egg question... this may be long..HELP

[bery777]

Hi everyone, I amhopeing someone can shed some light on a couple of questions. We bought our Daisy from a breeder and she is a proven breeder herself. We also purchased Patrick Star from a private party. Here is the question, we introduced them together for breeding after they lived for several months by themself. She immediately accepted him and we have NEVER seen any aggression from either one, but both clutches of eggs have been laid extremely soft- already dented in several spots ( this being the most recent clutch) her last clutch they were soft, but not as soft and started growing mold we treated the mold and finally definetely went bad. I should mention that once we introduced them they have stayed together in the same tank ( tank size- 40 breeder). On the other hand we have another gecko we purchased from the same breeder as Daisy her name is Sugar- she is in her own private tank and has bred with our other male, Skales and her first clutch are textbook beautiful ( she too is a prioven breeder). When we took them fromthe tank they were like a stale marshmellow, then they firmed up and after 4 days we candled them and they are both fertile, SO as you can imagine, my concern is what causes soft dented eggs right from the start. I have heard of eggs becomming dented, but not actually being laid dented. We will give them a fighting chance, but I am not too hopeful on these two. Thanks for taking the time to read and respond,
Teri

 

[fallen_angel]

Every female is different, some lay fertile eggs all season long, others don't. First-year breeders are more likely to have infertile clutches, but that shouldn't be the case since Daisy is a proven breeder. Have you contacted the breeder you got her from? You might be able to get some input from them as well. Also, what is she laying her eggs in? What are you transferring the eggs to?

The male and female should be fine housed together if they aren't agressive towards eachother, I don't think that has anything to do with the infertility of the eggs (we keep our males housed with their group of females all season long).

Another possibility is that Patrick Star is infertile... ??

Also, how many clutches have you had total? All infertile?

 

[bery777]

Thanks for responding. All the geckos use bed- a - beast- not sure of spelling. Daisy and Patrick have three hides, two are front entranceandone is larger and top entrance- this is what she had in her tank when we got her. We are using a hovabator and perulite as the subs. I was wondering if it was a problem that they are housed together, even if they are the only 2 in the tank? I am hopeful. Do you think it could be that Daisy is not eating enough calcium, she just ate about 8 mealies, as she just laid her eggs and was hungry and we dust them alot with the calcium powder. Thanks again for responding. I have found this forum to be the most kind and experienced.
Teri

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

Are they kept on bed-a beast as a substrate, or just in the laybox?

What you are describing sounds like infertile eggs. Even proven females can lay their first clutch or two for the season and have them be slugs. Make sure she has plenty of calcium... it can make a difference in whether fertile eggs can go to term.

 

[fallen_angel]

Bed-a-beast should be perfect for her eggs.. We actually just got some today for our lay chambers. Maybe it's too moist, and that's what's making them so dented? What you describe doesn't sound like the eggs are drying out or anything..

The perlite should be perfect for the eggs too, what water ratio did you use? Do you have holes in the container? We use perlite with a .8 to 1 (water to substrate) ratio in a completely closed container that only gets opened for air exchange about weekly, and it stays at the right humidity all season long.

I really don't see a problem with them being housed together unless their is bullying/fighting/etc.

The correct supplementation may be the problem. They should get dusted food items with calcium every feeding, and calcium with D3 weekly. A multi-vitamin supplement should also be offered weekly. Do you have dish full of calcium in the enclosure as well? You can keep one in there at all times, and they will lick it if they feel they need the calcium.

Other than that, there's a few other options. Breed Daisy with Skales to see if she produces fertile eggs from him, and/or breed Patrick Star with Sugar to see if he can fertilize Sugar's eggs..

 

[bery777]

Thanks again for responding and soo quickly. We use tile for the floor covering in the tank with a papertowel where they pee/poopand they have a big water dish in addition to their food dish and a dish with calcium powder, the bed a beast is in each of their hide boxes. Daisy has laid two clutches so far and she laid one clutch in the front entrance and the last clutch in the hide that is top entrance. Since we are not sure which hide she will lay in, we put the bed a beast in all of them, is that okay? the purulite ratio seems the same. I read on here that if the eggs seems dented- dehydrated then bury it 3/4 in the purulite, is this correct?

 

[fallen_angel]

You're very welcome

Oh, but one hide should be DRY and one should be MOIST. The moist one should be the one on the heated side because otherwise it's just cold and wet and the female should lay in the moist hide. When the lay chamber(s) are adequate, the females will almost always use them. We use paper towels in our dry hide and are going to put the bed-a-beast in the moist hide only. The bed-a-beast also needs to be re-moisted about 3-4 times a week, make sure it's damp, but not dripping. If any water drips when you squeeze, it's too moist

Not sure about burrying dehydrated eggs in the perlite, but it does sound like a good solution..

 

[david13]

i use spagnum, peat moss, sift it, and wow... is it ever fine...nice and soft, no eggs layed in it though