Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Last month we purchased a pair (male and female) of Leachies at the national show in Daytona. We have kept them together in a large cage (see picture) as the breeder told me they had been together without incident for 2 years.

Well, last night there was an egg in the substrate at the bottom of the cage; one egg only.

I guess I should have prepared better. I mean I have a male and female together; I should have expected something like this. But, alas, I did not.

I immediately jumped on the web and found any information I could about what to do next. I found an article that recommends storing the eggs in moist perlite at 82 degrees. I actually have perlite, so I moistened the perlite and covered ¾ of the egg as described in the article. But of course, I have some questions that I hope someone could help with.

- Should I get an incubator? If so, would someone recommend a brand/model for me?
- Should I be worried about seeing only one egg? I was under the impression that I would see a clutch of two.
- Does incubation temperature have any effect on sex or color as is the case with other gecko species?

I would like to bring this egg to a successful hatching if possible. Any help you all could offer would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

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2.1 Leopard Geckos
1.1 Rhacodactylus Leachianus
0.2 Shetland Sheepdogs
1 Pond w/ fresh water fish

Congratulations, you are now part of an elite group of leachy breeders, LOL!!!!!
I have produced quite a bit of GT hatchlings (roughly 14 clutches to date) and never had a clutch in which a sinlge egg was laid, always two. I have heard of this happening before, but not a common occurrence. I can only speculate that one may have been absorbed by the female, in turn she only produced one egg. Did you check the entire enclosure? Was she disturbed when she was laying the first egg, she may still be retaining a second egg? I can only speculate at this point, not knowing all factors involved. Dont get too concerned.
I keep my eggs in a hovabator with the fan feature. The incubator is set to kick on at about 78.5F and when it kicks off the temps top off at about 82F. My eggs will typically hatch close to 75 days. My eggs are kept in deli containers with holes on the side and filled with vermiculite, eggs are roughly half burried. Lid of container is opened once a week to allow air exchange and to check moisture content of vermiculite.

Hope this helps
Jack Leone "Rhacojacko"

Thanks Jack, this helps alot.

I do not know if she was disturbed when laying the egg, I was not watching. When I came home last night, I found the egg in the substrate while I was giving them their dinner and spraying the enclosure (humidity).

I looked all around, and did not find a second egg. Perhaps I will find the second egg this evening.

I do not have an incubator. Thank you for your product recomendation, I will order one ASAP. I do not know if the incubator will arrive in time to keep the egg viable.

Can I expect another clutch after this one? I imagine she will keep laying until she is no longer gravid, is this the case? If so, how long until I see the next clutch (how long in between clutches)?

Thanks again.

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2.1 Leopard Geckos
1.1 Rhacodactylus Leachianus
0.2 Shetland Sheepdogs
1 Pond w/ fresh water fish

Keeping the eggs at room temps this time of year will be fine. There are some breeders that keep eggs at cooler temps, around 78f and the eggs go 100 days before hatching. The theory is that females will be produced. I use the incubator only because I can control the temps and less chance of eggs drying out.
If fed and maintained properly a female should be able to throw a clutch every 30 to 45 days. Only once did my female double clutch, meaning she laid a second clutch two weeks after the previous one (this is very unlikely). As far as how clucthes your female may produce in a year will vary. The majority of leachianus pairs will have 3-5 clutches a year and may take breaks here and there or even not lay the following year. Each pair varies greatly. My female GT is good for 7 clutches a year, then goes off for about three months. My female is the extreme and is not common for leachies to throw this many clutches, but she does well no ill effects and maintains her weight rather well. She is rather large and bulky, which I guess helps. Just curious, what type are your leachianus, what are their sizes and how old are they.

Regards,
Jack "Rhacojacko"

I don't have expirience with leachie eggs, but have hatched numerous auriculatus, chahoua and sarasinorum eggs. The hovabators are nice inexpensive incubators. I've had much better luck using the normal model rather than the air flow model. Found the air flow dried everything up way too quickly and it was easier to regulate humidty and moisture with the normal model.
Nate

Thanks Nate.

I will purchase that incubator this evening.
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2.1 Leopard Geckos
1.1 Rhacodactylus Leachianus
0.2 Shetland Sheepdogs
1 Pond w/ fresh water fish

I bought the lechies as a pair last month in Daytona from a Florida breeder. He claims they are Grande Terre, and that they are about 5 years old. I believe that they are, in fact, Grande Terre. I purchased a book about the rhaco species about two years ago, and they look like the Grande Terre specimens in the pictures.

I have no way of knowing their exact age, however. This I find surprising. I would have expected a breeder to be able to give me much more detailed information; like a date-of-birth for example. Unfortunately, the breeder was very general in his information.

My wife and I had been preparing for this purchase for about one year. We built the enclosure (picture in the original post), read the book and I have been monitoring this forum for some time as well.

We did NOT expect to come home with a breeding pair. After looking at the specimens for sale at the show, my wife fell in love with these two. The breeder told us that they have lived in the same enclosure together for over a year, and that they had already reproduced while in his care. He was pretty sure that the female was not gravid at the time; which is why finding the egg last night caught us off guard. Well, he was obviously wrong. She was gravid, and may still be gravid.

They are quite large, although I do not have any weight or length measurements for you. I do own a digital camera, however; so I could surely post or email any pictures of them if you'd like... it would be my pleasure.

Some things I have noticed thus far...
She is very timid and sweet. He, on the other hand, is not so nice. As my hand enters the cage to feed, water, or clean; I am often greeted with hissing, grunting, and on one occasion, he actually reached around to nip me (unsuccessfully). I have tried to relax him somewhat by putting my hand in the enclosure and not bothering him at all -- hoping he will become more comfortable with my presence.

His personality has been troublesome to my wife though. We also have 3 leopard geckos which my wife enjoys handling sometimes. She lets them crawl around on the couch with her some evenings. The male Leachie does not seem to be that type of pet however. At one point a few weeks ago, she (just thinking aloud) considered calling the breeder and asking to trade the pair back to him for a juvenile. I guess we are of the impression that more frequent human contact at a young age may produce a more docile adult. With my limited experience, I am not sure if this is true.

Anyway, all that has changed now as we may have a baby of our own on the way. I am just not sure I have the knowledge or expertise to begin a true breeding program. We have been very meticulous thus far with regards to our husbandry practices. I just hope we can hatch a healthy baby. I'm not sure what I'll do after that.

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2.1 Leopard Geckos
1.1 Rhacodactylus Leachianus
0.2 Shetland Sheepdogs
1 Pond w/ fresh water fish

dont feel to bad, GT's are known for having a temper at times, more of your presence in the cage may help tame him down a bit, but he is with his mate, in an enclosure, and is obviously very territorial, it is not uncommon for them to react the way they have with you.

human interaction should always be kept to a minimum anyhow, although Rhacodactylus for the most part tolerate handling for certain amounts of time, they don't necessarily like it, they simply tolerate it.

GT's are incredible animals, they get huge, they are great looking, you have a great thing going for yourself, but dont feel bad if you cant handle him, its just their nature at times, while i do agree that if you had raised a baby the possibility of it being more tame is true, but then again, there are no guarantees, it could have grown up to be the same way.

on a side note, i'd be interested in purchasing that hatchling!

(seriously though......e-mail me)

Thanks for the pointers Kozmo.

Your interest in the hatchling(s) have been officially noted! I hope I do get a hatchling from the egg. I worry about my inexperience with this species and bringing the egg to fruition.

I will be purchasing an incubator & vermiculite this evening. Now that I know she is gravid, I do not want to be caught off-guard again. I get some pics up as soon as I can.
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2.1 Leopard Geckos
1.1 Rhacodactylus Leachianus
0.2 Shetland Sheepdogs
1 Pond w/ fresh water fish

Everything will turn out fine. I really cant comment on the handeling of leachies, as I'm the type that likes to observe my animals rather then touch. I really only handle my adults when I clean the enclosure. In my opinion a reptile is not likely to have the same positive reaction to touch as lets say a dog or a cat would. Its in my experience that unnecessary handeling only stresses reptiles. Thats my opinion. As far as the barking, gowling and chirping thats all normal, just them telling you that here Iam, please leave me alone. My female GT growls when I get too close to her. My MT. Koghis (CF) male goes balistic (howling, growling and whatever)when I need to get him out of the enclosure. Definately dont want to get bitten by him, think a GT is big. My CF male is 13 plus inches and I'm sure could inflict a nice bite. Minimal contact is always best when it comes to the health of retptiles. If you contemplate selling the pair let me know, or if you have contact information from the guy you bought them from. Let me know. May even consider a trade, I have some GT eggs cooking now. I have many references.
Shoot me an email: jack.leone@aig.com
Regards
Jack "Rhacojacko"