Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Dear breeders, I just discovered this forum, forgive me if this is a too often posted topic. My geckos are producing soft eggs. They used to produce fertile well calcified ones. I feed crickets dusted with MinerAll, and sometimes Rep-Cal. I gut load the crickets with hi-pro chicken mash and turnip greens and alfalfa. I also feed Zoophobas worms and an occasional hissing roach and moths, grasshoppers and other insects. What can I do to increase viable eggs. Calcium may be deficient, the eggs are soft...
Also I have had some fighting going on, resulting in broken tails and death of an adult female. I have one male in with 5 remaining females. How may I restore peace and increase egg production? Thankyou, Vic

Hi, the eggs should be relatively soft when layed. Eublepharid geckos have "soft shelled" eggs. Not sure about why your getting infertile eggs. Is the male aqctually mating with them. I noticed my male kind of lost some interest until I seperated him for a day. How many fertile eggs did the females lay already?

~Brian

Thankyou for your comments. I think the male may be the issue, although he is only a few years old, was wild caught but healthy and looks great. Separating him is worth a try. This colony produced dozens of healthy eggs in the past, but now I get soft, flabby, slugs... I removed a couple of females that I suspect were fighting. I was shocked to find two dead females, one with an avulsed tail the other just dead, apparently from stress. This never gets boring...and when I think I have it figured out, I get humbled...Thankyou.

I have had this problem this year for the first time also.

"soft, flabby, slugs looking eggs". You would think it would be a calcium deficiency. Same female with her first two of the season. Other 3 have yet to lay anything.

What if my male is not mating or shooting blanks. He is young (3 years old) and has been fine in the past. He wags his tail like crazy when he sees the ladies. I assume they are mating. Have not actually witnessed this year.

Anyone with any help?

you may try a different male maybe he went bad it happens to me or did you not cool the male its hard to say but I dont it is the food http://fantasyfattails.com/

Vic;

The males need to hybernate for 2 months straight at 60F to 65F if not cooler to have fertile sperm, so this may or may not be the problem in your case. What works for me is to keep each female separate and only put them with the male for mating.
Hope this helps,

Rob Reiding.

Photo is of one of the males that was hatched here in 2004.