Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello everyone,

So on Xmas Day night I came home to a very wonderful surprise!! Early that evening I finally introduced my male phantasticus to my females and within a matter of 3-4 hours they were copulating. In your experience, how long after you witness a copulation have people been finding eggs? 3-4 weeks?

Thanks,

Matt

Here is a picture...

Oops, here it is!!

in my experience, can happen in 1-2 months, but dont count your chickens before they hatch, copulation doesnt guarantee fertile eggs in the near future.
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-Mike Martin
North Carolina

Hi Mike,

Wow, up to 2 months eh? Yeah, I am trying not to get too excited, especially since this would be her first time (in my possession anyway) breeding... but it would be pretty cool!

What has been your experience after she lays fertile eggs for the first time in terms of the next clutch? Are they likely to just keep on breeding or do I need to throw them through a cycle every so often to trigger it?

Also, what about tail-less females? The second female in the group is tail-less, which I wouldn't think would harm her chances of reproducing too much... but perhaps lower the frequency?

Thanks,

Matt

well, after you get your first clutch, you can expect another clutch in a month or so, but really nothing i can tell you is concrete. things will change from one person to another, even one gecko to another. last year i had a single female produce something like 6 /- clutches, a couple never hatched, and one hatchling died after a month. ive got a couple females ive had for about a year now that have consistently laid infertile eggs monthly, and ive tried manipulating things to get fertiles out of her, but no luck yet. so once your female lays her first clutch of fertile eggs, id say expect at least one more, but that cant be guaranteed. as far as tailless females go, i cant speak from experience on those yet. all my adult females are WC and have their tails intact. havent had an adult drop a tail yet, luckily. but i do have a cb female from last year that dropped her tail, at some point ill be able to answer about her breeding abilities vs. one with a full tail, but that likely wont happen for another year or two, AT LEAST.
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-Mike Martin
North Carolina

Hi Mike,

Thanks for the insight! We have gone back and forth a couple times now... just out of curiosity, how many phantasticus do you keep? How long have you been working with them?

Thus far I only have 1.2, but when my life settles down a bit (I am in grad school and my research is in West Africa) I would like to expand my colony. I love these little guys, they are so entertaining!

Thanks,
Matt

at this point i have 6.4 WC adults, and 2.0 cb's from 2003, and 3.2 cb's from last year. i have had satanics since summer '02.
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-Mike Martin
North Carolina

tailess females should have no problem with breeding. I have a young wc tailess femalethat is just starting to breed and lay inferts. I do howver have a tailess male and he's fathered 3 healthy babys(2.1). i would not be to worried.