Unaccounted P. laticauda clutch-loose hatchling discovered and non-viable clutchmate

[mkschaefer]

I walked downstairs this morning and saw a Phelsuma hatchling on the tile floor. I thought it was a cepediana at first, but it did not immediately flee and I realized it was too large. It was a laticauda that had hatched from an undocumented clutch. I checked all my laticauda enclosures and all bamboo or plant clefts, but could not find anything. I then checked some bamboo I had pulled out of an enclosure a few weeks after I sold the pair inhabiting it. Sure enough, there was a clutch inside the bamboo. They had "incubated" in a bamboo section that was laying on the floor underneath a rack in my gecko room. I caught the first hatchling, but the second, though apparently fully developed, did not emerge from the egg and was deceased.

Deceased hatchling

 

[daggekko]

Welcome to my world Matt:biggrin: I don't look for laticauda clutches anymore(have to many) and half the time I find the babies on tops of other gecko enclosures. Across the room for that matter! No clue how they get out of the parents enclosure, but they do. Sorry to hear that the one died, but the documented pictures are nice.

 

[hexentanz]

Congrats on your finding! I would have personally waited longer before opening that egg though (I have seen worse off looking eggs hatch). That baby looks like it could have still been alive.

 

[mkschaefer]

I would have waited longer, but it was very discolored. I found a cepediana clutch (that I knew was no longer viable, but hoped anyway) that looked very similar, so I opened up the eggs. I never, never, never open eggs. I agree with you. I don't recommend it.