I hate irresponsible people! I was never one of them before...

[Khrysty]

Where to begin?

I came into this hobby with a lot of money to blow, a lot of spare time to fill, and a love of geckos. I never intended to breed them, but at the time I could have afforded all of the necessary "accessories" (hatchling racks, incubator(s), any vet visits that may be needed, medications, etc). I was working, bought a cell phone contract in my name, added a line for my brother, with the agreement that we would split the bill. Would have been $70 a month for both of us. He had a job. He promised me he'd pay.
And then.

Then my mom wanted to be added. We could all pay $50 a month if she did that. So I agreed.

Then my little sister. It was just $10 extra and my mom didn't have a problem getting me the money every month.

January rolls around and I find myself at school. No job, but a hefty savings. Everybody's still doing their part. Slowly the savings dwindles. Mom stops sending me her $60 a month. My brother loses his job, can't come up with the $50 he owes me. I'm left paying everyone's bill. $160 a month. Money I don't have.

Meanwhile, my sister breeds the geckos.

I'm left $400 in debt with Verizon when it's all said and done, and due to an ATM error, and a brother who "just wanted to borrow your debit card for a little bit" I was $375 in debt with the bank as well.

So by the time I came home, I was $775 in debt, and with two females already starting to lay. So I got two jobs to try and pay what I owed. And we built an incubator cheaply.

It keeps temps at 85 regularly. On hot days it gets up to 87. On cool days or nights it gets down to 84. Not much of a temp flux, but..

3 eggs have hatched for me so far this season. The first clutch was premature (hatched on day 49, really really pale, super small) and both died within 24 hours. Then this next clutch, the first egg died somewhere around the 2nd week of incubation and the second egg hatched horribly deformed.

Since the same male was bred to all of my females, I can't test to see if it's my breeders causing this.

I'm now only $300 in debt and that'll be cleared in the next couple days. I also have a checking account designated JUST for the geckos now. Been building that up. I get around $200 a week, on average, but I need to start saving for next year's tuition since school starts again at the end of next month.

I really want to get a "real" incubator for these guys but circumstances have rendered that impossible. The money I've got saved is really to care for the ones I have outside the egg, you know?

But still...a real incubator would eliminate error on my part, and I'd know it was just my breeders.

*sigh*

 

[gitrdone0420]

That sounds pretty rough =/ Sorry about things not going right for you. Maybe they will start to turn around. I remember last night you said that they were first time breeders, so maybe its just the first bunch that is gonnna go bad... Hopefully you wont continue to have problems. Good luck with everything !

 

[Khrysty]

Thanks Melanie. I've got 3 laying females currently. One has laid 4 clutches, with only 1 healthy egg out of them all, another has laid 4 clutches, all eggs fertile, 3 of which hatched and subsequently died, and a fourth died a couple weeks in, and one female who laid one infertile clutch and has been holding onto this next one for nearly two months. I thought she re-absorbed the eggs, but they're still there. She's not straining, isn't lathargic, is still eating fine, so I guess I just shouldnt worry that much about her. But they're all bred to the same male. Part of me wonders if it's his fault..

 

[Sunrise Reptile]

I'd say the following two reasons are most likely why you're experiencing incubation related problems:

1.) Your breeders are in their first year, especially the female. I'd say this is most likely the reason for the premature hatchlings.
2.) Fluctuation in the incubation temp during critical stages of the incubation term. This is the most likely the cause for the deformed hatchling.

A more stable incubator is definitely a step in the right direction. Any first-year breeder experiences should fix themselves next season. Life's full of ups and downs, and unfortunately this can hold true with reptile breeding and incubation. Hang in there.

 

[Khrysty]

Thanks Maurice. I'm looking into getting an incubator. Someone on the forums kindly offered to lend me theirs for the remainder of the season.

 

[thestack510]

If you separate your finances from the family's you'll be fine. With as well as you've done at paying down your (and their) debt you could have an incubator in no time. Just be persistent and you'll have things the way you want them eventually.