Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was cleaning out my Crested cage last night, and I did not realize how big my female had gotten. I normally don't weight them, but the last time I did, the female WAS 31g, and laying eggs like crazy, about 6 months ago. I decided to weight her again last night, and she is now up to 48g, and has stopped laying eggs. Any reason as to why. I have not changed anything, the temps are the same, aroung 75-80 daytime, 72-75 nights, they are in the same cage 20 gallon Tall. Any insight?

Another question:
I decided to change her egg box to something besides soil. Would vermiculite be okay, it is the asbestos free kind. If so, do I mix it 1:1 by weight?

Jason

fist off on the egg issue. sometimes the geckos will naturally take their own break from laying. not only is this good for the female as she can bulk up and build up her calcium deposits, but it also reduces the amount of stress she goes through from laying.
as far as the laying substrate, i would absolutely not use vermiculite as the only time i have used it the female died from impaction from it. i know this is a fairly rare occurance, but easily avoidable if you choose to use eco earth of something of that type.

i too use eco earth for my nest boxes, and it has worked very well. you can moisten it without creating mud like in soil. i would never put vermiculite or perlite in the cage. aside from the impaction hazards, it gets sticky when it is wet. it will end up getting stuck to the gecko and tracked all over the cage. it is pretty rough too, try digging in some with your fingers and imagine how thier feet will feel, some females will dig for hours until they are comfortable with the site.

about the size, what do you feed them? and how often. some of those females can get pretty plump, especially in the six months since you last weighed her. how old is she?
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I use the crushed coconut shell and my females lay like clockwork.

My female is about 2 years old. She was eating crickets, and I finally weaned her off of those, and she is now eating T-Rex Crested Gecko diet. As soon as this last bottle is gone, she will be switching to a diet that Bobby Pruett has listed on his site. You can find it at the link below.

Jason
CG Diet