# Gecko eggs.



## jasmine_girlie (Aug 6, 2009)

Hiya,

I looked in my tank today to find 2 eggs in the water bowl! They definitely weren't there last night! One is a nice size and the other is slightly smaller than a marble. Because they were laid in the water does that mean they're dead??

My female is still digging around like mad! Shes got the moist hide but chose the water bowl.

Appreciate any help


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## emmilllyyy (Oct 9, 2010)

jasmine_girlie said:


> Hiya,
> 
> I looked in my tank today to find 2 eggs in the water bowl! They definitely weren't there last night! One is a nice size and the other is slightly smaller than a marble. Because they were laid in the water does that mean they're dead??
> 
> ...


what type of gecko?


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## jasmine_girlie (Aug 6, 2009)

leopard gecko


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## emmilllyyy (Oct 9, 2010)

Hopefully they will be okay, in most cases the water can kill the embryo's inside the eggs, as they are permeable and absorb water. but make sure they are a nice pearly white colour and not yellow, if they are yellow they may be rotten and it may be too late. If the female is still laying I would just keep a really close eye on her and if she lays more all you can do is get the eggs out of the water ASAP. Maybe try putting the hide box right next to her water bowl, and make the hide a bit more damp? they look for the most damp place in the enclosure and sadly many leopards choose their water bowl Put the eggs in the incubator with vercumulite and moss and all you can do is hope, fingers crossed! :2thumb:


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## jasmine_girlie (Aug 6, 2009)

Thankyou. I've kept hold of them and they are a nice white colour. I was quite concerned with how small one of them was too? They are also quite squidgy. Was very difficult to move them whilst they were in the water..

This is her first ever time laying eggs so I was thinking maybe these would be infertile? 

Sooo worried about it at the mo! I've been waiting nearly a year for this. :sad:


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## emmilllyyy (Oct 9, 2010)

jasmine_girlie said:


> Thankyou. I've kept hold of them and they are a nice white colour. I was quite concerned with how small one of them was too? They are also quite squidgy. Was very difficult to move them whilst they were in the water..
> 
> This is her first ever time laying eggs so I was thinking maybe these would be infertile?
> 
> Sooo worried about it at the mo! I've been waiting nearly a year for this. :sad:


Breeding obviously is not as easy as many people say, because things like this can happen and have severe consequences. It's really sad when loosing eggs, imo, after waiting for ages! You just have to keep trying i'm afraid! the smaller egg may be infertile anyway, but if it is her first time laying eggs they may be infertile anyway, but as long as theyre pearly yellow dont give up hope! some eggs are squishy if they've just been laid, so still, dont give up hope! if mould grows on them just wipe it off with a cotton bud, you'd be surprised, i know of someone who had an egg covered in half of moss and it survived! just as long as they are white and not smelly, keep them incubated. but if she has successfully mated she will be laying 2 eggs every 2 weeks for the next 12 weeks so fingers crossed!:2thumb: leopard eggs are not very hard anyway, so they may just be squidgy regardless, but the eggs will hopefully expand and grow


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## jasmine_girlie (Aug 6, 2009)

Well i'll just hope for the best for these ones then. I'll deffo be keeping a closer eye on her for the next ones. Thank you for your help, very much appreciated x


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## Emma86 (Jan 17, 2011)

Hello sorry to hear that, i know it must be quite worrying. You should incubate them regardless as they may still be viable, i have read a lot of leos have laid in water bowls and have still hatched, so there is still hope. Their eggs arent always exactly the same shape or size either. The first two eggs my leo laid were smaller in comparison to her second pair of eggs she laid, but I have incubated them, candled them, and all four are fertile and developing well. If you have a small torch you can candle them at night when its dark, holding the torch under the egg. Pick up the egg carefully and do not rotate it, then shine the torch under and it should have a slight pink glow, you may be able to see a red circle or veins. After time passes the veins spread and eventually you will be able to see the little leo inside. At first you cannot see very much pink though, so maybe leave it for two weeks before candling again if you cant see anything the first time and try it again. I have been incubating the first two just over a month now and can see the babies inside and the second two were laid just over two weeks ago and the veins are spreading loads. In future use damp spagnum moss in the hide you want her to lay in, place this in the middle of the viv so its not too hot or too cold. She should lay again in two weeks time, maybe a little longer. My second egg were laid in the moist hide the same as the first two, but one of the second eggs was stuck to the bottom, it was really difficult to remove as was stuck hard, but i was able to remove it and it is absolutely fine. So do not worry too much and good luck.


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## starfox (Nov 21, 2010)

Its possible that the larger egg has taken in some water out of the water bowl, causing it to expand. I would defo incubate just in case!


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## jasmine_girlie (Aug 6, 2009)

Right... well after having a little peak this morning I dont think its good news :-( The smaller of the egg looks like a deflated balloon. The other one has also got dents in but remains a white colour. There is also a funny smell coming from them. Still got them both in the incubator, doesnt sound good though does it?


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## Emma86 (Jan 17, 2011)

No sorry it doesnt sound good. But dont throw them just yet... it could be just one that smells. I would perhaps wait a week.. see what happens after that. keep us posted.


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## Phil75 (Nov 29, 2010)

Good luck with the eggs. You have had some good advise. It doesnt always go well first time but she will lay again. Keep an eye on her and learn from what she does. Wishing yo success.

Phil


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## L&M (Feb 8, 2011)

*avoiding*

Iv got close on 80 laying females and of them two that have laid in the water bowl so its not massively common. Best way to avoid it in the future is to add a secong hide. If you havent got space cut the end off of two live food tubs fill them with damp substrate and stack them on top of eachother and you will have two more options for laying. Make sure the substrate remains quite damp. Two of my eggs were good and two bad and it has only hapened with younger females they do grow out of it. 

Plus as mentioned before your likely to get another 4-6 clutches so you might have better luck. Just keep plenty of food and calcium on the go.


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## jasmine_girlie (Aug 6, 2009)

Thank you for all your advice unfortunately they did both cave in a few days ago :-( 

Since then my female is digging around like crazy so I'm expecting her to lay again any day 

I do have a few questions if I could have some more advice please?

- Firstly I understand that the eggs need to be marked, is it ok to use any pen or is there a specific one to use?

- I'd like to incubate these as females so am I right to keep the temperature at 82 degrees? 

- And lastly I understand I need to keep the vermiculite moist in the incubator. How do I do this?? Do I have to take the eggs out and wet the vermiculite or just moist it with them in?


Sorry to keep asking questions.. It's my first time at giving this a go and I wanna make sure I do it right. :-D


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## emmilllyyy (Oct 9, 2010)

jasmine_girlie said:


> Thank you for all your advice unfortunately they did both cave in a few days ago :-(
> 
> Since then my female is digging around like crazy so I'm expecting her to lay again any day
> 
> ...


I only know the answer to the last one, spray around the eggs on the vermiculite to keep it moist, try not to spray the eggs. but if you do gently place some tissue on top of the egg and it should soak it up. if any mould appears on the eggs just gently wipe if off with a cotton bud


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## nuttybabez (Jul 21, 2007)

- I use a CD Marker pen.
- Yes that is female incubation temperature.
- You should only need to damp the vermiculite once. Albeys method is best - Albey's How To Incubate Leopard Gecko Eggs


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## jasmine_girlie (Aug 6, 2009)

Thankyou for all your advice yet again. She laid two mre eggs today! Soooo excited :-D they were stuck to the bottom and the side of the box but after reading a thread from someone else regarding this, i was carefully able to remove them and they are now in incubator.

Thnks again for all your advice  x


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## Emma86 (Jan 17, 2011)

The way I'm incubating mine is firstly get a small fish tank with a lid. I'm using a clearseal one that I had lying around. Then you will need to make a platform, using two bug boxes filled with gravel (this is to weigh them down) if you have bricks that world also work. Fill the tank with water until it is level with the platform. Then place an aquarium thermostatic heater. I'm using one that heats upto 20L, was the smallest I could find, by the brand 'elite' by Hagen - I also had this lying around. Then get either one or two Tupperware boxes, proper ones though - not take away boxes or bug boxes, they must be airtight. Then with vermiculite half fill the Tupperware. Add water until you can make a sort of snow ball, but not too wet so that when you tap the snowball it crumbles and doesn't stay stuck together. Then put the Tupperware lids on, then put a glass aquarium thermometer in there (personally I think they're very accurate) then put on the lid. Turn on the aqurium heater, then leave until for about 6 hours. By this point it should have heated the water to it's full capacity, so check the temperature and if you need to turn it up or down, then check again 6 hours later to see what it is. Keep doing this until the desired temperature is reached. Once it's correct, you never have to touch this again. When the eggs are laid, pick them up exactly as they were laid and place them in the Tupperware, and make sure the lid is on properly. Once a day open the lid and let some air in then close it again. This way you will never have to add any more water to the vermiculite, as the water cannot evaporate. This is my first time incubating, but after getting this idea i also read it in a book as a good way to incubate. My first two eggs will be hatching soon and the other four that have been laid since then are doing well. I have had no problems with this method what so ever. Just make sure the heater is always fully submerged, placing it horizontally at the bottom of the tank, and making sure the water is always in line with the platform. I have never had to add any more water, but it is worth checking just in case. If you are incubating your eggs in Tupperware that is airtight, you should never have to add any more water. Good luck, I hope it goes well. And don't worry about the eggs being stuck, my second clutch were stuck and I managed to get them loose without rotating them and they are doing absolutely fine


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