Breeding pair

[Aimless]

how degraded was it? she may have laid an infertile in the past at some time.

hmm..the package question...I've seen this several times, and heard about it quite a bit from others. I think it's normal to clean their junk after mating. I've also seen males kept alone do this. boy geckos are pervy, lol. I would say it's a good sign but not proof.

Rick, they're probably mating every night.

 

[CrestedRick]

There was a hole in one side of the egg and it was a tannish/brown color. I used a knife to open it up and there was just dirt inside it. I forgot to attach the picture in my excitement last night. I think I'm going to separate them only so I can monitor her eating and her behavior.

 

[CrestedRick]

Ok so silly question, during pregnancy does the females eating habits change? I've fed my female about 3 times now and she really hasnt touched it. During this time I had removed the male from the tank to reduce any stress he may cause. I have since put him back thinking she may have separation anxiety lol. She just recently went through a shed so I know the enclosure is fine. She also seems to be pregnant as she appears much girthier. I'm just getting worried nd want to make sure she is getting her nutrients.

 

[Aimless]

if she is hungry, she will eat. you're misting regularly, yes? the big concern over a short fast is dehydration.

and yes, they get grouchy and hormonal and sometimes their habits will change when they're gravid.

 

[CrestedRick]

Yes I mist every evening. I actually just gave her a bath the other day thinking I saw stuck shed on her tail and she sat on the tips of my fingers while I removed the shed. The next night I went to do it again and started peeling the shed and realized that she's going to shed. I left her be and she was fine. I ordered some pangea and Clark's to try to entice her to eat.

 

[Aimless]

have you tried the Grubs n Fruit? mixed with one of Pangaea's fruity MRPs it's a pretty big hit here.

a few of my geckos weren't as excited by Clark's, but they all ate it better than Repashy 2.0. or just mix in a bit of fresh banana, or her favorite fruit; maybe a tiny bit of honey.

 

[CrestedRick]

I've tried Grubs n fruit by itself, I've mixed it half and half with repashy cgd. I put strawberries on it the other night and neither of them touched it, they eat bananas and peaches when I put them in it so next feeding I'll do that. Hopefully my pangea gets here by then. I do understand that it's winter here in CT and they tend to slow down and eat less but I was worried him being there could be the issue. If I feed again and she doesn't eat he's coming out for good :/

 

[CrestedRick]

Aim, I saw you mentioned something about palpating a female. How exactly do you do this? My female looks chunkier but she hasn't eaten so I'm sure she's pregnant but I'd really like to be sure. Somehow exactly do you do that?

 

[Aimless]

just hold her and gently feel her belly. when she's within 10 days or so of laying, you can feel the eggs pretty easily. the last week you can see the outlines in her belly when she's against the glass.

 

[CrestedRick]

Ah ok, I'll try to see if she's on the glass or I'll try to feel them. I pulled my male out so she can have some alone time. I've noticed her down in the back of the tank behind the sansaverias so hopefully that means she's looking to lay, just wish she'd use the damn lay box I made lol. She did eat some of her food and pooped so that's good.

 

[CrestedRick]

So shes been digging in the back of the tank in the same area I found the dud. She also looks skinnier but I didn't see any eggs which could be just bc there's lots of plants back there. So how deep do the females lay eggs? I'm really excited to see if she's going to lay.

 

[Aimless]

it depends. Xochitl went anywhere from ~ 1" down to ~3.5" down.

 

[CrestedRick]

Oh jeez I'm going to need a bulldozer lol

 

[CrestedRick]

So, since my gecko wasn't as nice and accommodating as the one in the picture you posted on the other thread about crested female laying eggs, I want to know how you suggest I look for eggs back here? I'm at a loss and I don't want to crush the eggs.
View attachment 34418

 

[Tamara]

Hey Rick, don't worry abouth crushing them, they are very leathery so they will not brake, just be carefull when digging them out that they don't turn or roll over too much, but that's usually not a problem when they are surrounded by substrate.
It can be a little tricky if she has layed them between some roots or something but in our experience they can realy take something before you damage them.

If she isn't happy with you being in there you can always catch her out so you can work without having to care abouth her being defensive.

Good luck!

 

[Tamara]

Hey Rick, the link to the attachement doesn't work for me.., but don't worry abouth crushing them, they are very leathery so they will not brake, just be carefull when digging them out that they don't turn or roll over too much, but that's usually not a problem when they are surrounded by substrate.
It can be a little tricky if she has layed them between some roots or something but in our experience they can realy take something before you damage them.

If she isn't happy with you being in there you can always catch her out so you can work without having to care abouth her being defensive.

Good luck!

 

[CrestedRick]

Hope it works now.

 

[Aimless]

I'm with Tamara. the hard part is keeping the orientation.

 

[CrestedRick]

got a phone call today and was told I was a papa, went home to check and pow there was two! Only put them together in like January!

 

[Aimless]

nice, Rick!