Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So to date i've "succesfully" hatched 3 p. lat lat hatchlings. One hatched about a month ago, and 2 more hatched this weekend. The first innitial problem that i noticed, was that the last two that hatched seemed to be premature, or malnurished. They seemed a little small, had irregularly see-thru skin, and had difficulty sheddign thier first shed (they were both born partially shedded *my first one wasn't*). But they seemed alert and i went through and placed them into my hatchling enclosure. They refused to eat SandFire Day Gecko Food and/or pinhead crix, but i was able to ge them to drink. Earlier today i found one of the last two dead, and seemingly dried out. I assumed nothing more then it dying from natural causes from being premature, but later i witnessed my eldest hatchling attack the remaining gecko, and mortally wound him. I quicky split them up, but i was to no avail, the baby was on it's back convulsing. I waited a little while, incase it was jsut shock, but it was obviously not goign to recover. So i did the right thing and humanely put it out of it's misery. I've learned my lesson, and i've got a larger hatchlign enclosure in the process of being put together.

Can anyone relate to this misfortune of mine? Or was this a novice mistake, made by someone who shoudl have known better?

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1.0.0 Bearded Dragons (Pagona Vetticeps)
1.2.1 Gold Dust Day Geckos (Phelsuma Laticauda Laticauda)
0.0.1 Yellow Saharan Uromastyx (uromastyx geryi)
1.0.0 Betta (Blue)
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www.funnymanreptiles.com

it is suggested not to keep hatchlings together for this reason,the stress and the competition for food.it seems one of the hatchlings will alwalys dominate the others and the growth of the others will be slow or stunted.i keep my smaller day geckos in 32 oz. deli cup tall with a top that is uesd for fruit flies.i also include a piece of pothos and a piece of bark.this has worked best for me. good luck

i agree, it seems as though the one that hatched a month ago was too big/dominant to keep with the hatchlings. i keep hatchlings that are a day apart together for a bit, but not for too long, just for that reason.
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Lisa

1.0.0 P.m. grandis (Linus)
4.3.0 P. standingi (Toby & Kona and their 5 babies)

Many phelsuma experts say you can keep hatchlings of the same age up to 3 months but you should always be aware of any territorial disputes and ensure they are all eating. I think one month of age is a bit too old to be keeping with new hatchlings. It's unfortunate what has happened but we all learn lessons from such hardships.

yeah, ive bred mad.mad.s standings and peacocks. some clutch mates will be fine together for their entire lives and others will fight right off the bat. the best thing to do with hatchlings is really to keep each one in its own seperate container. somtimes i keep them together for a month or so but the aggression is most obvious during feeding time. i have had some babies [standings and mad mads] that will not even go for the food itself, but wait for its clutch mate to grab the food and try to steal it from 'em. its really dependent on their personalities but its better to be safe then end up with a scared or tailless gecko.