Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a naturalistic setup with 2.1 sikorae and keep an eye out for eggs. I was just wondering where they would lay the eggs exactly. Any input from anyone else getting eggs from sikorae or any other leaftails would be helpful. Would they bury them under the moss, deeper?, half buried, in a potted plant? I've just mostly look in the potted plants and on top of the moss. Where do your leaftails lay eggs?

thanks

well, to figure out where they'll lay eggs you gotta think like a gecko mom. she's gonna want to lay the eggs in a spot that stays cool and moist, but not wet. it's kinda hard to tell you EXACTLY where she'll lay them, but you can pretty much narrow it down. now i havent gotten sikorae eggs yet, but i have gotten eggs from phantasticus, pietschmanni, and henkeli. unfortunately the pietschmanni did the best job of hiding their eggs, and i didnt find them until after they had gone bad. only once have i had an egg buried, and it was only one of the two eggs from the clutch. they were from my satanics, the 2nd clutch i ever got. still dont know why the one was buried and the other was on top, possibly because when i first started keeping phants i gave them very little ground cover. other places i've found eggs from phants are in a bromeliad, under a dead leaf, under a fairly thick bunch of pothos, at the base of a plant sitting right next to a fake stump made of corkbark. the single clutch ive gotten from my henkeli was at the base of a few thick branches, under a little bit of moss fiber (not totally concealed, but pretty well hidden in the moss). and with my pietschmanni, i found both a fertile and an infertile clutch at the base of another corkbark stump, with some more moss fiber that concealed the eggs so well that i found them too late.

so i wouldnt necessarily count on the eggs being buried, but i cant guarantee you they wont. if you could snap a pic of your enclosure, i might be able to point out some spots that look like they're worth checking. something that might be worth trying out is adding a flat piece of bark around the bottom of the cage with a pocket beneath it, perhaps with some moss fiber. if you make it look particularly enticing, it might just work out, although i havent actually tried it myself.

what i find out works best is staying in fine tune with your geckos, and observe the female's nightly behavior if you think she might be gravid. unless she simply doesnt have enough to climb around on, you'll barely ever notice her on the floor of the enclosure (unless she's diving for crickets). every time i look in an enclosure, i make sure that everyone is accounted for, and i do it at least once daily. this helps you learn their daily hiding spots (almost all of mine tend to pick out a sleep spot and stick with it) or even notice if anyone is missing. my satanics will walk the bottom of the cage around the time they're getting ready to lay (sometimes they start searching the bottom for a good spot to lay a day or two ahead of time.

so theres really no definite place for a female to lay, but she'l most likely pick out the best spot. it's likely to be a spot with good cover, perhaps under a plant, perhaps in a small crevice you didnt even realize was there. just know your animals well, along with the possibilities in their enclosure.

My female sikorae always lays in the substrate. She usually burries the eggs about an inch down. When she lays she digs a hole first, then sits down in it to lay the eggs. So they're always, always burried. Sometimes quite a pain in the neck to find. But it makes it all the more rewarding when I find them.
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ryan
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Uroplatus sikorae

I have 2.1 sikorae and I was wondering how yours do in the same enclosure together? Thanks.
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Leland
"Captive Bred Geckos from Around the World"
www.dwgeckos.com

Good, I just added the second male last night. They were more active last night then ever. No agression though. Hoping for some eggs. My female is huuuuuge but shes been like that for awhile. I dono if shes gravid or just really big.

haha my female gorges herself on crickets every time i drop them in. her and her male finish off pretty much every last one, and it doesnt help her blend in much with the branches, she sticks out like a sore thumb.

I've happened upon my female henk in the process of laying twice, so she didn't get to bury the egg completely. However, if she's given the oppurtunity she'll bury about 1-2" down, next to a structure (i.e. a branch that I have secured in the substrate, a plant pot, even in the corner of the enclosure) I haven't observed any laying "out in the open", she ALWAYS lays next to a structure, and given the chance will bury, which makes sense b/c eggs that are plainly visible don't last long in the wild. Umop had good advice; know your gex behaviors. They're arboreal, so, when you notice the fem patrolling the ground (unless she's after some grub) she's probably searching for a suitable site. My female also sheds the night before she drops a FERTILE egg, fyi.