Viper Gecko Keepers-

[Here2Learn]

Hey guys,

I was hoping for some insight from community members who have breeding experience with Viper Geckos. I have maintained them at the herp shop I worked at but, haven't worked with them in a breeding project. I did read the information on JMGreptile.com

The questions I have are

Are hatchlings big enough to eat pinhead crickets?
What housing ratio works best, 1.5 etc?
How hardy are they?
How are they about dropping their tails? (I remember the adults at the shop were CB and very mellow/secretive)
Are they as prolific and easy to breed as they are made out to be?

Any other helpful tips greatly appreciated.:main_thumbsup:

 

[TheHiddenGecko]

I'm getting vipers in a few days so the only question I can answer is your first one. Yes they are big enough to eat pinheads.

 

[Here2Learn]

Right on Steve,
Who are you getting them through?
Please do let me know how the transaction goes.

 

[TheHiddenGecko]

I'm getting 1.2 through JMG. Hopefully I'll be getting them in on Tuesday. I'll let ya know how it goes.

 

[Herpcam]

1. Are hatchlings big enough to eat pinhead crickets?
2. What housing ratio works best, 1.5 etc?
3. How hardy are they?
4. How are they about dropping their tails? (I remember the adults at the shop were CB and very mellow/secretive)
5. Are they as prolific and easy to breed as they are made out to be?

Any other helpful tips greatly appreciated.:main_thumbsup:

Viper geckos are awesome little guys!!!!! I am so surprised they're not more popular than they are. Once they get going, they're really easy to take care of. I numbered your questions above, and will answer them in order:

1. Viper gecko hatchlings will eat the smallest crickets you can find. As in less than one week old. You may need to find a shop that breeds crickets or breed your own, because you can't always find this small size at Petco, Petsmart or other pet shops that receive theirs in shipments. You probably won't be buying hatchlings, because they're not as hardy as ones that have become established over several weeks.

2. I kept my viper adults as a pair, and kept the hatchlings in groups separated by size. I had as many as 8 or so in a shoebox. They're the smallest things you've ever seen when they hatch, and they don't grow too terribly fast. I have heard that you can keep two males together, but did not try it. I was lucky enough to purchase two unsexed geckos that grew up to be a 1.1 pair. I don't see why you couldn't keep 1.5 together, but be ready for a ton of babies (they don't sell too quickly, so have a plan to either raise and keep them, or sell them to local shops or customers.) Now that I consider your questions, though, you should probably start out with one or two (females if 2) if you've never kept them before, and then get more later on if you decide to breed.

3. In my experience, juvies and adults are pretty hardy geckos, but the babies can be tricky. I lost a few hatchlings for unknown reasons, but once they got past the first couple/few weeks, they seemed to do well. The babies need to have a little more moisture than adults, or you may see shedding problems. They don't need a moist or humid environment by any means, but they need to have access to a humid area if they want it. The adults can be kept completely dry as long as they have access to a shallow water dish. You need to provide babies some pinhead crickets daily, but my adults would eat mealworms. When I got some from Gecko Ranch, Julie had been feeding them 'mini' mealworms. I'm not sure what those were exactly, but they seemed to like them. I bought some of those from her, but switched them to small mealworms shortly after I got them home. These geckos are very small. Babies shouldn't be handled unless absolutely necessarily, such as when you transfer them from the incubator to their enclosure. In my experience, some adults tolerate short periods of handling, but others don't much at all. Overall, they don't seem to care for it like many leopard geckos do, and they are definitely more fragile than leos.

4. None of my vipers dropped their tail and I've never seen one missing a tail. You're spot on in your statement that they're pretty secretive and they hide/sleep most of the day. I would love it at night when the one we had in our living room would come out at night to hunt, though, because they do move pretty swiftly and hunt with some leo-like characteristics, such as raising their tail a little and pointing their head down at their prey before striking.

5. They are very, very, very prolific and too easy to breed (you don't have to do any of the work, the boy geckos do). Adult females will literally lay two eggs every two weeks. I don't know how long you should let them do that, but common sense tells me they should get a rest period, so I would suggest (and if I get them again in the future, I will) let them rest up and recuperate over the winter and then re-introduce males and females from spring to late summer, like the leopard gecko breeding season. However, just because you and they can, doesn't necessarily mean you should. I suggest lining up customers and a shop or two that will take them off your hands once you get them started, otherwise you could become overrun with vipers in no time. Luckily they don't take up much room.

The shop I sold several to earlier this year set 4-5 up in a really nice naturalistic cube-shaped vivarium that would've looked great on anyone's desk. I would have loved to have had them in something like that, because they really are fun to watch run around. These are more watching geckos than holding geckos like leos and fatties.

I don't have any right now, but if you have any more questions, I will do my best to remember.

Here are some pics. Best of luck.

Comparison of viper and leopard gecko eggs. Viper eggs are like peas.

Hatchling in my hand.

Some babies with a milk cap for size reference. The one on the top is 2-3 weeks old and the bottom one is within a week old.

Get used to this if you breed multiple females. These were all from one female. Make sure you mark the eggs because the babies will roll them.

 

[Here2Learn]

Wow Rob,

Thanks so much for all that info. The pics are great too, you're awesome. I've decided I better go ahead and get some. I'll hope that the pet shops locally that buy up the majority of my corns will pick up these cute lil guys as well.

Thanks again that was a great and valuable post!

 

[giantkeeper]

I have a group of JMG Vipers and we LOVE them!!! We had 11 and lost 4. All of mine eat mealworms with gusto, and they will also eat smaller wax worms from time to time. Ours also tolerate being held. So neat!

Oh, and the neatest observation of all, they curl their toes upside down for each step...my wife noticed that one...

 

[Here2Learn]

Nice pic. I'm looking forward to picking up a group as soon as I can.
Have you guys tried roaches?

 

[TheHiddenGecko]

All of mine eat mealworms with gusto, and they will also eat smaller wax worms from time to time.

Will yours eat the mealworms out of a bowl?

Have you guys tried roaches?

I will be trying lobsters tonight.

 

[Here2Learn]

Hey Steve how is your trio settling in?

Let me know how the Viper Gex do with the Lobster's.

 

[giantkeeper]

Will yours eat the mealworms out of a bowl?

Yes, they eat them out of a deli cup lid.....I have learned that because they can see movement they eat better than using a solid colored dish....

 

[TheHiddenGecko]

Hey Steve how is your trio settling in?

Let me know how the Viper Gex do with the Lobster's.

They're settling in pretty nicely. They tolerate being handled very well. I'm not sure if they ate all the lobsters but they still might be stressed from shipping.

 

[TheHiddenGecko]

Yes, they eat them out of a deli cup lid.....I have learned that because they can see movement they eat better than using a solid colored dish....

Ok thanks Chris!