Bibron Gecko Hatchling - Please Help!

[Firetail]

Hello.

I am new here. Earlier today I have noticed that one of the eggs my female bibron laid has hatched. At first I thought it was a cricket I accidentally missed taking out yesterday after feeding. Now, I never expected any of the eggs to hatch as I have done nothing to facilitate their maturation... she has laid four eggs since the two months she has been here.
I am really thrilled. This is the first time any of my pets ever reproduced... and there is precious little information about Bibron reproduction and hatching care on the Internet.



I have very carefully managed to put it in a separate transparent container (there is an air hole), lest it gets accidentally eaten by the adults. I have put that back in the habitat as I only have one heated tank at the moment. There is a hiding box in there, a small water dish, paper towel at the bottom and some small worms (the type's name eludes me at the moment, but they are small). I have also misted the container to help any possible shedding.

It is alert, looks healthy.

Questions:
I have read they might not eat till their first shedding- about three days. Is that true? What should I feed to it? Is there anything else I need to do now?

Thanks in advance, I hope I have not forgotten to mention anything.

 

[thorrshamri]

Questions:
I have read they might not eat till their first shedding- about three days. Is that true? What should I feed to it? Is there anything else I need to do now?

Thanks in advance, I hope I have not forgotten to mention anything.

True. They won't normally eat until their first shed, but it often happens on the very day of their hatching. I'd suggest anyway to wait 2-3 days prior to the first feeding attempt with f.e. pinhead/very small crickets or baby roaches. Keep it on paper towels with roughly the same temps than adults and everything should be fine.
By the way, unless you are from South Africa, it is 99% likely your "bibron" gecko is actually a Turner gecko. Both species look very similar but the latter are massively imported, while it is really uncommon in the hobby to see a true Bibron gecko. There are subtle scalation differences between both species, and as far as I know, true Bibrons are only accidentally imported. Don't worry though, the husbandry of both species is exactly the same.

 

[Firetail]

True. They won't normally eat until their first shed, but it often happens on the very day of their hatching. I'd suggest anyway to wait 2-3 days prior to the first feeding attempt with f.e. pinhead/very small crickets or baby roaches. Keep it on paper towels with roughly the same temps than adults and everything should be fine.
By the way, unless you are from South Africa, it is 99% likely your "bibron" gecko is actually a Turner gecko. Both species look very similar but the latter are massively imported, while it is really uncommon in the hobby to see a true Bibron gecko. There are subtle scalation differences between both species, and as far as I know, true Bibrons are only accidentally imported. Don't worry though, the husbandry of both species is exactly the same.

Thank you for the reply. Conditions are similar to adults. S/he is kept on paper towels and eats small crickets seemingly every few days. Looks alert and healthy. Could you help me telling if it's parents are Bibron or Turner?

 

[thorrshamri]

Chondrodactylus turneri. Best of luck with the baby!

 

[Firetail]

Thank you, you made my life a lot easier.