Eggs!!!

[Nighsliv]

Holy smokes batman we got eggs!!!

Just changed the substrate in the moist hide couple days ago to eco earth and saw one of the geckos redecorating (digging) in the hide, popped the cover tonight and we have eggs!

I repeat we have eggs!

Ran to the farmer store to check the price on incubators and they hiked it up due to poultry season (Whopping $50 for a still air incubator).

Rush back home to throw together a make shift incubator from an old country crock butter tub, eco earth and put it in the old tank from when we were quarantining the male earlier this year (It's empty but still has the UTH attached to it) so the plastic box is sitting ontop of the glass directly over the UTH to try and keep the temp.

I think we will shoot for low 80's temp to get females since we don't have enough tanks to house many males.

[Nighsliv]

Just because I was trying to steal her eggs she comes up and bites me!

Here is a video of us digging out the eggs and putting them into our make shift incubator.

Video link

P.s Youtube might still be processing the video due to the maintenance tonight.

[Lasher]

XD Thats great, I've never seen a leopard nip at someone before, how cute!
Good luck with the eggs, keep us updated.

[froggsong]

That was so cool when she bit you... Like, "what the HELL do you think you're doing with my eggs!!!"

I left you another YouTube comment.

[Nighsliv]

Sooo... When do you think I should be able to tell if they are fertile or not? One of them looks like it's starting to grow a little white fuzz and the other one is compacting a little, think it's just a humidity problem or are they duds?

[beckdg]

congrats on the eggs. thanks for the vid. looks like mommy was peeved huh. i don't think she was so confident about the hand in the sky.

i know with some animals that turning the eggs just a little is a deal breaker. i was wondering if it's the same with these guys? i mean if they get a 1/4 turn at some point will they still hatch?

nighsliv, are you familiar with candling? that seems to be the preferred method for finding out if they're fertile or ruined. you should be able to see the light through it with a distinct dark area where the yolk is.

i don't know about geckos but a little mold on the outside or a slight imperfection isn't always a death sentence. you might want to try perlite instead of soil though. it might help.

are you monitoring humidity as well as temperature? it would be a good idea imo. soggy eggs are not a good thing.

[Nighsliv]

I did notice that my humidity in the soil was little low even though it was condensating on the lid, it felt very dry to the touch, so I added more water last night. Will see how it works out. Can't go out and buy any other incubation media since I don't get paid until next week which also hampers my ability to go out and buy a different thermometer, my current one can't measure humidity from the probe.

And all notes online indicate it might be too early to candle the eggs, most suggest trying closer to 1 week after they have been laid.

Edit: I guess I'm just like any first time parent, nervous and anxious. I have only had the male and the fimales together for a while and I'm just worried I'm getting all worked up for non fertilized eggs.

P.s. I'm also concerned about candling since I the eggs are pretty small and I don't want to move them much due to the fact it might cause them to suffocate incase I put them back the wrong way etc.

[froggsong]

I candled my Japalura eggs just a couple of days after they had been laid, and I could see veins and the yolk and everything. It was very cool to candle them every couple of days and see the progress. Sadly, the substrate I was incubating them in hatched alot of nasties (DO NOT EVER BUY EXO-TERRA FORREST MOSS FOR ANYTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), and they destroyed my eggs. I was so upset. They had been growing so well. I hope mine lay some more eggs soon. Although, I don't poke around in that particular vive very often, so it's possible they already have, in which case they likely won't hatch due to low temps in the bottom of the cage (I use an up and down thermoregulation method, rather than side to side).

My advice for candling the eggs is to get an LED flashlight (if you don't have one already) that has a head (or whatever you call the part with the bulb) that is smaller than the egg. That way, you can gently touch the egg with the top of the flashlight and it will only illuminate the inside of the egg (rather than having some of it come around the egg and blind you). I have a little flashlight that is perfect. It has a magnetic bottom, a laser pointer, and a single super-bright LED. I picked it up from Wal-mart, and they do still carry them (up by the registers).

[Nighsliv]

Well I attempted to candle the eggs tonight and I could not see anything at all inside them.

We are going to give them another week then try again if still no improvement we will be tossing them just assuming they are not fertile.

[froggsong]

well, don't take my word for how long it is before you can see anything going on inside there. I would assume eggs from different species would develop at different rates. I'll keep my fingers crossed for ya!