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My cresteds are eating the vermiculite in the egg cup. Is this bad? If so, how bad?? thanks.

>>My cresteds are eating the vermiculite in the egg cup. Is this bad? If so, how bad?? thanks.

What?! I'm confused..... The hatchling cresteds after they have hatched out of the eggs? You do not want your geckos eating that, so for what ever reason that it is happening, make it stop.

I have an all screen enclosure (very nice). I have my adult female and my adult male together, and they mate frequently, so I purchased a tupperwear container and cut a hole in the lid for the female to lay her eggs. I have never bred geckos before mind you, I put vermiculite up to about an inch high in the container and moistened it. I put the female in it so that she would know where it was and that she had something for her eggs. She started licking the water droplets of off the side, and then started licking the vermiculite and ingested some of it. The next day I found the male inside and I laughed but then I saw him licking and eating the vermiculite. They get sprayed pretty well twice a day. Once in the morning and once in the evening. They eat both CGD and crickets just fine. Has anyone else had this problem, and is there anything I can do differently? Just so you all know and don't vear from the origional question, I do have plans to get another female so that they don't (over mate)..lol. Thanks.

This probably means that they are not hydrated enough. Do you offer a water bowl in your enclosure? If you don't, I would. I know people say they get all they need from misting, but yours and some probably don't, why not offer a water bowl just as another option? (It also helps stabilize humidity in the tank a bit.)

Also, you might have a couple of very sick crested geckos soon, so it might be good to separate them, put them on paper towels, and monitor poops until you know that the vermiculite has passed.

Another comment on your plan to keep them from over breeding, adding another female probably won't take much stress off of the original female, and might even stress her more if the other female is more dominant. The best way to keep them from over breeding is to separate the male and the female and wait until the female stops laying eggs, give her a few months rest in her own tank, and then reintroduce them if you plan on breeding again.

Hope this helped.

I think you def. need a water bowl in a CG's cage..Mine drinks A LOT so I don't mist and just leave the bowl in there for him and fill it up everyday..
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Jonny Blaze
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1.0 Black lab "wiggler",2 years old
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eating vermiculite is bad. It is non digestible and can cause impaction. I suggest switching out the vermiculite completely in the egg laying dish and sue plain potting soil instead. (with no additives or perlite or vermiculite) Once you find eggs, then you can transfer them into vermiculite for incubation.

Best time to mist is just before dark as that is when your geckos are waking up and are likely to drink. Leaving a water bowl in the cage won't hurt either.

To rest your female best way is to separate the male as suggested already and lowering the temperatures at night to low 60's F and in day low 70's F will help slow and stop egg production.
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PHLdyPayne

She has not yet ever had eggs yet in her life. They started mating right around mid Dec. How long will it take before she lays? Should I take the male out after she lays? And for how long before I can put them together again? I was planning on housing them together at all times, but I guess he will just keep drilling her until she dies huh? I will switch to soil today, and let you know if they start eating that or not. Wish me luck, and any other advice would be much appreciated.

I read some more posts, and I have another question. Can I leave the male and female together all the time as long as she gets 2-4 months reast in a 12 month period...meaning, can I leave them together for 9 months strait, and then separate them for the remaining 3 months?

That would probably be alright as long as you watch that they are not aggressive toward each other when being introduced again, which should be done anyways. Just make sure that the 3-4 months she is separated starts when she has stopped laying eggs. Since cresties can retain sperm, she still may be able to lay eggs for a couple of months or even longer after being separated from the male, so just make sure you're watching that. So separation time may really come out to be about 6 months.

Eggs generally take about 4 weeks to develop, but for first time breeders sometimes it takes a little longer, and sometimes there may only be one egg. I know my little girl this year sometimes took 6-7 weeks to lay eggs. As long as she is not lethargic and showing other symptoms of distress it's probably best to let her take a bit longer and do her thing.

first time moms can be slow to develop their first clutch...typically 4-6 weeks for the first clutch then every 3-4 weeks after that.

As for housing both geckos together year around...it is possible but you will have to be able to gradually start cooling and keep an eye on her to see if she's developing more eggs. You don't want to cool her down too much while she has eggs still to lay..it could end up resulting in egg binding.

It is far easier and safer to have a second cage available to take the male out for at least 4 months a year.. better yet, house them separately except for a few months, to ensure she is producing eggs well. Too much egg laying can lead to what is called 'calcium crash'. This condition basically means a sudden depletion of the female's calcium stores. Often this happens right after the eggs are shelled inside her...and she can go down hill fast. Signs are shaking, trembling in the legs, soft bones in the jaw and long bones in the body, pretty much the usual MBD signs.

Best way to ensure this doesn't happen is to keep a shadow dish of calcium powder without phosphorus or D3 in the cage at all times, changing regularly if it gets soiled or runs out. She will lick what she needs. This is to supplement her regular dietary intake as egg laying females need extra.

It is very easy to house crested geckos... A single adult can be kept in a typical 55 l sterlite container... clear, with paper tower substrate, a few branches and fake plants. As long as your room temperature is around low to high 70's F..you won't even need to provide additional heat.
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PHLdyPayne

I appreciate your help on this topic guys/gals. I switched out the vermiculite for perlite. Is this ok, or is this an incubation only substrate? I have not seen them trying to eat the perlite, so that is good, but I wasn't 100% sure if it was ok to leave it in the enclosure. The temperature I keep them at is room temperature...69-74 winter and 70-80 summer. Are these good temps for breeding?