Crested laid an egg, HELP

CDN-Cresties · 01-23-04, 12:25 AM

Hey everyone, this is my first crestie egg that ive had to deal with. She laid it tonight in coconut husk bedding. My question is can i keep it in the same substrate for incubation or should i run out tomarrow to buy vermiculate or perlite. I plan on keeping it tonight in coconut husk, is that all right until tomarrow???
Thanks

-Steve-

Wuntu Menny · 01-23-04, 12:37 AM

It will likely be ok overnight as long as its kept moist. I would strongly suggest using inorganic medium for incubation to avoid mold and fungus. I'm partial to vermic myself.

WM

CDN-Cresties · 01-23-04, 12:38 AM

ok thanks should i mist the cocnut husk a little?
Thanks again

-Steve-

CHRISANDBOIDS14 · 01-23-04, 12:57 AM

Yes. Good luck with the egg!

Dani33 · 01-23-04, 01:01 AM

Best of luck!!! That's sooo exciting.

Dark_Angel_25 · 01-23-04, 09:41 AM

i thought crested eggs could be kept in the cage? I read something somewhere that this could be done?? I know it is risky, but other than to temp sex has no one done this?

DragnDrop · 01-23-04, 11:55 AM

You could leave the eggs in with the parents, but it's not really advisable. There are too many dangers to the egg in there, and the chance the parent might eat the babies. A friend of mine had trouble with the male digging up the eggs and eating them. She found him with egg on his chin quite a few times. I have missed the odd egg and had it hatch out safely, but there were also some that dried up. Four times in the 7 years I've been breeding cresties I've found a baby in with the parents, and two of them were obviously not freshly hatched, they are about a month old (it can be hard to find a well camouflaged baby if he's not willing to be seen

Even with my mostly good experiences, I wouldn't leave the eggs in there unless it's necessary.

I use "ceramic soil" for incubating all gecko eggs, both hard and soft shelled eggs. There are millions of microscopic pores in the particles, which works great for humidity without being water logged. The irregular shape of the ceramic allows for lots of air exchange with the eggs as well. Since it's inorganic, there's less chance of mold and fungus growth. Even though I had great hatching rates with peat moss, once I started on ceramic, the rates improved unbelievably. You can find it at hydroponics suppliers, garden centres in the pond supply section and even in some aquarium stores since it's great a great substrate for establishing a biological filter. It's also sold for landscaping for improving clay soil under the name Turface.
There's a similar product in Europe called Seramis which is also a favourite for incubating eggs.

Turface website

Profile Aquatic Soil website

General Info about Ceramic Soil

Dark_Angel_25 · 01-23-04, 12:10 PM

OMG what a face! totally Peek-a-boo!!!

I think ia mgoing to cry it is so sweet!!

Thanks for the info, I will keep that in mind if I ever breed mine!

CDN-Cresties · 01-23-04, 01:27 PM

DragnDrop, what ratio of ceramic soil to water do you use?
Thanks

-Steve-

DragnDrop · 01-23-04, 01:34 PM

It's not really a ratio like vermiculite or perlite. All you do is pour some into a container, add water. Wait a few minutes for it to absorb the water (you can hear the bubbles pop at the surface, when they stop, it's done). Then drain in a colander or the like until it stops dripping. That's it. And it's reusable too - I just put it into a microwave safe container, cover with water and nuke until it's boiling. Once cooled, it's ready to go again.

CDN-Cresties · 01-23-04, 01:36 PM

Great, thanks for the help

, Ill keep everyone updated on this egg.
Thanks Again

-Steve-

Youkai · 01-23-04, 01:51 PM

I'll second the ceramic soil! I found it was great to use with leo and crested eggs. It's very easy to tell when it's drying out too, as the color changes dramatically.

CDN-Cresties · 01-23-04, 01:53 PM

In case it drys out during incubation, how do you add moisture??? Do you pour water in or mist it or is there some other method?

Thanks

-Steve-

sara · 01-23-04, 02:36 PM

You can pour, mist etc, everyone has their own technique but make sure you don't get it directly on the eggs. I'm just curious, how old is this female, and is it her first clutch? It's probably ok that there's only one egg, but on the other hand it's also a good indicator in case something isn't quite right... anyway, congrats on the new egg!

CDN-Cresties · 01-23-04, 02:46 PM

It is her second clutch. Three/four weeks ago I found an egg but it looked like it was in bad shape so I discarded it. She has never laid before, according to the person that I bought her from, she is almost 2 years old.
Thanks

-Steve-