eggs

[leolover]

i have a couple questions. first, how long does it take for the eggs to hatch? do they need light to hatch? what is the ideal temp for the eggs if i only want girls? please help

[drewlowe]

it depends on the temp you incubate at on the # of days it takes to hatch. Mine usually around 60-65 days at 81-82 F.
No they don't need light. and if you want girls lower 80's.

[Tim and Julie B]

Leopard gecko eggs hatch anywhere from 45 days to 65 days, and like Drewlowe said it depends on the temperature as to how long it takes. The lower the temp(females-79-81 dgrs) the longer it takes and the higher the temp(males88-90 dgrs) the less it takes.
For an incubator you can use a 10 gallon aquarium, a large pickle jar(eat the pickles first) a submersible heater, and a styrofoam lid to cover the 10 gallon snug. Fill the pickle jar with water, stick in the heater, plug in the heater, place the jar and heater into the aquarium on one side, and put the syrofoam lid on top. Voila! Instant incubator!
For the eggs I use individual deli cups for each pair laid. Punch 5 holes around the top of each container(not the lid). I fill them 1/3 full of vermiculite, add 3 tbsp warm water and mix it thoroughly. Then you can place ready made delis into the incubator and add eggs as your females lay them. No fuss no muss! Be sure to place a thermometer in the incubator too, measuring the temp inside the incubator not inside the delis. This method has not failed me yet! They don't need light but it isn't harmful either. But it would be best to keep the incubator away from sunny parts of your house to prevent overheating!

[Blazin]

Also if you want you can use perilite. I like to use a about .5 parts water to perilite. Some say .8 but I have had good results with .5. The easy part comes if you have a scale. Simply weigh the perilite without water and then poor the water over it until you have 1.5 or 1.8 the original weight. You can also use what I like to call the Squeeze method when using vermiculite. You simply wet the vermic down till its good and moist and then squeeze all excess moisture from it in your fist. The vermiculite should clump and stay together but should not have any dripping water from it. When you reach that consitency its perfect! Hope this helps.