# Viper geckos...



## Lord Vetinari (Mar 4, 2011)

I'm picking some up on Saturday. :2thumb:

Finally joining the dark(er) side... :lol2:


Can't wait!


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## Jamesah1975 (May 24, 2013)

Picked my two up at the weekend from Laza. Cracking little gecko's and such charactors. They love climbing on things and i have yet to see them enter there hides. They spend most of there time hiding under the leaves of a little fake tree thing we put in the viv, or on top of their hides.

Not seem them eat yet either. Shoved eight crickets in yesterday evening which they seemed to ignore then this morning all were gone.


So chuffed my son and I chose this breed of gecko.


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## GECKO MICK (Jun 6, 2012)

Vipers are awesome geckos.:2thumb:


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## Zorro (May 30, 2013)

Hopefully I'll find some at Kempton, definitely a species on my wish list.


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## chrisperrins78 (Nov 2, 2011)

Got two last weekend from lazza, they are so bold and actively chase the crickets around the viv. They are the best gecko I have ever had.


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## kane90 (Feb 25, 2013)

would love some of these .... seem to be fairly hard to find tho and at a decent price


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## heatherjhenshaw (Jan 30, 2010)

I picked up 3 of these at Donnie, they were so tiny, sadly 1 died fairly quickly  I've asked loads of advice but my setup is good so...I guess was maybe just one of those things. The other 2 are thriving though and have doubled in size, as soon as I put food in they are out and hunting, not shy at all, gorgeous little things


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## Lord Vetinari (Mar 4, 2011)

heatherjhenshaw said:


> I picked up 3 of these at Donnie, they were so tiny, sadly 1 died fairly quickly  I've asked loads of advice but my setup is good so...I guess was maybe just one of those things. The other 2 are thriving though and have doubled in size, as soon as I put food in they are out and hunting, not shy at all, gorgeous little things


Thats a shame  I'm getting a fairly well established pair, so hopefully there wont be any sudden deaths.

They look amazing though - they even won my Mrs over who had said I wasn't allowed to get any more reps!

I may even have a crack at breeding them - there seems to be demand.


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## kane90 (Feb 25, 2013)

Lord Vetinari said:


> Thats a shame  I'm getting a fairly well established pair, so hopefully there wont be any sudden deaths.
> 
> They look amazing though - they even won my Mrs over who had said I wasn't allowed to get any more reps!
> 
> I may even have a crack at breeding them - there seems to be demand.


they do seem pretty hard to get hold of trawling over the internet can only find ones that are stupidly priced or ones that are a million miles away hopefully when i get a viv all set up in september ill be able to find some then:2thumb:


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## heatherjhenshaw (Jan 30, 2010)

Lord Vetinari said:


> Thats a shame  I'm getting a fairly well established pair, so hopefully there wont be any sudden deaths.
> 
> They look amazing though - they even won my Mrs over who had said I wasn't allowed to get any more reps!
> 
> I may even have a crack at breeding them - there seems to be demand.


Mine are babies so I guess being so small they were vulnerable. I was amazed to see them at Donnie show. I've fancied some for ages. My 2 live in a RUB at the mo but I am going to set up an Exo for them


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## Lord Vetinari (Mar 4, 2011)

kane90 said:


> they do seem pretty hard to get hold of trawling over the internet can only find ones that are stupidly priced or ones that are a million miles away hopefully when i get a viv all set up in september ill be able to find some then:2thumb:


From what I have read the clutch sizes are pretty large, so I have no idea why they arent popular, its not like they are tricky to look after. I may look into breeding next year.



heatherjhenshaw said:


> Mine are babies so I guess being so small they were vulnerable. I was amazed to see them at Donnie show. I've fancied some for ages. My 2 live in a RUB at the mo but I am going to set up an Exo for them


The babies are tiny! And so cute!


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## essexchondro (Apr 9, 2007)

I keep a small group of these. They're very easy to breed...if anything, a little bit too easy and you need to keep an eye on your females to make sure that it's not taking too much out of them.

They usually lay 2 eggs at a time and the female will usually lay about once per month on average.

One thing that I have noticed, though, is that quite a high percentage of the eggs aren't viable....I've only been actively breeding them for about six months but I'd say that about 40% of the eggs are duds, and the eggs are hard shelled as well which means that they do get broken from time to time by the female during the laying process.

Here's a baby I hatched out about a month ago (picture taken on day of hatching):


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## Kizzu (Nov 10, 2009)

My partner has been trying to hunt down a pair of these since they were featured in PRK a couple of issues ago.

I can't wait to add some to our collection. Gorgeous little things! :2thumb:


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## Lord Vetinari (Mar 4, 2011)

essexchondro said:


> I keep a small group of these. They're very easy to breed...if anything, a little bit too easy and you need to keep an eye on your females to make sure that it's not taking too much out of them.
> 
> They usually lay 2 eggs at a time and the female will usually lay about once per month on average.
> 
> ...


Tha information is really handy - I may have to ask you more detailed questions at some point in the future.


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## kane90 (Feb 25, 2013)

Lord Vetinari said:


> From what I have read the clutch sizes are pretty large, so I have no idea why they arent popular, its not like they are tricky to look after. I may look into breeding next year.


i agree i dont know why they arent popular seem to be same set up as a leo which to be fair is fairly easy i have also heard they are really easy to breed.... fingers crossed ther will be plenty floating about in september but after talking about them i think i am defo going to have to get some


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## fuzzmac1984 (Oct 15, 2009)

iv been after these for years,the only place up here in sunny scotland that i can find them is wanting £100 a baby.shame because id love to have a go at breeding these and offering them to others at a far more reasonable price


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## Lord Vetinari (Mar 4, 2011)

fuzzmac1984 said:


> iv been after these for years,the only place up here in sunny scotland that i can find them is wanting £100 a baby.shame because id love to have a go at breeding these and offering them to others at a far more reasonable price


Thats insane - the going rate seems to be £30 - 40 down here.


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## fuzzmac1984 (Oct 15, 2009)

Lord Vetinari said:


> Thats insane - the going rate seems to be £30 - 40 down here.


i know thats what i thought!!i just couldnt believe it.
i dont drive so i cant really get down to any shows down south as there isnt anything like that up here.


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## essexchondro (Apr 9, 2007)

I have a friend who has 40+ eggs incubating so give me a shout if anyone is interested in buying and I can probably hook you up. :2thumb:


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## Lord Vetinari (Mar 4, 2011)

fuzzmac1984 said:


> i know thats what i thought!!i just couldnt believe it.
> i dont drive so i cant really get down to any shows down south as there isnt anything like that up here.


I am close to the Kempton show - but thats about it. There aren't too many shops around either within a 40 min drive.


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## Lord Vetinari (Mar 4, 2011)

essexchondro said:


> I have a friend who has 40+ eggs incubating so give me a shout if anyone is interested in buying and I can probably hook you up. :2thumb:


I may be interested in a male at some point. If I want one I will give you a shout.


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## fuzzmac1984 (Oct 15, 2009)

Lord Vetinari said:


> I am close to the Kempton show - but thats about it. There aren't too many shops around either within a 40 min drive.


well thats better than me.lol.think im 3-5 hrs away roughly.why is there no shows up in scotland or atleast newcastle!!??


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## Lord Vetinari (Mar 4, 2011)

fuzzmac1984 said:


> well thats better than me.lol.think im 3-5 hrs away roughly.why is there no shows up in scotland or atleast newcastle!!??


There is Donny, but thats still a trek for you I guess. It's probably more worth while to go to Ham! 

I'm surprised there is nothing in Manchester/Leeds/Newcastle... they are big places.


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## fuzzmac1984 (Oct 15, 2009)

Lord Vetinari said:


> There is Donny, but thats still a trek for you I guess. It's probably more worth while to go to Ham!
> 
> I'm surprised there is nothing in Manchester/Leeds/Newcastle... they are big places.


yeah its still pretty far.id love to go but i dont think the wife would forgive me for going there.lol
i know i would of thought that there would of been something to cater for the north part of the country


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## Jamesah1975 (May 24, 2013)

chrisperrins78 said:


> Got two last weekend from lazza, they are so bold and actively chase the crickets around the viv. They are the best gecko I have ever had.



You must of been the chappie in front of me before I spoke with Larry. 

Totally agree, such fascinating little gecko's, love them, and more importantly so does my son.


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## Laza (Jun 13, 2009)

*Vipers,*

These are great geckos to have, observe and breed.
They are very prolific egg layers even after one mating last Sept my female is still producing viable eggs. Between Sept and Nov eggs were layed every 13 to 14 days. Then she stopped laying for about two months then proceeded to lay a clutch every 15 days which went to 20-25 days after mid may. I then housed her with two hold back females in a nice exo set up. Didn't find any eggs in the sand so assumed she'd stopped laying....only for me to see baby vipers running about in the viv.....after searching viv found a clutch of eight eggs inside a resin branch, shone a torch at them and they're all good. I've not had one egg fail nor a hatchling die. Breeding to demand isn't the way to go, you breed to experience and learn another aspect of keeping a species :2thumb:


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## kane90 (Feb 25, 2013)

i really do need to get myself some of these how long does it take to reach full size? which i believe is about 7 - 9cm


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## fuzzmac1984 (Oct 15, 2009)

yeah they truly are an amazing species.what size of viv do people keep their males in when your not wanting to breed?i was going to house 3 or so females in a 36x15x15 viv,wasnt sure about a lone male though.he might get lost in a viv that size but i wouldnt want a male to be housed in a small space if you catch my drift


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## Lord Vetinari (Mar 4, 2011)

Lizards!


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## Jamesah1975 (May 24, 2013)

Can the title of this thread be changed too Viper Gecko Thread?

Anyway, took some more pics of mine tonight, sorry for the poor quality but I only have my phone. They have grown quite noticeably this past week.


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## kane90 (Feb 25, 2013)

Jamesah1975 said:


> Can the title of this thread be changed too Viper Gecko Thread?
> 
> Anyway, took some more pics of mine tonight, sorry for the poor quality but I only have my phone. They have grown quite noticeably this past week.
> 
> ...



how old are they now? they are definately getting to a decent size :2thumb:


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## fuzzmac1984 (Oct 15, 2009)

i second that this thread should be changed to viper gecko thread.

so what setups do people use for these?how big a colony do people have? and what substrate are people using.iv seen lots of setups in the US with sand,just wondering what people over here are using : victory:


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## Jamesah1975 (May 24, 2013)

kane90 said:


> how old are they now? they are definately getting to a decent size :2thumb:




Got them last weekend, they are about seven weeks old now.


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## Jamesah1975 (May 24, 2013)

fuzzmac1984 said:


> i second that this thread should be changed to viper gecko thread.
> 
> so what setups do people use for these?how big a colony do people have? and what substrate are people using.iv seen lots of setups in the US with sand,just wondering what people over here are using : victory:


My two are in a large faunarium with play sand. Heat mat with stat. Two hides in the hot end, two in the cool, large stones to climb on and a fake plant in the centre. They very rarely go in thier hides, they are usually on top of the stones or hiding in the tree. And i feed them no.2 crickets.


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## kane90 (Feb 25, 2013)

Jamesah1975 said:


> Got them last weekend, they are about seven weeks old now.


thats not to bad i thought these would stay small for quite a while but 7 weeks for that size is good just hope i can find some wen i get viv in sept


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## fuzzmac1984 (Oct 15, 2009)

Jamesah1975 said:


> My two are in a large faunarium with play sand. Heat mat with stat. Two hides in the hot end, two in the cool, large stones to climb on and a fake plant in the centre. They very rarely go in thier hides, they are usually on top of the stones or hiding in the tree. And i feed them no.2 crickets.


thats funny they dont use their hides much.have you seen them bury themselves in the sand?iv had steno's that didnt like their hides but sat half burried in the sand :lol2:


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## Lord Vetinari (Mar 4, 2011)

Just fed them.... They are so fun to watch hunt!


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## chrisperrins78 (Nov 2, 2011)

They are great to watch, my two are out all the time and only seem to go in their hide when they chase a cricket in there. They have quite a few branches in their viv and spend most of the day sat in them.


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## fuzzmac1984 (Oct 15, 2009)

has anyone tried them with calci worms or meal worms?


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## Jamesah1975 (May 24, 2013)

No, not yet. I have mini mealworms at home and they appear to big for them still. Sticking with the crickets for the time being until I feel the mini mealies can be consumed ok.


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## Lord Vetinari (Mar 4, 2011)

I'm ordering some mini mealies later this week. 

I will let you know how they get on!


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## Jamesah1975 (May 24, 2013)

chrisperrins78 said:


> They are great to watch, my two are out all the time and only seem to go in their hide when they chase a cricket in there. They have quite a few branches in their viv and spend most of the day sat in them.



Same with mine. The fake tree thingy I have seems to provide them with suitable cover. Its usually the crickets that head straight for the hides and the vipers go charging after them, lol.


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## creg (Jun 10, 2012)

I didn't realise viper gecko's were so outgoing and handleable, started to wish i'd have bought some of laza now. :2thumb:


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## Jamesah1975 (May 24, 2013)

creg said:


> I didn't realise viper gecko's were so outgoing and handleable, started to wish i'd have bought some of laza now. :2thumb:


We have only handled them once and that was the other day when I took the pics. They seemed ok but very nervous when I tryed to tease them onto my finger, but thats only expected when they are sooo tiny and my finger is like a bloody big tree to them poking in their viv :lol2:


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## laurencea (Aug 28, 2009)

fuzzmac1984 said:


> has anyone tried them with calci worms or meal worms?


mine are on sand and i have fed them mealworms. the female definitely likes the worms as i fed them some when in a cricket tub the other day, the male didn't eat any then.

cracking little things, i went in Reptile Kingdom in Surbiton and saw them for the first time. bought 2 there and then.

i want to get another female or two though... hopefully there will be some at kempton.

mine are in an exo-terro 45 'low' or whatever it is called. they do climb a bit, but not much, so they have more floor space and lots of wood and fake plants. hard to find the little critters most times.


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## laurencea (Aug 28, 2009)

here are my pair...





Patti - named after Ms Smith




Ray - in honour of Bradbury, Harryhausen and Chandler



you want cute?


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## Laza (Jun 13, 2009)

*Vipers*

This is turning into a good Viper Thread:2thumb:

Here's how I keep my group...
My group are now in a 45 cube exo,On sand with plenty of branches and a few hide area's....But as James has said, they tend to perch on a branch rather than use a hide. When I kept them in a rub they used the hide to lay their eggs. But in the exo, they tuck the eggs away in nooks and crannies .. not saying they wont bury their eggs in the sand though, different females have differing preferance's. Hot spot under the lamp is 30c. Because I use the exo bulbs they're not to bright and always see the Vipers basking in the warmth. I've also got a heat mat under the enclosure set at 20c which is more for the winter so it doesn't get to cold through the night. I lightly spray over the rock area every other day or two.
I'll be introducing my new unrelated male in the spring but then he'll stay with them as a group. As long as there's plenty of space and hidey places I've found that the removal of the male isn't necessary as the female will lay all year long after one mating.....to give the females a "rest" drop the temperature by about 5-8c on the spot bulb and also shorten the light period as my female went through a natural rest during the winter weeks. 
Now for some pic's:2thumb:

The enclosure: Which has a few more branches in it now which adds a little more height to the branch tangle.









The three females...which is mum with two daughters









one of the females on the prowl









and of course a hatchling


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## laurencea (Aug 28, 2009)

essexchondro said:


> I have a friend who has 40+ eggs incubating so give me a shout if anyone is interested in buying and I can probably hook you up. :2thumb:


i'd be interested :flrt:


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## UrolithicTitan (Sep 12, 2010)

laurencea said:


> mine are on sand and i have fed them mealworms. the female definitely likes the worms as i fed them some when in a cricket tub the other day, the male didn't eat any then.
> 
> cracking little things, i went in Reptile Kingdom in Surbiton and saw them for the first time. bought 2 there and then.
> 
> ...


Jason Barnard of ReptileBreederUK will be at Kempton and has female H.inbricatus available. :2thumb:


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## laurencea (Aug 28, 2009)

UrolithicTitan said:


> Jason Barnard of ReptileBreederUK will be at Kempton and has female H.inbricatus available. :2thumb:


better get some cash ready then!

just did some spot cleaning on my two and uncovered an egg! i left it in the sand as i have no incubator and it may be hot enough there. oddly, the female scampered back to that spot when i was finishing up.

as for mealworms... when i was holding the female i fed her some with tongs and she took them as she sat on my hand. the boy was too busy hiding!


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## fuzzmac1984 (Oct 15, 2009)

Laza said:


> This is turning into a good Viper Thread:2thumb:
> 
> Here's how I keep my group...
> My group are now in a 45 cube exo,On sand with plenty of branches and a few hide area's....But as James has said, they tend to perch on a branch rather than use a hide. When I kept them in a rub they used the hide to lay their eggs. But in the exo, they tuck the eggs away in nooks and crannies .. not saying they wont bury their eggs in the sand though, different females have differing preferance's. Hot spot under the lamp is 30c. Because I use the exo bulbs they're not to bright and always see the Vipers basking in the warmth. I've also got a heat mat under the enclosure set at 20c which is more for the winter so it doesn't get to cold through the night. I lightly spray over the rock area every other day or two.
> ...


wow Laza,thanks for all the info.just cant wait till i can find some of these beauties up here in Scotland for a reasonable price.
its great to see how everyone is keeping them.

out of interest Laza,do you incubate the eggs in situ or do you remove them to an incubator?if so what temps are you maintaining?are these temp sexed like leo's?
:flrt: the pics hehe


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## Laza (Jun 13, 2009)

fuzzmac1984 said:


> wow Laza,thanks for all the info.just cant wait till i can find some of these beauties up here in Scotland for a reasonable price.
> its great to see how everyone is keeping them.
> 
> out of interest Laza,do you incubate the eggs in situ or do you remove them to an incubator?if so what temps are you maintaining?are these temp sexed like leo's?
> :flrt: the pics hehe


I incubate the eggs in a bator...last couple of eggs hatched in the enclosure....as didn't know she laid the eggs. There's more eggs but can't get them out so they'll have to hatch in situ:2thumb: temps are 81-83f in the bator but a lot warmer in the enclosure but the eggs get a night time drop.


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## Lord Vetinari (Mar 4, 2011)

Mealies were not a great hit. I got looks of 'so where's the real food?'


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## F1king2012 (Jan 14, 2013)

Finally getting some of these today they look so cool.


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## F1king2012 (Jan 14, 2013)

Just got 4 of these. absolutely stunning they look so nice.


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## fuzzmac1984 (Oct 15, 2009)

F1king2012 said:


> Just got 4 of these. absolutely stunning they look so nice.


well now you just have to put picks up so we can see them :whistling2:


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## Jamesah1975 (May 24, 2013)

F1king2012 said:


> Just got 4 of these. absolutely stunning they look so nice.


Without pics we cannot AND will not beleive you!


Lol


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## F1king2012 (Jan 14, 2013)

Lol give me time lo I was only ment to have 3 but the bloke packed 4 by mistake. How easy is it to tell sex and how old would they have to be before you can tell.
Thanks Tom


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## Jamesah1975 (May 24, 2013)

F1king2012 said:


> Lol give me time lo I was only ment to have 3 but the bloke packed 4 by mistake. How easy is it to tell sex and how old would they have to be before you can tell.
> Thanks Tom




Was wondering this myself. Laza will be best to answer.


Let me get this straight. You were only meant to have three, you paid for three but was given four? Jammy git! Lol


That is a great BOGOF deal


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## fuzzmac1984 (Oct 15, 2009)

id say probably a jewelers loupe would be used as they are very small.but they are essentially the same as leopard geckos to sex,just on a smaller scale from what iv read


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## F1king2012 (Jan 14, 2013)

Jamesah1975 said:


> Was wondering this myself. Laza will be best to answer.
> 
> 
> Let me get this straight. You were only meant to have three, you paid for three but was given four? Jammy git! Lol
> ...


Na I never noticed till I got home but I let him know and he let me have it for 20 pound. I would rather let them know than for them to find out and for me to have a bad name.


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## laurencea (Aug 28, 2009)

i got 2 baby ones at Kempton!


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## Jamesah1975 (May 24, 2013)

Awesome, that is a great pic with his tongue out. Congrats.


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## laurencea (Aug 28, 2009)

Jamesah1975 said:


> Awesome, that is a great pic with his tongue out. Congrats.


ta

i was after a female, but ended up with 2 unsexed juves. odd how these things happen!


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## lozmick (Jun 24, 2013)

im so looking for some of these so cute


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## laurencea (Aug 28, 2009)

bad news... one of my little ones escaped! it was the smallest of the 2 i got at Kempton, around the size of a thumbnail.

it jumped out of my hand as i was trying to tempt it with mealworms (the other juvenile had already eaten one).

it landed amid a load of boxes and stuff and the chances of finding it are very small. :bash: i am such a :censor: idiot.


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## Jamesah1975 (May 24, 2013)

Oh good god no. Really hope you find him. Don't even know what to sugest apart from keeping your eyes peeled.


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## laurencea (Aug 28, 2009)

Jamesah1975 said:


> Oh good god no. Really hope you find him. Don't even know what to sugest apart from keeping your eyes peeled.


cheers. there is the hope it will find some spiders and escaped crickets to keep it going.

needle and haystack are words that spring to mind


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## Jamesah1975 (May 24, 2013)

laurencea said:


> cheers. there is the hope it will find some spiders and escaped crickets to keep it going.
> 
> needle and haystack are words that spring to mind


Any luck?


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## laurencea (Aug 28, 2009)

Jamesah1975 said:


> Any luck?


nope. i've left water out and had a heat mat on the floor for a few days, but nothing. it has so many places to hide that i don't know where to start - especially as i couldn't find it within seconds of it leaping out of my hand.

hopefully it will be ok, eating the escaped crickets (of which there are many) and it may pop out and be seen soon.


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## laurencea (Aug 28, 2009)

UPDATE

it has turned up!!!!!

i turned the heat may on again. a iittle while later i lifted the piece of cork on the mat and there it was! 

quickly popped it back into the RUB, but it looked ok.

:no1::flrt:


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## Jamesah1975 (May 24, 2013)

Fantastic news


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## carlos18 (Oct 30, 2006)

*Got some this weekend!!*

Got a trio of these beauts this weekend from reptilebreeder!! Keeping them in a faunarium for a couple weeks because of size but they'll soon be moving to an exo terra. Great little guys!


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## laurencea (Aug 28, 2009)

carlos18 said:


> Got a trio of these beauts this weekend from reptilebreeder!! Keeping them in a faunarium for a couple weeks because of size but they'll soon be moving to an exo terra. Great little guys!


my two baby ones are from reptilebreeder.

i may be getting two more from another breeder in a couple of weeks! i do hope some turn out to be female or i'm in trouble


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## heatherjhenshaw (Jan 30, 2010)

Any tips how to sex these little ones ? I got 2 from reptile breeder at the last Doncaster but they were unsexed, they were about 12 weeks at the time, are they still too young to be sexed, they are so bloody small I'm terrified of hurting them lol (although they've doubled in size since I got them)


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## laurencea (Aug 28, 2009)

heatherjhenshaw said:


> Any tips how to sex these little ones ? I got 2 from reptile breeder at the last Doncaster but they were unsexed, they were about 12 weeks at the time, are they still too young to be sexed, they are so bloody small I'm terrified of hurting them lol (although they've doubled in size since I got them)


the males have a bulge at the base of the body where the tail starts. it's VERY hard to tell, luckily the shop where i got my adults from could tell.

a week or so later i knew i had a male and female! :whistling2:


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## laurencea (Aug 28, 2009)

just seen some very odd behaviour with the adult female... i was cleaning out the viv and she was hiding in her usual place - it is also her egg laying place.

the male tried to hide by not moving, so i nabbed him for safe keeping. she then jumped up on the hide and arched her back with her tail in the air... think cat trying to make itself look big!

it was most odd. all her movement were very sudden and jerky, standing high with her legs at full stretch, head and tail waving (it was quite hard to tell which end was which at times) and then bounding off to repeat the pose somewhere else (usually on top of something).

she is still gravid, so i took it to be defensive as she is vulnerable or protecting the eggs (she has laid at least one recently)

it's funny to see such a small thing act that way.

fascinating little things


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## heatherjhenshaw (Jan 30, 2010)

Can anyone shed any light in a mystery !

I've had 2 viper geckos for a while now, Bibbity and Boo, Bibbity has always been the larger of the 2 but Boo seemed ok. They lived in an Exo 45 cm cube. Ate well, Bibbity is a cheeky thing, Boo shy.

Anyway today I went to clean out and Boo has vanished !! Totally vanished !! I've been they the Exo with a fine tooth comb, it has no background, it hasn't been left open at any point , I'm absolutely mystified and obviously upset. I hadn't seen Boo for a couple of days as I've been working long hours and as I say, he's shy, but I expected him to be in his usual hidey hole


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## Jamesah1975 (May 24, 2013)

If you have emptied the viv, is one of them still attached to one of the decor pieces? Is he on the under side of the hide?

Or, has he got through the cable vents at the back, cause mine can climb glass?!


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## heatherjhenshaw (Jan 30, 2010)

The cable vent guards are shut as much as they can be, as you say mine can climb glass too (found that out Wednesday) , I've checked and double checked every inch of the decor


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## Jamesah1975 (May 24, 2013)

Very odd then, unless someone has opened the doors when you have not been there?!

I'm fresh out of ideas :hmm:


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## heatherjhenshaw (Jan 30, 2010)

Not unless my dad has taken a sudden complete turnaround, he doesn't go anywhere near that room  no one else in the house


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## laurencea (Aug 28, 2009)

how odd. how old are they? if they're adults i would have though they'd have trouble getting out via the cable vents.

i would have suggested they it is hiding on the decor somewhere too, but if you've checked, then i'm stumped.

buried in the substrate? none of mine do that, but they are odd things.

odder still, i got 2 more last week and one of them is called Boo! spooky.

mine sometimes press against the background of the exo-terra and are very hard to see. could there be a hole in the background Boo could have snuck in to?

good luck with finding Boo


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## heatherjhenshaw (Jan 30, 2010)

No they aren't adults, they would be about 6 months old now , but even so I was just looking at Bibbity and at the cable vents and .....those tails .... Boo would really have to suck his gut in lol

I've had some tips from Laza and put a heatmat down with some hides on and a bowl of mealies for good measure, hopefully he'll show his little face, either inside or outside the Viv

One things for sure, no one is getting out of the cable vents now !! They are well and truly stuffed with kitchen roll >:-(


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## laurencea (Aug 28, 2009)

my escapee turned up under a bit of wood on a heat mat... after 10 days!

i may have to stuff the vent holes with kitchen roll now!


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## heatherjhenshaw (Jan 30, 2010)

Piece of wood added to heat mat :2thumb:, I keep looking in the Viv expecting that it was all a horrible mistake and he'll be sat there but alas no :blush:


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## Jamesah1975 (May 24, 2013)

Good luck, I hope Boo turns up soon, keep us posted :2thumb:


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## heatherjhenshaw (Jan 30, 2010)

Well there's good news and bad news, the good news is I found Boo, the bad news is the poor little guy is injured. 

To rewind, I've had a major issue with escaped crickets so put down those sticky traps, of course as soon as I realised boo was out I ran round like a maniac picking them up but in the middle of the night I realised I missed one, leapt out of bed and found Boo attached  

At this point I was pretty much hysterical, but pulled myself together and soaked the little guy off with warm water, he dropped his tail in the process and had hurt his leg, dragging it. I then gave him reproboost put him in a small tub on a heat mat and left him in peace and prayed ... A lot !! 

Having not let myself disturb him all day I peeked in tonight to find him staring back, bold as brass, licking his lips having eaten some mini mealies, sitting on his little hide in the tub 

He's not out of the woods but he's got fight


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## Jamesah1975 (May 24, 2013)

Well at least you found him, shame he's injured but it could of been a lot worse. Hope he mends quickly.

Have you any idea yet how he escaped?


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## heatherjhenshaw (Jan 30, 2010)

Jamesah1975 said:


> Well at least you found him, shame he's injured but it could of been a lot worse. Hope he mends quickly.
> 
> Have you any idea yet how he escaped?


I can still only think it was through the cable vents, there is literally no other gaps in there, I've blocked them up now, and thrown out all the cricket traps


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## laurencea (Aug 28, 2009)

glad Boo turned up and hope it makes a full recovery.

i came home today to see one of the babies in the big viv, which confused me as they are in a RUB. after much head scratching i realised.... one of the eggs hatched! :no1:

yes, my girl is a mum. Binky is teeny tiny and as soon as flickr has uploaded pics i will post some here.

i've put Binky in a cricket tub and put that in the RUB. mum, Patti was very defensive and prowling around when she saw me. it also explains why she has been very tetchy around the egg laying area... i thought she had laid an egg last night, but now i think she had dug this one out of the sand. there definitely is some parental display going on there.


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## heatherjhenshaw (Jan 30, 2010)

Sorry to say Boo died today, I guess the stress just caught up with the little guy, please learn from my mistake and block up the tiniest of tiny holes....and ditch any cricket traps 

Gutted isn't the word, poor little Bibbity is all on her own now


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## laurencea (Aug 28, 2009)

oh no. i'm really sorry to hear that.


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## Fry (Jul 9, 2012)

I really should stop looking in threads like this... keep changing my mind as to what rep I want to get next. These little guys just moved pretty far up the list :lol2: 
Look awesome.


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## laurencea (Aug 28, 2009)

Fry said:


> I really should stop looking in threads like this... keep changing my mind as to what rep I want to get next. These little guys just moved pretty far up the list :lol2:
> Look awesome.


they are lovely.... you may not want to look at this photo... it's Binky, hatched on sunday...


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## Fry (Jul 9, 2012)

^^
Amazing! Wouldnt even know where to begin caring, or how to pick up, an animal that small.


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## heatherjhenshaw (Jan 30, 2010)

laurencea said:


> they are lovely.... you may not want to look at this photo... it's Binky, hatched on sunday...
> 
> [URL=http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5488/9885955064_2ac6002d3b.jpg]image[/URL]


Adorable


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## heatherjhenshaw (Jan 30, 2010)

Fry said:


> ^^
> Amazing! Wouldnt even know where to begin caring, or how to pick up, an animal that small.


Very very carefully lol


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## Jamesah1975 (May 24, 2013)

heatherjhenshaw said:


> Sorry to say Boo died today, I guess the stress just caught up with the little guy, please learn from my mistake and block up the tiniest of tiny holes....and ditch any cricket traps
> 
> Gutted isn't the word, poor little Bibbity is all on her own now


Gutted for you 



laurencea said:


> they are lovely.... you may not want to look at this photo... it's Binky, hatched on sunday...
> 
> [URL=http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5488/9885955064_2ac6002d3b.jpg]image[/URL]


Congrats, lovely little Viper :flrt:


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## Jamesah1975 (May 24, 2013)

Finally managed to get some half decent pics of my two. They are growing up really nicely :2thumb:


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## laurencea (Aug 28, 2009)

i've put pics of my lot in the picture section - got photos of them all today


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## Jas (Mar 9, 2005)

Thought I would add a couple of pics to the thread to help keep it going!


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## laurencea (Aug 28, 2009)

i love the oversize heads of the hatchlings. when i took pics of my new one the other day i realised the head was the same size as the hatchling that was two weeks old and twice the body size.

i have at least 5 eggs buried by my female, so more to come.


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## Sjames (Apr 8, 2013)

Anyone selling these little ones? Been trying to get my hands on some for a while now.


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## Jamesah1975 (May 24, 2013)

Contact Laza from this parish : victory:

You'll find him in one of the earlier pages of this thread. He breeds them and mine came from him. Excellent quality!


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## Jamesah1975 (May 24, 2013)

Jas said:


> Thought I would add a couple of pics to the thread to help keep it going!
> 
> image
> 
> image


How big are the eggs, can you place an object next to an egg to get a comparative size?


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## Sjames (Apr 8, 2013)

Jamesah1975 said:


> Contact Laza from this parish : victory:
> 
> You'll find him in one of the earlier pages of this thread. He breeds them and mine came from him. Excellent quality!


Thanks. I'll look him up tonight then.


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## Lukosis (Feb 26, 2013)

I imagine this has been mentioned but I cannot find it!
I know there care is essentially the same as leopard geckos but does anyone have a link to a care sheet? What sort of size vivarium are you looking at?


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## Jamesah1975 (May 24, 2013)

From babies up until this weekend, mine are in a large faunarium. Moving into an exo on Sunday.

I keep mine on play sand, plenty of stuff to climb on as they spend more time off the floor than on it, heat mat in the normal place with stat and spot clean every other day.

No need for a water dish, just spray a rock/plant/side of the viv every other day though ive never seen them drink. And I feed them on nu.2 black crickets or smaller nu.3's. Tried them on small dubia's and that was a waste of time :lol2:

Then sit back and enjoy them, they are fascinating to watch hunt, but being nocturnal they don't appear that much in the day, but sometimes bask on there rocks from time to time.

I know its not very comprehensive care sheet, lol, but they are very easy to care for and fun.:2thumb:


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## Jas (Mar 9, 2005)

Jamesah1975 said:


> How big are the eggs, can you place an object next to an egg to get a comparative size?


They are very small eggs, think of a round tic tac, those are grains of sand in the first pic.
Here is a care sheet I wrote a few years ago now.
Viper gecko care sheet


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## laurencea (Aug 28, 2009)

Lukosis said:


> I imagine this has been mentioned but I cannot find it!
> I know there care is essentially the same as leopard geckos but does anyone have a link to a care sheet? What sort of size vivarium are you looking at?


my adults are in a 45x45x30 (small low i think it is called) exo terra. sand as substrate, lots of wood, stones and small habba hut hides. some plants too as they will climb... they quite like ground plants with horizontal leaves, they will lie on those. i have a water bowl - they mainly use that to poo near! heat mat - mine is hooked up to a lucky reptile thermocontrol stat to give a night drop, although i'm not sure then need it. i also have it hooked to a light canopy to simulate daylight - again, not really needed. temps are 32 day, 26 night.

my youngsters are in a 9L RUB; paper substrate and small pieces of wood to hide under. small water bowl (a jar lid) and standard mat/stat.

my adult male is in a 30x30x45 as it was going cheap! same setup as the bigger exo terra.

all also have a moss box, but i've never seen any use it... they do eat their shed skin, so i've only seen a couple of times when the gecko has been in shed and that was because they had 2 heads!

as said, they do like wood and are more likely to bask on it than under. one of my hatchlings does rest clinging to the underside of a piece of cork, i swear it's part bat!

i bought a lovely little gecko hide for the adults, the female uses it to poo in! they do seem to have favourite 'toilet' spots, usually the water bowls or around them - even my hatchlings do this.

food - crickets! sm/med for the adults and small for the juves/hatchlings. i did get some medium silent crickets, but they were HUGE compared to the adults, still ate them, mind. i was quite surprised at the size the juvenile/hatchlings could take, easily handle small silent crickets.

i do have some gecko food and calcium in each enclosure, but not sure if they eat it. some of mine will take mealworms, some refuse, so it's not worth buying them now as even the small ones are too big for juvenile/hatchlings and one half of my bigger clan will eat them.

i found lots of advice online by googling, but also conflicting info. i think once you have the basic setup, see what they like and how they behave.

they are wonderful little things - watching their fingers and toes curl up as they stalk is wonderful. :flrt:


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## laurencea (Aug 28, 2009)

Jas said:


> They are very small eggs, think of a round tic tac, those are grains of sand in the first pic.
> Here is a care sheet I wrote a few years ago now.
> Viper gecko care sheet



^^^^^^^^ this is one of the main ones i used when i first got mine to check everything was ok. :no1:


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## laurencea (Aug 28, 2009)

@Jas i bought 2 youngsters off you at kempton!


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## laurencea (Aug 28, 2009)

just checked on my older ones as the adult female was behaving oddly. i could see some eggs, but didn't know if they were fresh or she had dug up some older ones (as i suspect she does when they are close to hatching)...

i left her as i didn't want to disturb her, but it's been going on for a bit, so i lifetd the hide and she was flat on the sand, slightly twisted with her tail up and legs bent... then she waggled her legs and and egg appeared! she then held it in her feet and seemed to turn it.

i carefully replaced the hide and i will check later.

wow, i've seen an egg being laid! :gasp:


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## laurencea (Aug 28, 2009)

i arrived home last night after going out... a quick viv check revealed the geckos were acting odd.

Mum (Patti) was on the prowl and the 2 sub-adults, Kelly and Cav, were keeping well away. i've seen them do this before, so i had a quick check inside and all looked ok... then i poved a piece of wood and saw only 1 egg when i knew there had been 2 before. then i found the shell.

a search of the viv and no sign of the little one. mum looked anxious, but she would stay in the area of the eggs.

this morning i saw a tiny face through the glass and popped #3 into the nursery (a 9L RUB).


i had hoped the other uncovered egg would have hatched today, but nothing. the other 2 have been allowed back in that area by Patti, so maybe it's not going to hatch.

some observations: 

the eggs that have hatched were near the surface of the sand... it appears that the mum is uncovering them. as i saw the other day, she will move the eggs around when laying new ones, so maybe she knows there is a hatchlng and digs the egg out.

the other geckos in the viv will be as far away from her as possible when a hatchling has arrived. she will also prowl the area near the youngster as if keeping guard.

the youngsters are very good at hiding when they emerge from the egg! that's twice now i've been unable to find one in a 45x45x30 exo-terra.

pics are in the pic area. this new one hasn't got a name as i'm likely to sell it, as much as that breaks my heart.


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## laurencea (Aug 28, 2009)

hatchling number 4 has arrived!

again, mum had uncovered the egg from the sand - i think this is from the same clutch as the hatchling last week as the eggs were next to each other.

oddly, mum allowed one of the other sub-adults to stay close by. i normally find them hiding in the coold side when one has hatched as mum scares them away.

this does mean i will have 2 for sale if they eat ok. happy and sad at that thought.


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## Jamesah1975 (May 24, 2013)

One of my son's Vipers. Getting a really good healthy size now which i'm well chuffed with. Couldn't get the other little bleeder to come out though, lol.


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## laurencea (Aug 28, 2009)

my 5th hatchling arrived over the weekend. the nursery RUB is getting crowded!

my collection now totals 11... some of the hatchlings will go up for sale.


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## heatherjhenshaw (Jan 30, 2010)

I bet the babies are so cute  how old are your adults if you don't mind me asking, my youngsters are fully grown now but obviously still youngsters


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## laurencea (Aug 28, 2009)

heatherjhenshaw said:


> I bet the babies are so cute  how old are your adults if you don't mind me asking, my youngsters are fully grown now but obviously still youngsters


not sure about the adults. i was told that they were at least 8 months when i got them from the shop. the female has grown since, so obviously not quite fully grown at that time. the male seems to be the same as when i got him.

the youngsters are incredibly cute...



that's at a couple of weeks old!


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## heatherjhenshaw (Jan 30, 2010)

Awwwwwwwwwwww soooooo smalllllllll :lol2:


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## GavinMc (Jan 9, 2013)

I thought I should keep this thread going so let me introduce you to my new group of Vipers.

First up is Paul


Tim


Terry


Fred


James


and lastly Jack


Paul and Tim were delivered to me on Tuesday the 10th of December and I picked up Terry, Fred, James and Jack on Wednesday the 18th. Both groups will be housed separately for a good few months and kept in a spare bedroom away from the rest of my collection so I can keep an eye on them. All are eating brilliantly and are an excellent addition to my collection. Hopefully more pics to come in the coming weeks and months but for now I'm just going to let them settle in.


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## laurencea (Aug 28, 2009)

superb additions!

i'm up to 12 now - 6 bought and 6 hatched. had a few setbacks as some of the hatchlings were eaten (the eggs were left in situ). not sure why the change in behaviour as the previous 5 had been fine.

i then had 1 hatch in the royal enclosure (the eggs were in a box, don't panic) and placed the tiny one in the nursery RUB. next day another hatched and when i looked i couldn't find the previous hatchling... but one of the older ones looked very big! this was one of the bought ones and was only about 4 months old and it had eaten the newbie. again, no idea why the change in behaviour.

i now have 3 vivs going and the nursery RUB.

i plan on selling some of the hatchlings.

here's the latest hatchling, still wet from the egg...





and a family photo of all 6 hatchlings...



and the baby... at a few days old


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## GavinMc (Jan 9, 2013)

Lovely pics, how old were your females when they started laying?


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## laurencea (Aug 28, 2009)

gavgav04 said:


> Lovely pics, how old were your females when they started laying?


not sure. the first pair were from a shope (Reptile Kingdom) and they estimated that they were at least 8 months old. she wasn't quite fully grown, but only a little way off. he did seem to be fully grown though.

apparently the males mature faster... i did wonder if this led to the infanticide


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## laurencea (Aug 28, 2009)

another 2 hatchlings! these ones hatched over xmas, so i am a bit worried as they have been in a small tub for a couple of days. gave they a spray with water and popped them in the 'nursery'.

this brings my tally to 8 hatched and 6 bought. good job they are small.


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## laurencea (Aug 28, 2009)

another 2! both found with skin/membrane covering them, so they had only just hatched.

i now have 10 hatchlings and 6 bought... time to sell some hatchlings. if anyone is interested. send me a message.


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## jonnyc1988 (Sep 28, 2013)

YIKES!!! 
seems my viper geckos have just learned how to jump!!! Ive always found them fairly easy to handle until now. just had my male out and he started leaping all over the place. Didnt think they could do this.... I was panicking thinking I could easily lose him. Just got him straight back in the tank! Anyone elses do this?


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## laurencea (Aug 28, 2009)

jonnyc1988 said:


> YIKES!!!
> seems my viper geckos have just learned how to jump!!! Ive always found them fairly easy to handle until now. just had my male out and he started leaping all over the place. Didnt think they could do this.... I was panicking thinking I could easily lose him. Just got him straight back in the tank! Anyone elses do this?


YES! one of my 2nd batch (bought at the Kempton show) jumped off my finger and escaped. it was on the loose for 10 days until i found it again after setting out a heat mat and cork bark as a trap.

some of my haychlings are jumpy too - others not at all. it does seem to be a personal thing. all will jump if they need to, but some will jump when handled and others just relax.

great little things - always a surprise with them!


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## VixxieandTrixxie (Mar 20, 2012)

laurencea said:


> superb additions!
> 
> i'm up to 12 now - 6 bought and 6 hatched. had a few setbacks as some of the hatchlings were eaten (the eggs were left in situ). not sure why the change in behaviour as the previous 5 had been fine.
> 
> ...


Sooooooo cute!!!! :flrt:


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## laurencea (Aug 28, 2009)

VixxieandTrixxie said:


> Sooooooo cute!!!! :flrt:


i have had 10 hatchlings now! the last 2 were both still wet when i found them... and covered with the skin/membrane, so i had just missed them breaking out. ridiculously small things.


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## VixxieandTrixxie (Mar 20, 2012)

laurencea said:


> i have had 10 hatchlings now! the last 2 were both still wet when i found them... and covered with the skin/membrane, so i had just missed them breaking out. ridiculously small things.


Aww but I would be so scared to handle them so small and delicate!!


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## Lord Vetinari (Mar 4, 2011)

My females have laid 2 clutches of duds so far. 

I'm hoping for babies soon though.


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## laurencea (Aug 28, 2009)

VixxieandTrixxie said:


> Aww but I would be so scared to handle them so small and delicate!!


it can be tricky. usually i try and persuade them to climb on my fingertip. otherwise, just leave them or scoop them up with a fake leaf, etc!


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## VixxieandTrixxie (Mar 20, 2012)

laurencea said:


> it can be tricky. usually i try and persuade them to climb on my fingertip. otherwise, just leave them or scoop them up with a fake leaf, etc!


Scoop them with a leaf lol bless em.


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## laurencea (Aug 28, 2009)

Lord Vetinari said:


> My females have laid 2 clutches of duds so far.
> 
> I'm hoping for babies soon though.


you can buy some of mine : victory:

i was pretty amazed my female had viable eggs as she could have only just been breeding age. there are a few eggs left, but i think only 1 might hatch, the rest look like duds.


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## jonnyc1988 (Sep 28, 2013)

How old is she?


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## Beardy Boy97 (Dec 13, 2011)

Has anyone tried feeding them small dubia roaches? I think I would like to get a few of these this year


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## laurencea (Aug 28, 2009)

jonnyc1988 said:


> How old is she?


my female? not sure, got her from a shop and they reckoned around 9 months. she wasn't quite fully grown as she was slightly smaller than the male, but is now bigger.



Beardy Boy97 said:


> Has anyone tried feeding them small dubia roaches? I think I would like to get a few of these this year


nope. i've tried small locusts with varying degrees of success. the female and the 2 others in her viv ate them, but the male and the other (younger) gecko with him barely touched them. think the problem was the slow movement. as my female is a pretty eager hunter she'd go after them and the other 2 would then get the idea.

i have enough problems with crickets escaping, i don't want roaches scuttling about too.

the crickets did a nice harmonising along to a Yo La Tengo cd the other night though. :lol2:


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## Lord Vetinari (Mar 4, 2011)

Yup, I have used roaches, they love em! 

They have to be pretty much the smallest ones you can get though.


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## Beardy Boy97 (Dec 13, 2011)

laurencea said:


> my female? not sure, got her from a shop and they reckoned around 9 months. she wasn't quite fully grown as she was slightly smaller than the male, but is now bigger.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I don't really like having to buy crickets all the time, but I breed dubia so it would be easier if they would eat them


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## Krazykarl (Dec 3, 2011)

Picking 2 of these little guys up on Saturday after a very long search for these little guys my local rep shop had a pair in this weekend and there was no chance I could of left without them. Can't wait to get them home and settled in, as soon as I get chance I'll get a few snaps up on here.


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## Krazykarl (Dec 3, 2011)

I couldn't wait till tomorrow so I picked the little guys up today straight from work I forgot how small they are. Threw a couple of crix and a couple of silkworms in needless to say they lasted seconds. Fascinating little guys I'll get some better snaps once they've settled in 
















Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk


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## laurencea (Aug 28, 2009)

Krazykarl said:


> I couldn't wait till tomorrow so I picked the little guys up today straight from work I forgot how small they are. Threw a couple of crix and a couple of silkworms in needless to say they lasted seconds. Fascinating little guys I'll get some better snaps once they've settled in  image image
> 
> Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk


superb!

i see you have the viper gecko problem - you buy decor and misjudge the size! :2thumb:

good luck with your little ones.


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## Krazykarl (Dec 3, 2011)

I no forgot how tiny they are I've pretty much done nothing but watch them since I got them. So funny watching them hunt crix they really do love a good chomp on small silkworms as well 

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk


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## Krazykarl (Dec 3, 2011)

Couple more snaps of the smaller one around half the size of the other but a real good eater.









Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk


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## laurencea (Aug 28, 2009)

one of my youngsters is really small, i was worried, but i've seen it eating and it's active... guess it's just small! 

someone has contacted me to ask if i still have some available... so maybe my brood will be decreasing - happy sad.


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## heatherjhenshaw (Jan 30, 2010)

Hi Guys I don't post on here too often but I'm hoping you can help, I've run into a few issues incubating my viper gecko eggs, I'm having a devil of a job keeping humidity down and I don't know what to do, I've lost one egg to mould already  and one more doesn't look great. I should say she hid these 2 eggs and I didn't find them straight away so maybe they had a bad start to begin with.... 

This is how I've got them

Poly box incubator with heat mat
Geo containers with the proper official cups.
Hatchrite in the bottom made up as per instructions, then the Geo....then the lid. Small hole in the side to pop the thermometer probe in
Temp is set to 86f

I'm not sure what the actual humidity is as the geos are so small, (I'm used to SIMMS) but I'd say it's about 80%, same as for my dragons! which is perfect for dragon eggs! but not for viper gecko eggs 

Help !!!

Oh mum gecko is doing well, putting weight back on between each clutch and I'm making sure she has loads of calcium. Dad gecko is a little lean at the moment...to busy thinking of spring I guess  

Heather


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## laurencea (Aug 28, 2009)

Hi Heather

i can't really help as most of mine were incubated in the viv - mainly as the mum buried them and i had no idea how long they had been there or if they would hatch or not, so left them.

after some fell victim to cannibalism (possibly from sub-adult males who were not the father) i put some in calci-sand (same as their substrate) in a ceramic dish. put that in a cricket tub and left it in the hot end of my royal's viv (heated by a ceramic) and with a thermometer in the sand to check temps. i had 5 or so hatch that way. the ones that didn't were probably turned by me by accident (some were discovered in the sand when cleaning and disturbed) and the last few were very small and looked duff from the start.

i've since obtained a small 'fridge' that also heats and may use that if there is a lot of egg laying to come. as i've moved the male out into another viv and i'm still not sure of the sex of any of the others i have no idea who will breed, probably until they are old enough to!


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## Krazykarl (Dec 3, 2011)

A quick question guys I picked another female up and to my suprise she laid eggs at the start of the week there currently in the incubator and seem to be doing fine, but when they hatch what's best to keep them in I'm thinking a 3l Braplast Box 245x185x75mm and building a small rack to keep them in would this be ok or something bigger?


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## Krazykarl (Dec 3, 2011)

Quick question ive now got 6 eggs the first lot are due to hatch next week fingers crossed, but I just want to check if my eggs are ok 4 of them have a reddish hue to them which I'm assuming are healty and just blood vessels giving of the colour. But the other 2 second lot layed have gone slightly yellow half way down and have no other pigment are thease bad or should I give them longer???


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## GavinMc (Jan 9, 2013)

Krazykarl said:


> Quick question ive now got 6 eggs the first lot are due to hatch next week fingers crossed, but I just want to check if my eggs are ok 4 of them have a reddish hue to them which I'm assuming are healty and just blood vessels giving of the colour. But the other 2 second lot layed have gone slightly yellow half way down and have no other pigment are thease bad or should I give them longer???


The second lot are probably duds but I have incubated what I have thought were duds and they proved me wrong. 


While I'm here I may as well post some new pics of my new arrivals.


Checked the incubators about 2 hours ago and found these two. I had a feeling they were coming today so checked every 15-20mins after I got home and missed this pair hatching. These have been removed and will join the rest of the hatchlings tomorrow.





























Yes that is a burnt, shrivelled up little cricket in the second photo, god knows how it got there but it did.


This was the first out.










#2










#1 and #2






























Then there were four.




















This little one is by far my favourite, the markings on his head are lovely.






























I think that should be enough pics for now. until the other 20 or so pop out. Also ignore the crooked fingers.


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## TWreptiles (Dec 21, 2011)

gavgav04 said:


> The second lot are probably duds but I have incubated what I have thought were duds and they proved me wrong.
> 
> 
> While I'm here I may as well post some new pics of my new arrivals.
> ...


how much will you be selling these for? i have a 60Lx45Dx45H exo terra heated with a ceramic and has all decoration everything ready to go for a group :2thumb: (p.s. how many would you house in that size setup? i was thinking between 3 and 5 but 5 sounds a bit many)


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## HforHERP (Feb 12, 2013)

Would love to pick up a group (1 male 2-3 females) , anyone know where I could find someone with this sort of group available? And I know this sounds stupid but, Would a 36 inch tank be too big? They seem tiny!


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## GavinMc (Jan 9, 2013)

TWreptiles said:


> how much will you be selling these for? i have a 60Lx45Dx45H exo terra heated with a ceramic and has all decoration everything ready to go for a group :2thumb: (p.s. how many would you house in that size setup? i was thinking between 3 and 5 but 5 sounds a bit many)


I would think about the £35-£40 mark but I'm not 100% sure.

I think that should be enough for five, but I have my groups of 4(1:3) in 3'x18"x18". I just like giving as much space as possible. I do have a new group of 4 females in quarantine, in a small VivExotic with internal dimensions of 55x35x40(roughly) and there does look like there is plenty of space, but I would advise a group of four as I feel 3 is too little(if you want a male as it puts too much strain on females IMO) and 5 as you said might be pushing it. The thing is you have a floor space of 3sq ft and most people give a Leo which is much larger a sq ft less.





HforHERP said:


> Would love to pick up a group (1 male 2-3 females) , anyone know where I could find someone with this sort of group available? And I know this sounds stupid but, Would a 36 inch tank be too big? They seem tiny!


I could possibly have a group of that size and ratio but they won't be ready for 2-3months but there does seem to be quite a few about. Have you checked the classifieds?

As above I would recommend at least 3 females, however I have seen pairs kept successfully. If you have enough cover for them a 3ft viv/tank will be perfect for them. I give a mixture of rocks, wood and plants while using no shop bought hides for my adults as they all seem a tad large.


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## HforHERP (Feb 12, 2013)

gavgav04 said:


> I could possibly have a group of that size and ratio but they won't be ready for 2-3months but there does seem to be quite a few about. Have you checked the classifieds?
> 
> As above I would recommend at least 3 females, however I have seen pairs kept successfully. If you have enough cover for them a 3ft viv/tank will be perfect for them. I give a mixture of rocks, wood and plants while using no shop bought hides for my adults as they all seem a tad large.


2-3 months is literally perfect for me, gives me enough time to get the tank sorted, temps perfected and to do even more research! I only asked about the 3ft because I have two vivs spare, a 3ft and a 4ft. So they would probably end up in the 4ft tank. It would be amazing if you could sell me a 1.3 group in a few months time :2thumb:

Ah just noticed you're in Scotland haha... Do you ship animals by any chance, or strictly collection? :/


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## TWreptiles (Dec 21, 2011)

4 sounds decent, i have plenty of hides, stacked rocks and broken plant pots, climbable background with loads of twigs to climb on, driftwood and this massive root system thing that i dug out of the garden .

main thought for 5 was that if i had less i might not see them :lol2: but they seem very active so 4 should be good


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## GavinMc (Jan 9, 2013)

HforHERP said:


> 2-3 months is literally perfect for me, gives me enough time to get the tank sorted, temps perfected and to do even more research! I only asked about the 3ft because I have two vivs spare, a 3ft and a 4ft. So they would probably end up in the 4ft tank. It would be amazing if you could sell me a 1.3 group in a few months time :2thumb:
> 
> Ah just noticed you're in Scotland haha... Do you ship animals by any chance, or strictly collection? :/


I had 2 of my groups couriered to me one as adults and the other as juveniles and they both arrived in perfect condition so if you wanted to have them couriered I would be happy to send them. 

To be honest either the 3' or 4' would be fine, the main thing is having enough cover for them to feel secure. Although they can be pretty bold characters( one of my new females went for me at feeding time last night ), they can be skittish but then I suppose most living things are like that. Also, something to consider might be a cooling off period for the females( and male ). I remove the male every two months, for two months, and allow both sexes to have a bit of a rest. Even though the females continue to lay through out this period I feel it is beneficial for them.



TWreptiles said:


> 4 sounds decent, i have plenty of hides, stacked rocks and broken plant pots, climbable background with loads of twigs to climb on, driftwood and this massive root system thing that i dug out of the garden .
> 
> main thought for 5 was that if i had less i might not see them :lol2: but they seem very active so 4 should be good


They are pretty active and incredible hunters, leaping a good few inches from rocks and branches onto their prey. I love feeding them Turkestan Roaches as they can chase them for 15-20mins and be so close when another gecko pops it's head out and nabs it( people say they don't feel emotion, but they certainly do get p:censor:d off). I have plenty of hiding places for them and I do see them nearly every night out exploring.


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## TWreptiles (Dec 21, 2011)

gavgav04 said:


> I had 2 of my groups couriered to me one as adults and the other as juveniles and they both arrived in perfect condition so if you wanted to have them couriered I would be happy to send them.
> 
> To be honest either the 3' or 4' would be fine, the main thing is having enough cover for them to feel secure. Although they can be pretty bold characters( one of my new females went for me at feeding time last night ), they can be skittish but then I suppose most living things are like that. Also, something to consider might be a cooling off period for the females( and male ). I remove the male every two months, for two months, and allow both sexes to have a bit of a rest. Even though the females continue to lay through out this period I feel it is beneficial for them.
> 
> ...


i want to make light traps and do sweep netting so i can get a wide range of natural insect to make a change from the usual crickets as well, great enrichment and natural insects would surely have a higher nutritional value compared to crickets. turks look great, need to start up a colony for my leos, they seem relatively quick to start up a colony, well quicker than dubias :lol2:


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## GavinMc (Jan 9, 2013)

TWreptiles said:


> i want to make light traps and do sweep netting so i can get a wide range of natural insect to make a change from the usual crickets as well, great enrichment and natural insects would surely have a higher nutritional value compared to crickets. turks look great, need to start up a colony for my leos, they seem relatively quick to start up a colony, well quicker than dubias :lol2:


I collect insects from outside a few time a year just to add some variety. Feed things like wax moths, woodlice, grasshoppers, ants and my favourite damselflies( so pretty but yet so yummy ).


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## HforHERP (Feb 12, 2013)

gavgav04 said:


> I had 2 of my groups couriered to me one as adults and the other as juveniles and they both arrived in perfect condition so if you wanted to have them couriered I would be happy to send them.
> 
> To be honest either the 3' or 4' would be fine, the main thing is having enough cover for them to feel secure. Although they can be pretty bold characters( one of my new females went for me at feeding time last night ), they can be skittish but then I suppose most living things are like that. Also, something to consider might be a cooling off period for the females( and male ). I remove the male every two months, for two months, and allow both sexes to have a bit of a rest. Even though the females continue to lay through out this period I feel it is beneficial for them.


Yeah I have no problem with a courier. As for separating, I planned to separate them over winter, so like November - late February, but your method of regular rest periods sounds like it will be more beneficial to them. Setting up a vivarium with lots of hides shouldn't be difficult for me, my garden is basically a forest so I have a huge selection of wood, logs, rocks and natural hides, and I guess i'll throw in some plant pot hides and a few exo terra hides I have lying around for good measure :2thumb:


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## laurencea (Aug 28, 2009)

ahhh, the thread wakes from the dead!

i still have a couple for sale, about 6 months old now.

good to see little ones again, i'd forgotten how small they are. magnificent little things.

i have 4 in a medium exo-terra and still have trouble finding them. that would seem a good number though. some prefer to have their own little patch, others hang out together - they are odd critters.

the last surving hatchling i had is still small and i worried about it, but it eats fine and looks good - just a lot smaller than it should be. that one is staying with me.

lovely to see more people interested in these geckos, just because they don't come in pretty colours doesn't mean they aren't amazing animals.


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## HforHERP (Feb 12, 2013)

laurencea said:


> ahhh, the thread wakes from the dead!
> 
> i still have a couple for sale, about 6 months old now.
> 
> ...


I'm tempted to maybe even go to a 1.4 group because of how much space they will have, the only thing putting me off is if they all start producing fertile eggs at once, space will definitely be tight :lol2:


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## Krazykarl (Dec 3, 2011)

Good news checked the incubator when i got home and found these 











 well happy


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## Krazykarl (Dec 3, 2011)

Quick question again guys just got in from work and to more hatchlings are here but one apperes to have shed on its legs and tail it can only be a matter of hours old is this normal and is there anything i can do to help get it off


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## GavinMc (Jan 9, 2013)

Krazykarl said:


> Quick question again guys just got in from work and to more hatchlings are here but one apperes to have shed on its legs and tail it can only be a matter of hours old is this normal and is there anything i can do to help get it off


All my hatchlings shed within a few hours of hatching. I would just leave it and let it remove the shed on it's own.


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## Krazykarl (Dec 3, 2011)

Thanks for the speedy reply just checked on it again and its all gone. Was just a bit worried still cant belive how small they are when they hatch


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## GavinMc (Jan 9, 2013)

Krazykarl said:


> Thanks for the speedy reply just checked on it again and its all gone. Was just a bit worried still cant belive how small they are when they hatch


No problem, just make sure their feet are clear as the first shed seems to be the worst for being retained. They are tiny little guys and at times so frustrating to deal with purely because of their size. It honestly took me just under an hour to get one out of the incubator. Also there are little blighters for getting into almost unnoticeable places, I was sure I had an escape but after 2 hours of lying on the floor checking every inch of the rep room I found it curled up in a tiny hole in the driftwood. 

How many have you got at the moment and have you had any problems?


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## Krazykarl (Dec 3, 2011)

Got 4 at the moment and another 5 eggs in the incubator i lost 2 eggs, and my female has a habbit of laying eggs in a spiny cactus plant thing which makes retriving eggs almost impossible and broke one retrieving it

I no what you mean by frustrating, one of the first hatchlings makes a bid for freedom every time i open there rub, and as for getting them out of the incubator dont even get me started. But i wouldn't change them brilliant little characters.


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## GavinMc (Jan 9, 2013)

Haha, well thankfully my females are all happy laying in the nesting areas I made for them so I have no issues there. Good luck with the other 5.


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## michaelc398 (Jul 23, 2013)

*2 available*

Anyone interested in these I have 2 young vipers available at the moment looking for around £40 each


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