# Leo eggies



## Rou (Dec 23, 2007)

Thought I would spread my joyus news.
I awoke this morning to find my two females fighting, as this was most unusual I investigated and found one had laid two eggies.
I am assuming it is my oldest female as she has been with the male longer than the second and she was the most aggressive.

This clutch is my oldest females first clutch as far as I am aware so i'm not expecting anything from them however a friend is incubating them for me at female temps so crossed fingers guys.

Looks like my male is in working order finally (only after several long months).


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## SleepyD (Feb 13, 2008)

easiest way to see which female laid the eggs would be to check their bellies for ovulation/more eggs and if there are more eggs being formed how large are they? Length of time with a male doesn't garentee first mating and if the older females the more aggressive then chances are it may well be the younger female who's been mated first and laid the eggs 
Fighting can happen especially if there's conflict over the lay box/humid hide ie: there's only one box/hide ~ females have been known to guard the area concerned until they're finished with it and wandered off .... might be worth adding an extra moist hide/laybox.


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## Rou (Dec 23, 2007)

Well I have a pretty good idea as to which female it was as the one I think it is has lost her round plump tummy since laying. Plus she is eating like a pig and the other female isn't interested.

They allready have two humid hides in their viv and have done ever since I first introduced my male to the female as regularly I will have two leos shedding at the same time. 

The humid hides were not prepared for laying so I am taking that into consideration as my female is being very aggressive.

The eggs were removed the day I found them and the male and female (the one that hasnt laid) were also putinto a temporary holding tank to let the new mummy to get over her aggressive times but after trying to reintroduce the other female and male back into the viv a day after the eggs have been removed, the laying female is still very aggressive.

How long will she be like this for?


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## SleepyD (Feb 13, 2008)

> How long will she be like this for?


it can depend ~ I have some females that never really bother and a couple that will 'protect' their laying area for several days (even after I've removed the eggs)


> The humid hides were not prepared for laying so I am taking that into consideration as my female is being very aggressive


so long as the moist hides have a medium that they can dig :ie moss etc and in a position that the females think is an ideal one ~ heat/humidity wise ~ you don't have to specifically 'prepare' a moist hide/laybox 
Back to the aggression though ~ it may be that if she won't accept the other female back then you may have to continue keeping them in their own vivs plus I wouldn't put the male back in with her again until next season because the stress together with how she is now may lead to more serious fighting and/or problems.... one of my females would really get a strop on once she'd been succussfully mated and would (if given a chance) rip the male for arsepaper if he was still around :whistling2:


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## Rou (Dec 23, 2007)

My laying female was a little funny tempered with me last night as she was acting like she wanted to hack off my fingers.... My second female in witht he male has started to take on the form of an expecting mother so I am in the position where a second spare viv really would come in handy right now... I really should have thought about that!

I have put terrarium moss in all of the most hides in both vivs (did that yesterday) but they all refuse to use the hides now. my female (that hasnt laid yet) is shedding at the moment and wont go anywhere near it.
should I be very concerned incase she needs to lay eggs soon but doesn't feel the moist hides with moss are the right place?
The substrate they are kept on is old newspaper so it isn't like they can dig up a laying site in the substrate.


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## frack (Sep 2, 2008)

Rou said:


> My laying female was a little funny tempered with me last night as she was acting like she wanted to hack off my fingers.... My second female in witht he male has started to take on the form of an expecting mother so I am in the position where a second spare viv really would come in handy right now... I really should have thought about that!
> 
> I have put terrarium moss in all of the most hides in both vivs (did that yesterday) but they all refuse to use the hides now. my female (that hasnt laid yet) is shedding at the moment and wont go anywhere near it.
> should I be very concerned incase she needs to lay eggs soon but doesn't feel the moist hides with moss are the right place?
> The substrate they are kept on is old newspaper so it isn't like they can dig up a laying site in the substrate.


 
Hi Rou,
I've been breeding Leopard Geckos for 5 years now and I notice that just after any of my females lay, they seem ravenous so I feed them a dusted with calcium defosted pinkie mouse or more locusts/crickets than usual. I have found this helps them regain the energy and weight that they lost during gestation and egg laying.
I use a big enough laying tub so that 3 adults can fit inside and have had it when 1 female will lay when I'm not home and I see 1 laying when I am so when I take the eggs out I find 2 more than expected.:2thumb: 
Hope this helps you out. Is this your first year breeding then?
I love it at hatching time! Can't wait.
Have fun.
Mel


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## Rou (Dec 23, 2007)

I have a friend who breeds leos and he explained she will be ravenous so I have a dish in the viv with 20 gutloaded mealies with calcidust and some oats to continue gutloading themselves. she doesn't eat more than the 20 so it makes it easier for me to count them to see if she has eaten. I have also been offering her the same gutloaded and dusted mealies via tongs (which she is 100%used to) so she is getting plenty of food.

Yes this is my first time breeding. I kinda took the approach of putting two females with a male and leting them get on with it. Hense why I am a little behind on info I have needed.

My breeder friend is incubating my eggs for now as I havent been able to get myself an incubator.

I think only one of the two eggs will hatch provided nothing goes wrong between now and hatch day.


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## frack (Sep 2, 2008)

Rou said:


> I have a friend who breeds leos and he explained she will be ravenous so I have a dish in the viv with 20 gutloaded mealies with calcidust and some oats to continue gutloading themselves. she doesn't eat more than the 20 so it makes it easier for me to count them to see if she has eaten. I have also been offering her the same gutloaded and dusted mealies via tongs (which she is 100%used to) so she is getting plenty of food.
> 
> Yes this is my first time breeding. I kinda took the approach of putting two females with a male and leting them get on with it. Hense why I am a little behind on info I have needed.
> 
> ...



Hi again Rou,
I do the same thing with giant mealworms and have 3 females per male, sometimes 4. Never have probs with them. Hope your eggs hatch into pretty babies.(They all are!)
I breed for females at 79 OF and they take around 75 days to hatch. Never throw eggs away, I've even had females lay in their water bowl and the eggs have still hatched! 
Best of luck!:2thumb:
Mel


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## Rou (Dec 23, 2007)

Thanks for the advice.
Woah, 75 days? Really?
My breeder friend said i'll be waiting about 55 days from when he collected them, is he right or was it a slip of the tongue on his part??
I believe he is incubating my eggs to be females.


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## Ben.M (Mar 2, 2008)

At 79F it probably would take 75 days as its quite a low temp but if u were to incubate at 82-84F it would probs take 55-65 days:whistling2:


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## Rou (Dec 23, 2007)

ah okay thanks.
so is the lower temp for the female and higher for the male?


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## SleepyD (Feb 13, 2008)

Rou said:


> so is the lower temp for the female and higher for the male?


as a general guide ~
80*F - est.inc. 60-65 days will give mainly females
85*F - est. inc. 55 days will give you a mix
88*F - est. inc. 40-45 days will give mainly males


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## Rou (Dec 23, 2007)

I feel like i'm baking a cake


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## SleepyD (Feb 13, 2008)

Rou said:


> I feel like i'm baking a cake


yet to bake a cake that hiss's, squeaks and tries to bite you when you take it out of the 'oven' :lol2:


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## Rou (Dec 23, 2007)

SleepyD,
I found two more eggs today and they look 100% better already than the first clutch which are looking very unpromising now.

YAY!


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## funky1 (Jun 18, 2008)

Or you may end up getting some females that hatch at 28 days (even after being incubated at 80 degrees like mine were) - so be prepared for anything!!!


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## SleepyD (Feb 13, 2008)

Rou said:


> SleepyD,
> I found two more eggs today and they look 100% better already than the first clutch which are looking very unpromising now.
> 
> YAY!


:2thumb: grats ~ fingers crossed they go ok : victory:


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## Rou (Dec 23, 2007)

Checked on my two newest eggs today and they have began to dimple. Heard from my friend who is incubating my first clutch as I wasnt prepared for them and he said they are both yellow, flat and mouldy 
crossed fingers for this second clutch!!


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## Rou (Dec 23, 2007)

Third clutch as of yesterday.
These two are looking a bit better compared to the first and second clutch which I think are both pretty stuffed now but I will keep my fingers crossed for all three.


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## Dave23 (Sep 2, 2008)

hey good luck with your eggs. My OH is buying an incubater end of this month as we are hoping to have leo eggs this year.


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## 12kslr33 (May 20, 2008)

My first egg of the season went bad the other day, started denting about a week ago but finally went flat and yellow on Tuesday, got my 2nd clutch today 15 days after the 1st, 2 eggs though this time, they both look good so hopefully fingers crossed. If these dont make it im gonna buy a hovabator rather than use a homemade.


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## Rou (Dec 23, 2007)

well thats sad news about your first egg but good news about your second two.

I am using a home made one at the moment but I dont think that is the route of my lack of success just yet anyway.

Good luck with yours. is this your first time as an eggie parent?


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## 12kslr33 (May 20, 2008)

Yeh these are my first eggs and it was her 1st time aswell so i wasnt to down as i heard a females 1st clutch are often infertile. Candled the 2 new ones and 1 of them has a bullseye i can see very clearly and the other doesnt but i will keep incubating no matter what happens because have heard of severly dented and mouldy eggs have hatched healty babes.

Which method of homemade are you using atm?


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## Rou (Dec 23, 2007)

Yeah that's right. Don't give up until you have gone past the longest incubation period, just to be on the safe side.

That's true about first clutches often being duff.
My girls first two are pretty much duff as duff.

crossed fingers ey!


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## arkreptiles (Sep 26, 2007)

Eggs can be 'candled' to check for fertility. Just put a small maglight to the egg in a darkish room and if they glow pink you can be pretty sure they are fertile - yellowish or whiteish eggs are more likely to be infertile.


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## Rou (Dec 23, 2007)

Thanks for that but we have both candelled our eggs already.

I used a torch. :2thumb:


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