Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Does anyone here have experience in breeding geckos in a natural vivarium (that is, with bioactive substrate and the plants planted directly in it)? It sounds appealing both from an aesthetic and maintenance point of view. However, in my current setup with loose moss on the bottom (which I attempted to keep dry) and a lay box, the geckos chose to somehow get *under* the box and lay there, resulting in my not knowing whether the eggs were good when I found them (keeping my fingers crossed).

I have a chance to buy a couple of cheap exo-terras, so I was thinking about switching over to a natural setup, but wanted to know how people dealt with egg collection in that case.

Thank you for your help!

Caitlin
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0.1 Boa constrictor imperator
2.5 Ball pythons
1.1 Crested Geckos

Did you say you removed the eggs? I wouldn't mind seeing if the geckos hatched out in a natural viv, I think it'd be pretty cool.

>>Did you say you removed the eggs? I wouldn't mind seeing if the geckos hatched out in a natural viv, I think it'd be pretty cool.

problem with that being...the adults will see the hatchlings as a tasty snack!
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3.1 snakes, 3.3 crested geckos, 0.1 gargoyle gecko, 2.0 devon rex cats, 1.0 betta

Yeah, I removed the eggs for just that reason. Maybe I'll stick to "semi natural" with an orchid bark substrate and fake plants.
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0.1 Boa constrictor imperator
2.5 Ball pythons
1.1 Crested Geckos

I realize that the parents might try to snack on the babies. I was thinking maybe leave a gravid female in a seperate enclosure, then taking her out after the eggs are deposited.

Too bad those eggs are so precious, or it'd be pretty worthwhile in my opinion.

FYI, you can have bioactive subsrate and still use fake plants. i do the same thing with eco earth and just water the waste to the floor and then stir it around every so often, carefully looking for eggs in the process. i have gotten lazy and left eggs in there for quite some time and they have hatched fine. the soil holds humidity better than bark and holds less of an impaction risk.
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3.1 snakes, 3.3 crested geckos, 0.1 gargoyle gecko, 2.0 devon rex cats, 1.0 betta

That's great to know! I'll give it a try sometime...
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0.1 Boa constrictor imperator
2.5 Ball pythons
1.1 Crested Geckos