unexpected eggs :(

[berlynne83]

It turns out that my female unknown albino came preggers... which really upset me. I thought I just had to cut down her rations and the acquaintance I picked her up from was just being over zealous with feeding. (Shes been solitary in quarantine since I got her a bit less than 3 weeks ago or so) my friend had kept her with a tank mate (both were TSF) and she handed her off on me the day after her other one passed away very unexpectedly and worrisome with no outward signs of distress. I dint question tank mate sex and I thought I was just dealing with excessive fat pads. Now I know it's possible they're infertile, and part of me hopes they are....(the part that wasn't extremely excited that is)... but they have good weight to them and firmed up as supposed to, so now I'm playing the waiting game. I called her up to do some belated research and she says she got the pair at the same time and they looked very similar and so I'm hoping if it was a he and the eggs are fertile, I've got some albino coming. She said there was a lot of tail shaking and the dead one did a lot of biting at my girl near the end. I tried candling but I didn't get a clear view... so I'll give it a week and try again.

I'm just so frustrated!!!! She had them for over 6 months and didn't have a single pic of either so I could compare!! I know they came from a chain petstore, so if what you guys say is correct, I may end up with some tremps.

But..... in good conscious I cannot and will not sell albino or Leo's with unknown het albino genes to the public, so it looks like my little girls will be getting their own geckos anyway! And any family member who has a birthday after hatching time if she keeps laying.

If she did lay fertile eggs, will she keep laying,even though she's not in with a male? I heard they store sperm, is that how it's done, just the one mating for the full clutch of 8 or so?

 

[cowana]

I'm in a similar situation. I rescued a female that was in with another gecko that they were both TSF, and they were never checked to be sure they were in fact female when old enough. My coworker got them from a breeder so I know the hatchlings genetics, so that is a plus on my end. She however is underage and underweight so I am doing all I can to make sure she stays fat and healthy while gravid.

Yes, they do store sperm and do not need a male to be present to produce eggs. She can continue laying every 1-5 weeks (although I believe 2-4 is average). First time mothers can have anywhere from 1 clutch to 12 clutches, so 1 egg to 24 eggs, during this breeding season. Make sure you have plenty of incubation media and room for hatchlings just in case, she has a lot of fertile clutches this year. Hopefully, she won't have a crazy amount of eggs on you! Good luck!

 

[berlynne83]

I'm glad I was prepared. I had all the supplies and just needed to assemble everything quick. I had no intention of breeding the poor girl! I was so sure she was just fat,I just took the girls word for it that they were female. But it is still very exciting,even if they turn out to be duds. I got to do the dance and squeal at my husband before reality sunk in and they won't be the giants I had planned to be breeding. But who knows! Maybe the next great morph will pop out of one of these eggs.. a surprise gold flecked platinum Leo with huge girly eyes and blue eyeshadow.

 

[cowana]

But it is still very exciting,even if they turn out to be duds. I got to do the dance and squeal at my husband before reality sunk in and they won't be the giants I had planned to be breeding. But who knows! Maybe the next great morph will pop out of one of these eggs.. a surprise gold flecked platinum Leo with huge girly eyes and blue eyeshadow.

That would be one hilariously, interesting gecko! Ha!

 

[Kristi23]

You won't like my answer, but I would freeze the eggs and toss them. There is no reason to hatch them when you have no idea what they came from. It's something that adds to the problem. But if you must incubate, please make sure you keep the babies (you can try for pet only homes, but there are never any guarantees they won't be bred there).

I'm not meaning you specifically when I post this and it's for everyone to read. Just because a gecko lays eggs doesn't mean you need to hatch them. There are times when eggs need to be frozen. It will happen with test breedings. If someone is testing their bell to tremper because they heard a rumor about a breeding selling mixed, they might hatch out an albino right away. At that point, they know the babies are double albinos and they will freeze all remaining eggs.

 

[stager]

You won't like my answer, but I would freeze the eggs and toss them. There is no reason to hatch them when you have no idea what they came from. It's something that adds to the problem. But if you must incubate, please make sure you keep the babies (you can try for pet only homes, but there are never any guarantees they won't be bred there).

I'm not meaning you specifically when I post this and it's for everyone to read. Just because a gecko lays eggs doesn't mean you need to hatch them. There are times when eggs need to be frozen. It will happen with test breedings. If someone is testing their bell to tremper because they heard a rumor about a breeding selling mixed, they might hatch out an albino right away. At that point, they know the babies are double albinos and they will freeze all remaining eggs.

I second that

 

[berlynne83]

I had never thought of that solution, thanks Kristi! I actually agree with you. That's a perfectly humane thing to do, any further eggs will be frozen and as for these two, if they are fertile they'll be personal house pets for my gecko crazy little girls. I did track down a confirmation of her being a termper, but had no intention of breeding something other than a giant line. Thank you for the advice, I will be using it. Had it dawned on me I would have done it before the kids found out and made me promise to let them keep their own. Jez will still be remaining out of any breeding I do, since my goal is to bring back some colour and contrast to the area in giants, not albinos. I'm glad I found this forum, the whys and how's I'm getting answers to is extremely helpful.