Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hi everyone,

i oped the incubator to day and there was a surprise waitiing for me! I have a hatchling! Now what?
i moved him in to his own shoe box, gave him a baby hide, water and some meal worms.
how soon will he eat? is everything i did ok? please advise.

Remove the mealworms. He will not eat until after his first shed.

Hey,

Congrats!!! Yep, sounds like you did everything right. My babies usually shed in 3-4 days after emerging from the egg. Then that'll be when they eat. Once in a while I'll actually have a hatchling that'll feed even before its first shed. Not too often but sometimes. You might want to lighty mist the inside of the shelter with water, this way it'll add some humidity that'll help the geckos first shedding. Just make sure you dont get it too wet, or it'll really start to condensate on the inside of the shoe box. Hope this helped...

Good Luck with the little one,
Rich

Does the shoe box have a heat source? A small under the tank heater under one end of the box works great. Hatchlings that are given the opportunity to thermoregulate early on tend to grow faster and remain healthier than those who don't.

His first shed should take place in 4-7 days, and after that he will be ready to eat the meal worms. I mist my hatchlings daily to make sure their skin remains hydrated. Some hatchlings have trouble with their first shed, and keeping the humidity up will halp make sure it goes alright.

Good luck!

N/P

Make sure the shoobox has a temp gradient or else the baby won't digest his food. Make sure the hide is a humid hide because he will need the extra humidity to get him through his first shed. The baby won't eat until after his first shed so remove the mealies for now. Good luck!

Cleo
1:1 leos (4 eggs cooking)