Stenodactylus care thread

[erik]

For all people housing stenodactylus species. This is the place to ask questions, exchange info, discuss proper husbandry, etc.

Let us know if you have any of these little creatures!

 

[mariex4]

whoooop ok people come and join lol

does anybody know how long these beautys stay gravid

 

[mariex4]

ok ill start the pics of erik lol
heres my 5 ickle beautys
first 4 are female
last male

 

[erik]

Nice ones Marie! Here are mine (Shasta and Aravis)

my 'guy' ?

my 'girl' ?

 

[mariex4]

ok ok show off lol ok now erik question ,
ive just done there weights

leo-male- 2.4g
stripe-female-3.9g
shadow-female-3.2g
scar-female-4.1g
sandyblack-female-3.3g

are these weights ok

 

[erik]

I honestly don't know!

Here's one good caresheet, unfortunately it doesn't give preferrable weight!

caresheet stenodactylus

 

[mariex4]

thanks erik im just kinda worried as one of my females is heavyer than the rest could this be an indication of eggs as shes eating more than the others too its scar at 4.1g lol

 

[mariex4]

o heres one i found says abit about breeding but again not much

http://www.gekkota.com/html/stenodactylus_sthenodactylus.html

 

[erik]

found this on another forum, could be helpful for people that get into breeding:


QUESTION:
Is anyone breeding Stenodactylus?
My daughter has a pair, male and female and to her surprise when cleaning their exo today she smushed an egg.
It was buried in the sand in a cool area of the tank.
So now she wants to know about getting them to lay more eggs for her. (I'm in trouble now)
So if anyone can help me out here, we would realy apreciate it.
Thanks
-----
ANSWER:
If they're doing it already, they'll do it again for you.
Stenodactylus are actually fairly prolific. The only issue is keeping the eggs intact. They are incredibly delicate, and are glued to whatever surface the female lays them on. Moving them tends to be more of a pain than anything.
Simply keep caring for them the way that you have been, and you will surely have more eggs at some point.
Depending on the temperature range within the enclosure, I find that they often hatch quicker than cresteds and other geckos.
When I had them, I would brush the sand very lightly throughout the tank with my fingers until I found an egg. I would then take a plastic beer cup, cut the bottom off, and place it around the egg in order to prevent injury, and to protect the hatchling. I have had some hatch and then run about the enclosure with the parents without problem (not being eaten), but I like playing it safe anyways.
They lay two at a time, so if your daughter only found one, chances are, there's another one laying around somewhere. Once they get started, they usually lay every week or two. I've never had an issue with having to cool them down or separate them, as they seem to know their own schedule in their heads, and simply do their own thing. Their cooling season can last anywhere from 4 months to about 8 or so.
One thing I did enjoy about the stenos is that you could keep both genders in whatever ratio, and they got along just fine. They are somewhat more communal than most other reptiles, and will gladly share their space with family, regardless of gender.
If you do manage to find and incubate some tiny little eggs, be prepared to find some really tiny crickets, or flightless fruitflies. The hatchlings are itty bitty, and also they would readily attack something as large as their heads, it would obviously be a much better idea to feed them appropriately sized prey.

 

[mariex4]

thats quite a good one erik

 

[mariex4]

few clearer pics of my steno's

few better pics of my steno's

 

[mariex4]

whoop whoop 1 of ma stenos has just shed i dont think they eat there shed like leos as her dead skin is on the floor

 

[Renster]

My Info on Stenodactylus

Hey peeps just joined to add to this.

Heres my general Information on Incubation, Egg Health and Breeding and some other General Topics.



Size:

Varies with subspecies, Regular sizes(Snout to End of Tail) 2 - 3.5 Inches, Hatchling are about 1.5 - 2 Cm.



Weight:

Male Average Weight - 2.5 Grams

Female Average Weight - 2.8 Grams

Breeding Weight - 3.2 Grams

Gravid Average Weight - 4.3 Grams


Feeding:

Food should be no Larger than the Width of the Gecko's Head, with an exception to (Meal, Wax, Pheonix)Worms.

Feed 2 - 3 Insects to each individual gecko every 2 days, Dusting with Calcium Supplements every Second Feeding and Vitamin Supplements every Fourth Feeding.

A dish of water should be left in with the gecko's and refreshed atleast twice a week, Also Lightly mist the Tank walls as the Gecko's will lick up droplets.


Sexing and Breeding:

Males after about 7 months will have Noticeable Hemipenal Bulges, Females will be larger than most males.

Sexually maturity is reached around 7 - 9 months.

The Gecko's will chirp during mating aswell as prior to and after, If a female is too young to mate or Gravid they will release a high pitched Squeak.

Females will be gravid for anything between 2 -3 weeks.

They will usually Dig a hole to Lay in and then cover the eggs with substrate or Lay in a Hide and may or may not cover the eggs with substrate.

Eggs are almost always layed over a UTH (Under Tank Heater) or they will be layed under a Heatlamp in the safest place.

If no suitable Laying sites are available Occasionally Females will not lay and will become Eggbound, which in the long term leads to death.



Incubation:

Temp - 26 - 30 C

High Humidity can Spoil Eggs.

Alteration of Humidity is not required.

Incubation can take between 50 - 70 days - Temperatures can vary the Incubation Times slightly.


Egg Health:

Firstly id like to add that you SHOULD NOT pick up these eggs by hand as they are Moderately thick shelled but break VERY easily.

Leave Every Egg in the Incubator Until the incubation period is over.

To move an Egg on sand Take a Table Spoon and scoop up the egg with a heap of sand under it.

Denting an Egg will not make it Infertile unless there are numerous dents.

Cracking an Egg doesnt mean its Infertile, If it cracks and Leaks it Infertile, If it Cracks and there are no fluids running dont rule it out.

For this next part LEAVE THE EGG WHERE IT IS!

After 4 - 5 weeks Candle the egg.

To candle an egg take a Torch or other source of light and shine it at one side of the egg, go to the opposite side of the egg and you will see its contents.

Clear Egg = Possibly Infertile, Leave in Incubator, Candle in later weeks.

Yellowish Egg = Chances are its Rotten, But wait for bad smell before discarding as yellowish eggs can ocassionally be fertile.

Yellow Egg + Bad Smell = Its Rotten.

Pink/Red Egg = Fertile, Later into Incubation Veins will begin to show.

Clear Egg + Yellow/Red Blob at one end = Egg has been Cracked or Rolled which has made it dry out and is therefore Infertile, However to be safe I recommend leaving it in the incubator.

Rolling an Egg does not mean its Infertile, However if an egg is rolled Excessively it will most definately end up Infertile.

Would just like to add that this Information may vary depending on Subspecies.




I own 2.2.0 Stenodactylus Sthenodactylus and Currently have 2 eggs in incubation and have atleast 2 Eggs Unfound.

Last batch of eggs were all Duds.

Also own 0.2.0 Lepidodactylus Lugubris.

 

[robin]

you ought to submit this to the articles section. there is a link to it at the top of the page.

here http://www.geckoforums.net/articles.php?c=110

 

[erik]

Thanks Renster for adding this!

 

[Renster]

just a heads up, I created a steno care sheet article on here but it hasnt been added for some reason ............. Its re-doable but took AGES!

 

[erik]

looking forward to it!

 

[Renster]

Caresheet still aint up........... was submitted a week ago, guess it hasnt been reviewed yet, will let you all know when its up

 

[reptile4me]

what heat source?

For the original poster or anyone else who is familiar with this type of gecko....

Do you use under belly heat source or lights above or both?

 

[MonteQ's]

Both. I have a UTH at 85f where they hide during the day. I also keep a basking spot around 90-95 atop a piece of slate. They will bask under it while they're out at night.