3 weeks is a safe bet. Just keep an eye on her and watch for behavior changes or a change in size.
 
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