8 dead babies in 7 days

[PaulSage]

Sometimes trying to distract myself with my humor doesn't always work for long.


I don't know what the fuck is going on, but I have now had eight babies die immediately after hatching within the past week. It has occurred in both incubators, and there is no relationship between any of them other than the fact that they're all leopard geckos. It has happened in my tangs, my mack trempers, my RWPAs, some blizzards, ...everything. There are no visible deformities or anything out of the ordinary, although most of them still have a small amount of the umbillicus attached.

I've had this happen maybe 2-3 times before, but in isolated incidents. The fact that it has happened to eight babies in a week is just too coincidental for me to accept.

Does anyone have any idea what might be going wrong? Or what might be causing it? I checked the min/max thermometers, and everything is fine. There haven't been any temperature spikes lately, so I'm really stumped and kinda bummed by it.

 

[BalloonzForU]

I'm so sorry Paul!! I wish I had an answer for you.

 

[robin]

i dont know what top say paul. could it just be the fact you are producing soo many geckos this year?

 

[Grinning Geckos]

There's a point...more babies, proportionally more problems?

Sorry, I've got no ideas.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

This is awful, Paul! It does sound a little too much to be a coincidence in light of the fact that it's been all in the same week. I honestly have no idea what could be wrong!

I found one hatchling laying belly up in the incubator after getting out of the egg. I thought it was dead, but when I pin-lighted it's chest from the back I saw that it's heart was beating, but it wouldn't breathe. This may sound weird, but I actually tried to perform mouth-to-mouth rescussitaion (sp) to get it's lungs filled, but the hatchling died within the hour.

 

[Jeanne]

Wow Paul, I'm sorry this is happening! I hope that it doesn't continue!

 

[PaulSage]

Make that 10 dead babies.


I just don't really have the time nor energy to think about this right now, but it's baffling the heck out of me. I know that more geckos = more problems, but the timing and proportions just don't make sense. Fortunately, the two Enigmas that hatched last night were not two of the ones that died.

 

[Grinning Geckos]

Are you doing anything new this year that you didn't do last year? Other than moving...

 

[PaulSage]

Not really. I keep the babies set up differently than last year, but nothing is different as far as husbandry for the adults or incubation procedure.

Wait, I have been using Herptivite this year and didn't last year, but I don't see how that could be the cause because I've been using it all season.

 

[Grinning Geckos]

It could be building up faster, or depleting faster than what you were using last year. Maybe?

 

[robin]

do you reuse the stuff or out new in each time? maybe something is building up in the new stuff after a while. maybe its not holding water well or getting too hot or something weird like that. like after it begins to age without being changed.

 

[dragonflyreptiles]

Ok I was not going to reply to this because of my lack of experience but are these the last clutches from various breeders?

I had a similar problem at the end of the season in 2004, all of the last cluthces from all different females hatched and were DOA or hatched and died within hours.

My vet said it was due to the vitamins, calcium and minerals being depleted form the female when she laid each clutch and the last were the ones to suffer from it. And as for minerasl a lot of vitamins do not have trace minerals elements like minerall does so I added that in 2005 and didn't have the same problem

 

[PaulSage]

I dump out the vitamins and calcium pretty frequently. I don't really have a set schedule for doing it, but I'd say it's every 7-14 days.

Wendy, what you said does make sense. I'd have to go through and check, but I'm pretty sure that these would be the last clutch or two from those females.

Seeing you mention Minerall reminded me of something I had totally forgotten about. At the beginning of the season I WAS using Minerall along with the Herptivite, Vionate & Calcium. I quit using the Minerall because I was pissed off that it doesn't come in larger quantities. I usually go through two buckets of calcium and a bucket each of Vionate and Herptivite every 4-6 weeks, but I thought that having to order a friggin CASE of those silly little Minerall cans was 'tarded. Ironically, I ordered another case for the first time since Feb/March and it's at the new house already. I'm going to add it back in to my supplementation regime and see what happens.