Ya, no doubt about it, it's a male!

[mikeyweir]

Hey,
This is sort of a sequal thred to the speed growing one.
I have good conformation that the supposed male is definitly a male. I have been feeding him straight time and he has grown, shedded once, and hes shedding right now. Tonight I tried to feed him and noticed that he wasn't hungry, which is unusual. After my mom made a suggestion that he was probably lonely, I re-introduced him to the females. Almost imediatly, he began grasping the larger (normal) female by the skin of her neck. I assumed this was a small treeitory dispute and simply separated them. Then he began biting the slightly smaller high yellow, reduced spot female, and this was followed by some actions that confirm my beliefs that fertilization occured.
I'm so excited,
1)How long after fertilization will the eggs be?
2)How deep should the substrate in the laying box be,3) any suggestions as to what the medium should be?
4)How often will the eggs come?
Pretty sure I know the rest,
thanks for the help,
Any suggestions would be appreciated,
*its my first time* with breeding.


mikeyweir

[TLH_Wär§cöötmän]

1)She will most likely lay eggs between 2-4 weeks from now, so get a humid hide setup asap.

2 & 3) I fill it with vermiculite about 0.5-1" deep and keep it moist. Sphagnum moss can also be used, I prefer vermiculite because it is inert and sterile.

I keep a container that measures 8"Lx5"Wx2.75"H and has a hole cutout on the top thats 2"Lx1.5"W and is 1.5" away from one sides edges all around except for center (its about 4-5" away from that side)

4) She will lay 1-2 eggs every 2-4 weeks, depending on the female and she can have several clutches from 1 mating "session". She can lay between 10-16 eggs per season, and she will lay eggs from Jan till Sept/Oct.

FYI Eggs take from 1-3 months to incubate, depending on temp. Temperatures of 75°F-80°F results in mainly females. Temperatures of 80°F-85°F results in mix of males and females. Temperatures of 85°F-90°F results in mainly males.

For more info check out my website:
http://www.freewebs.com/albertabredgeckos/geckocaresheets.htm#36067187

Hope this answers your Q's :)

[TLH_Wär§cöötmän]

Oh btw the males will vibrate their tails, and vibrate their heads as they grasp the females tail, sides and eventually neck to "stimulate" the female. Once grasping of neck occurs this is usually when they het "down to buisness".

NOTE: Males will try to mate often, so it is a good idea to have multiple females in the terrarium, so that if one is not in the "mood" another may be. Males will continue to make advances on the females even when they are very gravid and about to lay eggs. Usually the male gets a good warning chomp LOL and he will get the idea leave her alone. :)

[mikeyweir]

LOL awesome, ya what you described is exactly what I saw. It was funny though because be females are like 2 years old each, and the male is like 7 months or so.
ok, what is vermiculite and where can I purchas it?

[Slannesh]

Vermiculite is a potting soil additive used to increase water absorption. Basically it's really good at holding water.

You can buy it at any garden center, Home Depot and the like. Walmart or Canadian tire probably carry it seasonally as well.

[mikeyweir]

Ok thanks. We just got a New Walmart so hopefully it's there.

[TLH_Wär§cöötmän]

If the male is that young you may have a few duds, due to age and he might still be "shooting blanks". Hope it helped and hope it turns out for you :) hatchlings are so cool LOL

[mikeyweir]

LoL, at least he is a male. I found vermiculite at walmart tonight and also a perfect laying box. Can the eggs be incubated on vermulicite as well, because I am planning on using peatmoss in the hid box.
mikeyweir

[TLH_Wär§cöötmän]

Yes. I use vermiculite in both humid hides and incubator. I find the leos can move the vermiculite easier than the moss. maybe if you use moss make sure its broken up well. (smaller bits)

[mikeyweir]

Whats up with moisture in the incubator. How much water should ther be in the container of eggs compared to the vermiculite? Should humidity be close to 100%
mikeyweir

[TLH_Wär§cöötmän]

my incubator stays about 80% humidity. I think its safest to get as close to it as possible. Too much humidity may make eggs mold I believe. Too little and your eggs will collapse. I put my eggs ON the vermiculite

BTW, but I use a rather different setup than most people do, so some second opinions are good. I use a chicken incubator and it has a fan, so I have to cover and tape down saran wrap so the eggs do not get dried out by the fan. I poke a bunch of holes in the saran wrap with a toothpick to provide a little air movement still.

[mikeyweir]

Ok, i'm going to be using a chick incubator as well, my plan is to use deli cups that i get meal worms in, and or cups or bowls that fast order salads come in. Bascally I will put in the right amounts of vermiculite and water and poke small holes around the cover. This should work as well I think. I bought a hydrometer, that should help. I am also thinking of getting perlite at walmart, it said in my leo manual that a 1:1 ratio of perlite to water would be good.
Let me know your thoughts, i'll start a new thred asking about ratios of water to vermiculite.
mikeyweir

[TLH_Wär§cöötmän]

I've hear the same for vermiculite. 1:1 ratio verm/water. That is basically the identical setup I use. I use the mealworm containers (cleaned out) and I have a 2 thermometers and hydrometer in there just to be safe. I check temps/humidity ever day or two to make sure everythings ok and for hatchlings. Rona sells vermiculite in large bags for like under $10

[mikeyweir]

cool

[Slannesh]

Keep in mind that 1:1 ratio is by weight and not volume :)