My Leopard geckos hatched!

Veterinary Science Graduate Certificate from UofI
This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Kara31191

Kara31191

Full Member
10+ Year Member
5+ Year Member
15+ Year Member
Joined
Jul 29, 2007
Messages
231
Reaction score
0
I'm so excited. I got home from work the night before last, and I opened our homemade incubator to find one of the baby leopard gecko hatchings. I was up all night and saw the second one hatch. I'm wicked excited. My vet said we can find loving homes for them when the time comes. I will probably want to find them a home in like two or three months! And there are more eggs on the way.

Okay, and as far as experience, would this be something I don't have to record in "hours"? Thank you, Kara.

PS. I will try to post pics, but my card reader hasn't been working so well! :rolleyes:
Members don't see this ad.
 
^ I think I may have incubated them at a high temp. I don't know how agressive they will be because of it. I didn't really have an accurate thermometer in that thing. They all ended up floating in the water. Well, anyways, do you know if they're supposed to be agressive towards handling... or like agressive and won't reproduce? Thank you!

I'm wicked excited! =D
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Incubation at higher temps produces mostly males in leopards. Very High-temp males (ie, ~92 F) *do* tend to be more aggressive, but nothing has been truly proven in the high-temp females (the ones that are supposed to hatch out males, but against all odds, hatch out female)- no conclusive data on that.

There are theories about andoregen/estrogen production ratios...but if they are consistently handled, you should be fine. A truly aggressive Leo is a rare thing. High temp females can possibly be poor breeders, but again, nothing is conclusive and every gecko is different.

My female fat-tail was a high temp female, and she is a total sweetheart and great breeder.

83 and under will give you almost all females.
84-87 will give you a mix
88-90 will give you almost all males
91+ will give males and high-temp females, which *may* be aggressive but nothing has been proven.

Have you sexed them? Sexing hatchlings can be a bit difficult...but if you can take any close-up pictures of the vents I could help ;) I love a challenge (fat-tails are too easy to sex! heehee)
 
I will take pictures and see if I can post them. My card reader hasn't been working, but I will see if I can find the anal pores. I would like to know the sexes!

The breeders, who my sister named goofy and foofy :eek:, are really nice, never bite, and are just total sweethearts. I expect their temperment to be similar, however you just relaxed my fear about them being agressive. I didn't want to give them to my brother if they would be like that!

They hiss when I get too close, and they are just two and three days old. Is it okay to handle them? I have, but as little as possible. Sounds like no big deal though. I'll go check them! :D This is so much fun!
 
Congratulations!!:D:
 
Leo babies are delicate and can be susceptible to stress so I wouldn't handle them very much for a few weeks - and if you do, make sure your hands are are very clean. Yeah the hissing is normal. Think how HUGE you look to them!! :) OMGAHUGETHINGISINMYBOXHISSHISSHISS!!!! I wouldn't really handle them, but just put your hand in the cage once a day or a minute or something and let them watch it, "sniff" it, etc. It is very tempting to handle them all the time cause they are SOOO cute....but you don't want to risk stressing them out so early in their life when they are still "righting" themselves in a non-egg environment. After around 2 -3weeks you can handle them much more regularly. Before then I would restrict any handling to once every three days or every other day at most.
 
Thanks! I can't seem to get the "behavioral" type of thing on reptiles from anyone. I can figure out what to feed them and such, but I do want to make them handlable pets. I've heard everything from handle them right away to don't handle them until their 3 months old!

And they really are SO CUTE! =D
 
Yeah, some people swear by handling, some say wait a long time -- I prefer the middle route. I've always delayed handling with my fattie babies, but not too long a week or two to let them settle in.

In terms of feeding - can you get very small crickets or pinhead crickets? Those will do fine. Avoid mealworms, even small ones, right now because the excess chitin in the exoskeleton can be hard on little tummies. Small waxworms are also a favorite, but they are high fat so feed them only intermittently.

I know...baby geckos are just disgustingly cute :):love: Its so amazing to see such tiny, perfectly formed little animals come out of eggs!!
 
WhtsThFrequency said:
Woops sorry i misread that you DO already know how to feed - haha sorry! I tend to get overzealous in giving advice. Yeah..I'm a reptile nerd...
Click to expand...

Hehe... Good to note.

My vet said... Waxworms = big fatty cheesburger
Mealies = Like steaks, not for kids...
Crickets = all purpose food.

:D Thank you!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Next unread thread
Top