Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was checking my henkeli pair tonight and I noticed that my gravid female only had one egg in her belly. Excitedly, I began to search for the it in the tank, and I came across a shriveled up eggshell at the base of a plant. Bleh. I received these guys in mid December, so I'm not sure if she was gravid hen they came to me, but I'm willing to bet so. I'm unsure of the gestation of these guys, I've heard varying reports. I'm assuming the yet-unlaid egg is also infertile. Would this necessarily mean that she's a first-time breeder? Could she have simply bred w/ a bad male in the wild? Or did the stress of collection and exportation affect her? She has seemed relatively stress free in my care, feeding well, having good places to camoflage, a large cage with appropriate conditions, etc. She has received calcium coated gutloaded crickets the entire time I have had her, and once a week or so I have syringe fed her babyfood/calcium mixture. So I know she's not calcium deficient. Bleh. I know these things just happen, but I'm beating myself up over it anyway. By the way, do Uroplatus retain sperm? My guess would be no, but I'm not sure. Thanks for any words of advice.
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?.?.? Leopard Geckos (eggs incubating)
1.1.1 Rhacodactylus ciliatus
2.5 Paroedura picta(eggsincubating)
1.1 Paroedura bastardi
1.1 Paroedura androyensis
1.1 Hemitheconyx caudicinctus
1.1 Cyrtodactylus irianjayensis
1.1 Gekko gecko
1.1 Pachydactylus turneri
1.1 Uroplatus henkeli
0.0.1 Hemidactylus turcicus turcicus
1.2 Teratolepis fasciata

Snakes
1.0 Blizzard Corn
1.0 Christmas corn
1.2 Reverse Okeetee corn (1 tang)
0.0.1 Ball Python

Good luck with the last egg!!! Some times Uros just do such things as to throw away an egg.
Retaining sperm is, as you can see in the Guentheriexperiencethread, a proven fact for my animals. My female laid two eggs 5/1, but got sick, so I isolated her. Now, yesterday, she laid two eggs again!

Keep trying!

Sounds like you are doing everything in your power to make it a successful breeding...

When acclimating WC Uro's I use a chicken babyfood/reptivite/herptivite/pedialyte mixture... This seems to work great... I have never medicated my WCs...

I am curious to know; did you medicate the WC with anything?

What calcium supp specifically are you using for dusting and assist. feedings?... Try your best to never handle the WC Uro's, especially a gravid female...

I have had the same problems with getting good eggs... I have a proven CB pair and I just got a couple slugs from her... She was fat and happy, her cal. sacs were about ready to burst and she even dug around a bit in diff. areas of the cage (a huge cage I might add) to find a suitable laying site... I left her undesturbed until her return to the branches and found bad eggs... ...
I do not feel ignorant in the least however, I had just moved, and as you would expect it took me a week or so to re-estabolish consistant temp. and humid at the new place... This was a crucial time for her as she was obviously gravid...

Another thing I would argue from an animal behavior perspective... Your WC female may not have produced good eggs simply because she was not happy with the quality of male that she was mated with... She was not allowed to excersize choice, whether it be sampling various males, or choosing from a vast array of laying sites... All of which she would have had the chance to do in the wild... Some might consider this a reach for an answer, but who the heck really knows?!?! If someone does, please reply!...

You might try to get another WC male and mix it up a little...
You might try to cylce the geckos on seasonal changes...
You might try something new that no one has even heard of...

Ben

Hi Ben,

I was reading your post, and I have to say, after the initial week or so to settle in, I try and handle my wc female nightly.

If only to let her crawl up my arm, and return her to the tank.
I take her and the male out, and let them explore on limbs I have leaning around the room.

I want her(the wc) to feel comfortable and at ease when Iam there not stressed. So slowing I am getting her used to me. As my male just walks right over to me and climbs on.

As far as the female choosing her man, well your right who knows, other species like to choose their own partner.
I'm just hoping she likes the ONE I have given her, hahahahah, I want some lil henkeli

Eve

I guess you could take the handling to either extreme...

I can see your point, but on the flipside... If a keeper doesnt have enough time to devote to handling every night then I would say that it would be best to handle as little as possible... Looking through a WC geckos eyes, we are a predator, so its importnant that you can give them enough tactile stimulation to build some level of trust... CB specimens on the other hand, I can see being a little different... I regularly handle my CB henks, their enclosure is in the living room (mild traffic) and they all are very calm...

My WC seemed to settle after being assist fed for a few weeks, but since then I have been pretty hands-off... I simply don't have the time to get every one of them handleable... ... I wished I did...

I may try your idea about having "perches" for the CB though!
Ben

Hey Eve,
I wished I could post pics of my henks, but a long time ago, before I got them, I used all my space to post pics of other animals I have...
Do you know how to clear them?... Or can I?...

then go to one of your pics, and click on pic, it will say,
edit,
click edit, at the bottom right it has a small box you check, if you want to delete the pic,
then hit submit.

It will say you have succesfully deleted your pic. Do that with each one. Then start over and put pics on !

Hope you understand all that, hahaha, GOOD LUCK !!

Eve

Thanks Eve!
I got them all cleared, I'll go through the computer and pick some good henk pics out now!
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Ben

How do you post pics on this page instead of linking them?...

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Ben

If you have pics in kingsnake gallery then right under thes posting boxes, that I'm writing in has images, look in there and see if yours is there, if so click it and then PREVEIWW it before you post to see if it is showing up.

Its just likea libray, it stores your pics, so they are here when ya need them to post !!

Understand,

Eve

Gotcha...

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Ben

Top so everybody can see his neat face, Very Nice !

Eve

This is my CB juvi male henk... He was bred by Kelly Sharp... Very nice animal... He's so big now!... I have a WC female of similar size that will someday be his gf...

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Ben

Geesh does this mean we are related, Yeah I got Barkley male last year from Kelly ! Talk to her often, shes Cool.

But then I aslo have a wc female ! Si hpefully I will have some small ones this season!

Eve

and we can all be excited for you too ! Ya still have the one, and it MAY be okay. Sure hope so !

If not, just be patient, its bound to happen ! I'm waiting for some romance to take place also. Hard to know what goes on behind close doors, or in the dark, so to speak, hahahah

One of the most exciting experiences I have had, was watching my first clutch of collared lizard eggs hatch.

Ahhhhhh seeing that cute little head coming out of that dang egg, then his face , and so on till he was out, WOW !
LIFE sure is Special !

Ya never get BORED watching them hatch, ALWAYS takes ya over for that instant your in AMAZMENT LAND !

Eve

An infertile egg or two this early on is not something to get worked up about. It can take anywhere from a month to a year for some Uroplatus to settle in and start laying good eggs. If you're in the Northern hemisphere, your gecko has gone from summer to winter and may need time to adjust. She was also shipped a long way and went through a lot before you got her.

Even long-established breeders may lay an infertile clutch at the beginning and/or end of the breeding season. U. henkeli can lay 8 clutches. The fact that she's cycling to start with is good news.

If your cage temperatures are cool (under 79F), you might try adding a weak basking light to make a warm spot of 80-84. The rest of the cage should be cooler. Also be sure the light doesn't lower humidity too much. This is much easier to do with large cages.

Neil Meister

In your opinion, what is the optimal grouping for breeding?... 1.1, 1.2, 1.3?... I have a huge cage (picture posted above) and I would like to get a few U. henkeli in it... But my first priority is to breed...

I read your previous post about a weak basking light... In that cage, I have five light fixtures wired in series on the front- inside of the face frame... Four are spiral twist florescent, and the middle is a redlight for night time viewing... You think it would be beneficial to put a bulb in one socket that may give off a little more heat?... The ambient temp of the cage is around 75 during the day... At night, when the lights are off the temp falls a few degrees...
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Ben