Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi!! I just signed up for this fourm today. I've read here before and you guys have some great info.
You wouldn't believe what I found in my Leopard Gecko cage when I woke up today...2 eggs!!
We have a 7 year old male in the house (our roommates little friend) We fell in love and during a pet store excursion couldn't help but rescue a tiny little gecko that just loved me (heehee...I could tell!) We got a bigger cage...all the fun gecko fixins. I did lots of research on what theye at and their environment but, since the new arrival was so baby, I didnt think I had to worry about breeding!!
The pet store people said that it was too young to determine the sex. She (I know her sex now!!) was only about 6 months old. (We've had her for about 3 months since then) So, approximate age is 9 months...give or take.
They said we could put them together and if they fought...take out the baby 'cause that means it's male.
So....here's the thing...there's nothing I can do about the bad advice I got, now I need to deal with the eggies! When I tried to touch one to see if it was hard, the baby took it in her teeth and grabbed it away!!
Just last week I took out their moist vermiculite hut after we were told that little white spots on their skin were from too much moisture.
Help me please, experienced Leopard Gecko breeders!! Is the baby too young? Will the eggs hatch? Will the hatchlings be ok? Should I return the moist vermiculite hut(which they LOVED, by the way)and place the eggs in there? How do I know if it's the right temperature? Can you get Geckos fixed (like bigger animals?) because how will they live together after this...I couldn't possibly give up hatchlings to a pet store (and maybe mean or ignorant people) fate! Won't they just keep having eggs over and over? WHat should we feed her after her big ordeal?
Here's some info...hope this helps...the eggs are white color and hard one is smooth and one has a bit of a rough spot. For warmth in their cage we have a reptile heat pad under the glass and a light on top (that cycles on and off). They have a little pond in which we keep the water fresh. Their substrate is crushed walnut husk which passes through their system so there is no danger of impaction. There is a wall that they climb, A tree thing, a hidey hole and a rock that stays warm from the heat pad that they lay on. We feed them crickets and worms sometimes. Once a month a pink mice.
Do a get an award for longest post ever lol?
Thanks for any info you can give!
Concerned egg-watcher, Heidi.
:0)~

Hi again...
First of all...just wondering if this forum is dead or something?? I don't see any responses for the last several posts!!
If there is someone out there who can help...here is the update. I went ahead and put the vermiculite hut back in. After several hours, the aggs looked, for lack of a better description, kind of deflated!!?? But, although they look like they would have to have gone soft to do that, the shell is still hard to the touch.
The vermiculite was moist and warm when the eggs were put in there.
Momma didn't seem wierded out when I put them in there (I didnt use my fingers) She was upset when I touched one upon discovery...she took it right out of my hands!!

Hope someone stops by here soon!
Thanks...
still watching the eggs!
~:0) Heidi

new here too. i don't know if there a lot of people aware of this site which can become very helpful if we get a few experienced leopard gecko breeders online!
I am new to having the geckos too, and from what I've read, the "deflated" eggs are not fertilized... they're probably turned a dark color? If so, they're not going to hatch. I've also read that a varied diet of gut loaded crickets, wax worms and pinkies are very good for the geckos during their mating season. good luck.

I am not an expert, but the age she is 6-9 months is possible that the gecko is old enough, but the question is is she fat enough, 40-60 grams, if she isn't she might have serious complications from breeding without enough reserves, (extra fat storage), if that is the case or not doesn't matter, cause obviously she is prego and you have to deal with it. The eggs may be a little deflated but they might still be viable, eggs deflate when there is not enough moisture in the vermiculite box. Second is the vermiculite box in the cage with them, if it is take it out,. if you don't have a home made incubator or an incubator, then put them in a fairly warm part of your house up high around 72-75 degrees. This will hatch females (good no fighting) seperate the mom and dad if you haven't yet and feed the heck out of mom inbetween egg sets. They come usually in sets of two and they can be from 3-6 weeks apart. Since she is a new mommy, she might lay all duds. In fact she might be laying without even having mated with the old man, but I would put that in the unlikely catagory, she still might lay all duds, especially if she doesn't have enough fat. Feed her pinkies if you can, high nutrition and lots o' calcium and fat! Good luck.

how are the eggs looking now? if the eggs are "healthy" looking, rounded, white etc. i've read that you can put them in an "incubator" which is just a small container with dampened vermiculite (moisture/high humidity) and at a temperature that you'd want your hatchlings to be (85 - 90 degrees = males, 80 - 85 degrees = females). i am new to this also, I have two females and one male. The girls have recently began laying eggs and I have had to vary their diet to get some healthy looking eggs. Their diet consists of gut loaded crickets sprinkled with a multivitamin powder made for leopard geckos, wax worms and pinkies. good luck. i'm not sure that keeping the eggs in the same cage as the "parents" is a good idea, since if the eggs do hatch, they might get eaten, since adult leopard geckos try to eat anything they see "moving". I haven't read anything on geckos in the wild and what they're breeding habits are, so I have a different tank set up for the eggs and the temp is a consistant 80 degrees faranheit with the humidity at 50% or greater (which is maintained by moistened perlite) hopefully the eggs will hatch. keep in mind that any hatchlings will need to be fed near the end of their first week of life.... pinhead crickets until they grow large enough to eat extra small mealworms. any new hatchlings can be kept together for a lengthly period until you can verify any are males or you see any fighting going on which might be the males (in that case you keep them in different containers).