eggs under a mound of sand

[huggeleph]

First time breeder here. I wasn't quite prepared for the swiftness of mating. In short, I introduced a female tangerine gecko into the world of a male leopard gecko. We have a corner in the aquarium with moss that is kept moist, which is good for shedding. I saw them mate, and I assumed she might be carrying eggs.

About a week ago, we were away from the aquarium for just a few hours. In that short time, the female pushed a huge mound of sand into the moss corner, covering the entire spot in about 2-3" of sand. I have no incubator, so I'm just keeping the sand moist and hoping nature will take it's course. I feel it is too late to be moving things around at this point.

My question is 1) Is it normal for her to bury the eggs like that? I've not read about it, only about burying in the moss; and 2) what are the chances of them hatching? The temperature in the cage is consistent. I have a heating pad on the bottom.

Many thanks.

 

[fallen_angel]

No, I think the reason she did that was because the moss wasn't in an actual lay box chamber... If you use a moist hide that holds your moist substrate, then when they dig and kick around, substrate from outside of the hide won't usually get to the eggs.. does that makes sense?

And of course, you'll hear about how you shouldn't use sand at all because it can lead to impaction, which can be fatal for your leo(s)...

But to answer your questions... I don't think the sand could be very good for the eggs (it must be hard keeping it moist enough). If anything, I would remove the eggs from the mound, put them in a container with some moss or vermiculite (if you have some), and keep the container away from direct light in a warm (at least 80 degrees) place. All you have to do is keep the eggs face up as you unbury and remove them, so marking the top of the eggs with a felt-tip pen or sharpie will help.. If they turn, the embryo can possibly drown..

You want whatever you use to be moist but not wet. I don't use moss, but vermiculite takes a water ratio of .8 (water) to 1 (vermiculite). Hope this helps..