Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i was cleaning the bottom of my tank today and found two eggs underneath a layer of moss. ive never attempted to hatch crested geckos before so i would like some advice. i looked back over the forums and found a bit about the substrate to keep them in. i did what my rhaco. book said and marked the top of the eggs with a dot before i moved them, didnt turn them over, etc. right now they are on some eco earth but i will go get vermiculite (sp?) tomorrow. i wondered about the humidity and how often to check up on them. i dont want to be poking around looking at them every day but i also dont want to have something go wrong because im not looking often enough. does anyone know of a good site that walks you through incubation and hatchling care? also how does everyone else keep them warm? my roommates like to pretend we live in the arctic circle so my house is never over 65-70F. Right now i have them in a critter keeper with a heat pad stuck on the side but i worry this is going to be too much heat. any suggestions besides sucking it up and buy an incubator? the temp is reading 76 but im borrowing a temp gun tomorrow to make sure..

sorry so many questions. this was sort of unexpected...
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my pets: clown treefrogs, reed frogs, big eyed treefrogs, tiger leg monkey frogs, milk frogs, cuban treefrogs, whites tree frog, squirrel treefrogs, blue webbed gliding treefrog, red eye treefrogs, chameleon treefrogs?, mossy treefrogs, dusky salamanders, eastern newts, tiger salamander, box turtles, mud turtle, map turtle, red foot tortoise, 6 crested geckos, painted mantellas, crocodile skink, two saltwater tanks, five cats, two chinchillas, a dog (shiba inu/australian shep/husky, and a boyfriend.

Congratulations on your new eggs. Sounds like what you are doing is a good start. I put my eggs in small Tupperware-like containers with 1 1/2 inches or so of vermiculite, perlite, or a mix. I sink the egg into the substrate so you can only see the top. I keep a lid on it with a hole or two poked in the side of the container for air. The books say about 80% humidity but I go by look and feel. If the container has droplets of water inside on the sides and the substrate feels slightly damp it is good. I have heard too dry is better than too wet. I open the container probably once a week to check on them and add water if needed. I use a Hubavator incubator. I know most don't, but I find it evens out the temperature spikes. I keep my incubator at 78^ and most hatch between 70 to 90 days. The incubators are about $40 plus shipping. It sounds like your heating system is working fine as long as you can keep the temperatures from getting out of control. If you plan to have more eggs, ha ha, I would suggest getting an incubator, even just for piece of mind. Once Cresteds start laying eggs it is hard to get them to stop. I would guess you will have eggs every 4 to 6 weeks until November.
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15.25.30 Cresteds

www.geckoclutch.com

first off, do you have males and females together? If not, and your females have not been with a male at all in the last year or two...there really isn't any point incubating the eggs as they are going to be infertile.

If you do have a male, then the eggs have a very high chance of being fertile and if you want babies to hatch, you will need to incubate. The Rhac book has all the information you need to successfully incubate rhac eggs. It tells you how to mix the medium, keep humidity etc.

basically, use vermiculite (or perlite, sphagnum moss or a mix of perlite or vermiculite), mix two part medium to one part water by weight. Thus, to a 100g of vermiculite, add water till the total weight is 150g. (not counting weight of container).

Typically a small deli dish or even margerine dish (clean of course) can be used, but one with a clear top is best, as you can see how the eggs are doing, without opening the lid. A couple holes can be burned into the lid (don't need more than 0-4).

It takes about 65 days for the eggs to hatch, give or take a week or so..or more, depending on incubation temps.

65-70f is a bit low to incubate eggs but it can be done..I suggest putting the deli dish on a high shelf. Check temps with a temp gun or digital thermometer with probe.

A kritter keeper has too many holes in it to work, it will be hard to keep the proper humidity in it...it should be around 80%-100% for crested geckos, if I recall correctly.
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PHLdyPayne

Ok.. I got the vermiculite and have them half buried in it.. I wasnt sure if they should be completely covered or not.. I do have a male and a female together but had thought that they werent interested in each other. They have been in the same tank for 6 months and this is the first time I've found eggs.. I stuck the eggs/vermiculite in a deli cup that im keeping inside the critter keeper. The temp has been fairly steady at 79 for the last three days.. I am borrowing a temp gun from work today to double check that..

One of the eggs has a little dent in the side, like someone just pressed it in with their finger.. is that bad? How do I tell if they arent going to hatch? Thanks so much for the information! I will be getting a real incubator and perhaps a more in depth book asap..
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my pets: clown treefrogs, reed frogs, big eyed treefrogs, tiger leg monkey frogs, milk frogs, cuban treefrogs, whites tree frog, squirrel treefrogs, blue webbed gliding treefrog, red eye treefrogs, chameleon treefrogs?, mossy treefrogs, dusky salamanders, eastern newts, tiger salamander, box turtles, mud turtle, map turtle, red foot tortoise, 6 crested geckos, painted mantellas, crocodile skink, two saltwater tanks, five cats, two chinchillas, a dog (shiba inu/australian shep/husky, and a boyfriend.

bury the eggs about one half to two thirds with vermiculite. The one with the little dent in the side could be a little dehydrated but should plump out once in the moist vermiculite.

As you don't know how long the eggs have been in the substrate of the cage (or at least I don't think you know...if you do, it makes things much easier) hatch date will be virtually impossible to tell. Eggs close to hatching can collapse partially and/or start to sweat. If near hatching, you will begin to see slits appearing on the egg..and eventually a hatchling will be born.

If you have a clear top to your egg incubation container, check on it every day, just look through the clear lid. Not a good ideal to open it every day as that will dry it out faster.
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PHLdyPayne

well i break down the cage to clean every two weeks.. they are in a semi-temporary cage right now until i can save some money to setup my 55 for them.. so i know theyve been there two weeks or less.. the dent did decrease over the last two days.. i feel like a nervous hovering mother.. i keep going and looking at them.. and of course they are eggs.. so they are doing the same thing every time i go peek at them.. it silly really..

but thank you for answering my questions.. if they do indeed hatch, i will post pictures.. you guys have been quite helpful and i feel slightly less worried about this now..
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my pets: clown treefrogs, reed frogs, big eyed treefrogs, tiger leg monkey frogs, milk frogs, cuban treefrogs, whites tree frog, squirrel treefrogs, blue webbed gliding treefrog, red eye treefrogs, chameleon treefrogs?, mossy treefrogs, dusky salamanders, eastern newts, tiger salamander, box turtles, mud turtle, map turtle, red foot tortoise, 6 crested geckos, painted mantellas, crocodile skink, two saltwater tanks, five cats, two chinchillas, a dog (shiba inu/australian shep/husky, and a boyfriend.

Congrats on the eggs. This is exciting isn't it!

There has been lots of good advice. There is also many, many care sheets on the web. I recently put together a care sheet as well on Crested that can be found at http://supremegecko.com/INFORMATION_crested_breedingandgenetics.html

If your eggs are dented, it is certainly a sigh that it is dehydrated. Make sure your medium is moist enough. It should be moist to the point that if you take a pinch in your fingers and squeeze tightly, it should cling together but should not release water. It is important for the eggs to be exposed to high humidity but not a wet medium. The best solution I've found for this is to use deli cups with out holes. This keeps the humidity high. I open the cups about 4 or 5 times during the incubation time to check moisture content of the medium.

Did you say you do have a male?
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Wally
supremegecko.com

once I put them in the vermiculite the dented egg popped right back out.. I actually have 3 males, 1 female and 1 that I cant tell the sex on (still young) .. the female was in a cage with my bright orange flame male so hopefully if all turns out well, Ill have some pretty babies.. Ive separated the female from the male for a while so she can rest and fatten back up... and so I can get an incubator and such ready. I am at a loss as to why they suddenly decided to start breeding.. They have been in the same cage for almost a year and this is the first clutch of eggs ive found. I actually wanted them to breed initially, but gave it up as a lost cause..

this was quite a pleasant surprise..

I will definitely check out your care sheet! thanks much!
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my pets: clown treefrogs, reed frogs, big eyed treefrogs, tiger leg monkey frogs, milk frogs, cuban treefrogs, whites tree frog, squirrel treefrogs, blue webbed gliding treefrog, red eye treefrogs, chameleon treefrogs?, mossy treefrogs, dusky salamanders, eastern newts, tiger salamander, box turtles, mud turtle, map turtle, red foot tortoise, 6 crested geckos, painted mantellas, crocodile skink, two saltwater tanks, five cats, two chinchillas, a dog (shiba inu/australian shep/husky, and a boyfriend.

your temps should be fine, they'll just incubate longer and a bigger, stronger baby will hatch out. just requires more patience on your part =)

as far as hatchling care, set up a kritter keeper type enclosure (i prefer the new world habitats because the lids are easier to get off and on and don't have too many holes) with a paper towel folded on the bottom, a couple of toilet paper tubes, and a little fake plant. use plastic bottle caps for water and food and mist twice a day. keep an eye on their tail tips and toes for stuck shed. that's about it!
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3.1 snakes, 3.3 crested geckos, 0.0.1 gargoyle gecko, 2.0 devon rex cats, 1.0 betta