Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm bummed. After putting my first pair of cresteds together and providing a lovely nesting box with damp vermiculite that she was going in and out of, tonight I find two very elongated, very stiff, very dented eggs at the bottom of her bamboo tube, laid right on the bark substrata. Not sure when she laid them, but I think they're goners.

What is wrong with the nice gladware nesting box? What can I do to assure she doesn't lay the next clutch out where they will desicate before I find them? Any suggestions will be appreciated. I've been so looking forward to her laying, although I never saw any 'nookie.' They would have been my first crestie eggs. Sigh.

Leslie

first, i would immediately remove the vermiculite from the cage. the only crested gecko i've had that died did so while being compacted by vermiculite which i was using in the lay box. instead used bed a beast, eco earth, or some damp potting soil.
second, cover the opening of the lay box with a piece of corkbark or some vines so it's hidden and the gecko feels secure while laying the eggs.
how big of an enclosure are they in? if it is too big and you are using substrate all along the bottom it is very hard to tell where she is going to lay the eggs. more info on the set up may be helpful.

The enclosure is about 3'tall by 2'wide by 1'deep. The bark substrata is less than one inch deep. I'll try covering the top of the laying box with some cork bark, but I'm very leary of using the eco earth or bed-a-beast. The only crested I lost was from ingesting that type of substrata.

Do you think she would prefer a taller or shorter nesting box? or maybe I should just put some spagnum moss under the end of the bamboo tube and just let her use that?

Leslie