Very odd hatchling

[David Evans Reptiles]

Well I have hatched out about 40 or so leopard geckos this year and this is my first. I had one hatch a couple days ago without any eye balls. It appears that some skin has growed over where the eye should be. Its egg sibling hatched today with no defects. I haven't had any defects at all this year. Is this a common thing that just happens or did I do something wrong. I am waiting for it to shed to take some pictures. I keep my eggs in rubbermaid containers half filled with hatchrite and only two eggs per container. I use a homemade incubator made from a dorm room fridge. My temps are 84 to 85 degrees. If this is something I did please correct me as I don't want this to happen again. Oh and other siblings from the same male and female that has hatched over the last few months are doing great with no issues. Any help would be great..

 

[acpart]

If all the other ones are doing that well, and you've hatched out that many, I'd say it's a case of a normal occurrence, where sometimes something just goes wrong. It happens. I hope the rest of them come out fine this season.

Aliza

 

[geckoluv2187]

Got pictures?

 

[Halley]

yeah, picture would be great

 

[fallen_angel]

I agree with Aliza and believe it is just a natural occurance; but there are known causes to deformities. The most common causes of deformities that appear at birth include:
-Genetic defects
-Improper temperatures during incubation of the eggs (ie temperature levels that were too high or too low for some or all of the incubation period.

(taken from Dr. Gecko's Leopard Gecko Health: Deformities)

I guess this page doesn't mention temperature fluctuation, but I have heard that can cause deformities as well. We just had a baby that was highly deformed, and we believe that it was due to temperature fluctuation, because there was an incident where it happened.. There is also a possibility that it had something to do with the female being a first-year breeder (although all the rest of her eggs have hatched out perfectly thus far).. Unfortunately, I don't think there is always a definite answer as to what causes each deformity.

Is the gecko healthy otherwise?

 

[David Evans Reptiles]

Ok heres a picture. She just shed and I believe there might be a eye in there after all. I can't really tell.

 

[Mel&Keith]

It an eyelid deformity. It's really common when the mother isn't getting enough Vitamin A. Sometimes by the end of the laying season a female is just depleted of nutrients and that can contribute to eye deformities. Another theory is incubation temperature fluctuations. If it can blink then you can get ointment from the vet to help keep it moist through it's first few sheds. If it cannot blink then the eye will dry up and it would be best to humanely euthanise it. That looks pretty bad...I'm sorry. Here's a good thread about eyelid deformities:
http://www.geckoforums.net/showthread.php?t=9912&highlight=eyelid+deformity

 

[Bling_my_leo]

Glad that one is in good health. Good to hear!

 

[David Evans Reptiles]

Well I haven't changed the temps this year on already incubating eggs. But after reading Ron Trempers book, I plan to do so next year. I plan to allow the eggs to set at 79 degrees for two weeks and then put them in the incubator for the rest of the term at 88 to 89 degrees. Acording to what I read in Ron Tremper's book this is how you produce super bright Albino females. How often do you run into eye lid problems when running this cycle. His book didn't say anything about any risk involved with this cycle. I am concerned now. Can someone explain this to me.. Thanks