The WORST season in Golden Gate Geckos' history!

[LadyGecko]

While I am not dealing with any breeding issues (my life went completely bonkers and I missed getting to some eggs that the two females laid that I paired this year and the eggs that I did get to went bad )

I have not fed meal worms for at least a year

Any small geckos that I buy get crix and then as soon as they can handle small super worms-they get both

I have a local Bug Guy that I get my super worms and crix from as well as different sized crix from week to week-if need be and I can request specific sizes of super worms from him to suit the sizes of the geckos that I am feeding

I keep forgetting to ask him if he has had any problems with mealies this year since I never order them from him anymore

I am sorry to read of the problems that everyone is having this season and I think that it would be extremely interesting to see a poll/graph of the geckos that are having problems with reproducing-IE-laying viable eggs etc and how many have been fed meal worms this year

Sandy

PS-Aliza It looks like we were thinking along the same lines of a graph/poll at the same time

 

[FelanMoira]

Well, you know I only got 5 eggs from AsNuri this year - first ever breeding ever for me - 2 hatched - both had deformities - 1 minor eyelid notch - the other had to be euthed after 3 weeks. The other 3 eggs started to developed but stopped developing partway through. I lost AsNuri to eggbinding, and she always had calcium w/o D3 in her cage at all times.

I haven't introduced new mealworms into my colony for over a year. I use the mealworm bedding from reptilesupply.com here http://www.reptilesupply.com/product.php?products_id=318, so unless they got some tainted supplies that the mealworm suppliers also use - I don't know that I'm having the same problem.

I just wonder if all the weird weather and the atmospheric issues that come with it might be affecting breeding as well. We're like 3+ inches of precipitation above our normal levels for the year here in West Virginia - and I know other people are WAY below levels. And the temps are way different in places than they normally are. We normally aren't in the 90's here until August and we've been in the 90's several times since late May. (Which might be why I lost the last 3 eggs - I'm moving the 'bator into the a/c bedroom for the round of eggs from Arwyn if she actually lays them!)

 

[JConley]

Speaking of weirdness my female just laid one egg today and this is how it looked, I was gonna chuck it but i candled it and seen lots of red veins so put it in the Hova and hoping for the best!

3 pics

 

[Sunshine State Exotics]

Here is another thing that is odd. I have a few females this year that will lay one egg, 5-10 days later, lay another single egg. These are females that always laid two eggs in the past.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

Ever since I posted this thread, I have been on the phone with other breeders, had 17 emails, and several PM's. This is one of them:

I can't bring myself to reply publicly....

Let's just say I have 30 enigmas alone(plus atleast 100 others) that ave a multitude of issues and what has not died or been put out of it's misery, will not be sold for a long time.70% of my first 100+ either died, refused to grow or had calcium obsorbtion issues so bad they had to be put down.

I am honestly ready to scratch this idea and just breed a select few animals for fun, but I love hatching geckos too much.

This is my reply, and it goes for ALL of us!!!

PLEASE, PLEASE,PLEASE post this information! Sometimes I think I am the ONLY breeder that has balls enough to go public with these kinds of issues! OMG, I am on the verge of selling GGG because I feel like I am the only one having these problems. I don't care if it ruins my reputation, I just need to have the strength to get the word out to all the others that may be having similar problems.

Oh, please support me, the community, and our geckos by coming out with this!!! We love our geckos and each other too much to hold this back.

I guarantee that there IS an issue with the feeders causing all of this, and without all of us coming together our hands are tied. There is a major cover-up going on, and it is costing ALL of us. If we put our heads together, we can come up with concrete evidence to prove it.

We have to do this! We just HAVE TO!!!

I have never been the one that holds anything back. I have made it my ethical commitment to everyone to share everything I know with the community... the good along with the bad. We can all become better breeders, and our beloved geckos will only benefit from our combined resources and knowledge!

Thank God I am not the only one experiencing these problems. PLEASE, let's get to the bottom of this! I love my geckos too much to do them injustice.

 

[preacherman]

We had a very rough start to our season, with MANY infertile eggs from some of our most promising projects. That spell lasted about two months (although it seemed like much longer). I attribute the problems that we experienced to the fact that we moved our entire collection into a new building right as our breeding season was kicking off, and switched from feeding mealworms exclusively to feeding crickets exclusively at the same time. I was very upset about having to switch to crickets, but with all the problems that people are having with mealworms, I'm very glad that we did.

Since that time, the rest of our season has been fantastic. We have hatched well over 300 babies now, and aside from some small tail kinks, we have had nothing but healthy, beautiful babies. I'm sorry to hear that so many others are having so many problems. I wish you all the best of luck.

 

[Paco]

Marcia... I don't see why other big breeders are not chiming in??? They don't want the public to know that they are having the same issuses as the rest of the community? I really don't see the need to hide such an issue or the fact that it might be happening. I feel that there could be other issue's invovled as well. I don't feed Meal's on a regular enough basis to comment on that issue right now. Stopped well over 2 months ago. But there could be some lingering effects from the mealies I feed or from the pervious owners? So far I have 7 Bad eggs from 3 different females and 6 maybe 5 good eggs from 3 different females( Just laid so only time will tell). I also have several stubborn females as well. So you are still not the only one. If there is one thing I have learned from years of reading the Boa and Ball forums is Don't expect every season to be great even if you are doing everything exactly the same as when things were great. I have had great sucess in the past with Leos and will hopefully in the future as well, not counting on it the way things look now. Even if this year is not as productive as I hoped, I hope to keep things up regardless. I know you care for your animals more than anyone and it shows. For you to feel it is somehow your fault for what is happening to your animals is Crazy. I don't believe it and neither should you, and I am sure every GF member would echo the same statement. So hang in there ,Give the animals the Love and care you do and it will all work out in the end. Good luck and keep the faith.

 

[giantkeeper]

This breeding season has been the most horrible season in GGG history.

Sorry to hear about the way things have been working out for you Marcia. I won't comment on my season but I can certainly tell you it did start later than last years. I also noticed some wierd stuff with mealworms so I stopped buying them.

I have no doubt that things will get a little brighter for you here in the future. You may even crack a wiley grin when I show you all of the "normal" enigmas I am getting from the bold stripe breedings :main_rolleyes:

Take care and don't forget to smile :main_thumbsup:

Chris

 

[paulnj]

I had a vast majority of my eggs go bad early one and associated it to calcium.... maybe not. From there I also changed my supplier of mealworms for economic reasons

I have had more than the average amount of geckos have MBD , though I was dusting feeders 3 times a week and always providing calcium and have never had a rack go below 90 or above 94(except power outages)

 

[snared99]

I got my season started on time(mid january-febuary), and noticed a significant decrease in egg production/embryo losses in the egg at mid range times. We had to switch to supers/crickets 1-2 months ago, and since everything is thriving. I never stopped to think about the mealworms being a issue but it makes perfect sense.
I have changed nothing from last year, from incubation all the way down to supplementation. The numbers we should have verse what we do is significantly lower.
So i totally agree with you marcia, we need to come together as a community and figure out what is happening.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

For you to feel it is somehow your fault for what is happening to your animals is Crazy.

Believe me, I don't think any of this is my fault. We are dealing with living creatures... not a production line of mechanical parts. Living things are not without their innate problems. I have been breeding geckos for 13 years, and not all of it has been rosy! There is a very dark and horrific side to breeding animals... something that many 'newbies' aren't aware of yet.

I sincerely appreciate the concern and support of all the GF members! We are truly a unique and wonderful community, and I am privileged to be a part of it.

All I can say is, that in 13 years of breeding 6 different species of geckos, I have never had a year that is plagued with this much heartbreak. There HAS to be a reason for it, and I am hoping that 'if' other breeders are seeing this with their geckos, that they will step up to the plate so we can understand it and resolve it.

 

[SunnyStateReptiles]

This is my first year of "breeding", i got about 8 eggs, all either molded or just died. One female was only dropping one egg at a time. Im hoping next year will be better for everyone.

 

[Sunshine State Exotics]

Let me ask this...

I usually buy from Sunshine Mealworms. They have continued to sell to me until just this month because I was an existing customer. The last few orders have come from Armstrong. Now, I'm not sure where everyone else is getting their worms from, but somehow most all of the mealworm companies are having issues with the shortage or whatever it really is.

How are these companies mealworms connected? Is there a farm that breeds mealworms for these companies? Or do these companies breed their own worms but buy food from the same supplier?

Sunshine Mealworms told us the issue had to do with food. They said bad food killed off and stunted the growth of the mealworms.

 

[malt_geckos]

We were getting great mealies from Armstrong but had to switch to sunshine unfortunately due to the shortage. Since (not saying it's them) we have lost a lot more eggs. Maybe just a coincidence? I also heard it was the food they were using? You know, how many people are using giant mealies? We have been breeding our giant mealie beetles and adult mealworms sure as heck don't get that big! Do you think they may be using some growth hormone and it went wrong?

 

[leatherneck]

Well I had a GREAT season! But I will add that I only fed my adults crickets and my hatchlings mealworms. I recently changed to all of them feeding off of mealworms, and I have noticed a drastic decline in fertile eggs and activity in my geckos??? I dont know if its because of the diet change (more than likely) or the mealworm problem that you all speak of, but there is definitely a difference.....Im going back to crickets :main_thumbsup: . I wish you all the best this season, we are all feeling it one way or another, just one of those years in US history!!

Darn (lack of better words) I LOVE THIS COUNTRY!!

Semper Fi!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tarik

 

[PacHerp]

I've heard three different stories about how the mealworm shortage occurred:

1) The mealworms had a 'genetic defect', therefore, they all died off before being able to pupate, so in consequence they had no breeding stock. :main_huh:

2) The bedding for the mealworms was changed... they found out pesticides were added to the mixture after all the worms started dying off. :main_huh:

3) A 'mold spore' grew in the bedding that killed of the majority of mealworms. :main_huh:

From my experience, when there are multiple stories being told, it usually means that there is something else going on entirely, or the whole truth is not being told.

I want to do everything I can to get to the bottom of this. Has anyone else heard from the mealworm breeders experiencing the shortage what may have happened?? :main_robin:

 

[paulnj]

oh.... alot of my females(proven and unproven) lay every 4-8 weeks if at all. Plenty of 1 clutch breedings too.

 

[GroovyGeckos.com]

Wow! I agree, whatever has been wrong with the mealworms, could be the cause.

I lost one of my adult female geckos(a really beautiful "Red Striped Aptor" I produced R.I.P.), that I had hoped to get breeding this year, a few months ago. She was one of my "picky", mealworm-only geckos, and I was feeding them to her at the time(and some of my others I am kind of worried about at the moment, reading this), as I had a lot of worms in the fridge for awhile. The rest ate supers for the longest time. I never even thought of that, and had no idea why she died. I had only recently heard about the mealworm problems too.*

*For what it`s worth the mealworms that I had at the time reproduced with no problems, in fact I do not think I ever did as well last time I was breeding them. Looks like I have alot of baby worms, so I do not know what the "problem" is all about. I would like to know though!!

 

[GeckoJunkie]

Marcia, first let me say that I have alot of respect for you. Now I have even more respect for you coming forth with this as I think many would just take their loss and not mention it. I believe that alot of breeders do not want to admit they have problems. With that said.
My season this year started out like gangbusters. I was hatching everything that was laid, if you think back I was posting alot of enigma hatchlings.Then suddenly without reason I had females just shut down and stop laying, I have eggs that go bad for no reason. I had changed nothing in this time. I started second guessing myself and my methods. But nothing I did would correct it. I have to date only hatched three with defects, but I have just in the month of june lost 49 eggs for no reason. I had not even give thought to the feeders I was using. Now for feeders, I have been getting my feeders exclusively from Armstrong, they have not turned me down yet. Now twice I have placed orders with them and my mealies came to me from Sunshine not Armstrong. Now I would not of given alot of thought to this but in the last month my wife has started breeding our own roaches and crickets so I have had no need to order mealies. Thing is, I am already seeing a difference in the geckos and all eggs that have been laid lately have been good. I had several females that had begun losing weight and would not eat. Well now with the crickets and roaches guess what.....they are back to eating and picking up weight fast.
I will follow this thread and participate in this thread as much as possible. I think this is going to turn out to be very interesting.

 

[JConley]

Is anyone having problems with any other reptiles that eat mealworms? like beardies?