Crested Gecko Laying Eggs

I was by far an expectant mommy. Another female crested gecko decided to lay today. I caught her with her head and shoulders buried, and I had to take a second glance.

Pictures from a few days ago.



I found her with her head buried. I'm not sure how long she was like this, but she sat like this for another 5-10 minutes longer.


Fully burried.


After about 30 minutes give or take. Her head emerged on the other side of the lay box. She went swimming in the dirt. ;-)


Then another hour:


And about 4 hours from the start when I found her. I find these little boogers.


I have 4 crested gecko eggs in the incubator, which is set at 77-78F. I hope for rested gecko hatchlings within 2 months, give or take.

Crested Gecko Eggs

We have found our very first of all time clutch of crested gecko eggs. Unfortunately, they were not fertile. But, it gives us hope that we will have crested gecko hatchlings in the near future.

Also, an update on the first clutch of leopard gecko eggs. They were dudes. Sweating from the indise out. But, again, hope for the current breeding season. We should have SHTCTBs, Tangerines, Blazing Blizzards, Tremper albinos, and maybe a few Bell albinos and hets.

I currently have 5, maybe 6, gravid females, one of which has started her season.

Crested Gecko Breeders

Crested geckos are one of the best beginner reptiles because of their docile temperaments and ease of housing in captivity.

They are a part of the Rhacodactylus group, which means like other species in this group, in the wild they primarily eat fruits. But, in captivity, they eat a special meal replacement diet. You can purchase larger quantities at Pangea Reptile. But, if you have a fewer number of geckos, one small bottle will suffice for a month, give or take. You can purchase smaller quantities of the meal replacement various pet stores or online. You can find a link to the Crested Gecko Diet, to the right of this page.



So, maybe you're interested in owning a crested gecko... Where can you find one?

Pet Stores

Breeders

Remember that with purchasing any animal from a pet store, whether it be a large commercial pet store, such as PetCo, Petsmart, or Pet Land, or a small "mom and pop" pet store, there are different things that you must consider. You really don't know where they got the animals, the breeding behind the animals, or the true care. You don't even know if the employees truly know how to take care for hte animals. And, these concerns apply for any animal ranging from hamsters, guinea pigs, fish, dogs, cats, and reptiles.

You may want to check out Buying Retail Reptiles before you purchase from a pet store.



The other alternative is a breeder. Breeders know how to care for the animal in question, they know the proper diets and husbandry requirements. Breeders know their animals.

When purchasing from a breeder, you must consider the price will be cheaper than at a petstore, for the same quality or better animal, but at the same time, you may have to pay more for shipping costs.

If you don't want to pay from shipping, you can ask around reptile forums for breeders in your area or attend reptile shows in you area.

When purchasing from breeders, you tend to have a larger selection of morphs (colors and patterns) to choose from, versus maybe one or two that the pet store has.

And, crested geckos come in a wide variety of colors and patterns. Because the species is relatively new to the pet market, they have a wide range of morphs still coming out daily.

Currently, you can find:

Patternless

Buckskin

Pinstripe

Flame

Harlequin

Dalmatian

Super Dalmatian

Red

Cream/Blonde

And a variety of mixes of the above morphs.

Male Crested Gecko

I have recently purchased a gorgeous harlequin male. He's somewhat hard to explain- dark body, very gold back and gold harlequined sides. His entire back rigde is gold, somewhat pinstriped, but not. Well, we'll see. I'll post a picture once he gets here on Thursday. I'm still in need of two more females, preferrably a pinstripe and another harlequin.

Here is my current female enclosure. It's a 66 quart sterlite tub. The lid is cut in the middle and replaced with screen. Simplisitic enclosure.



I still have one female crested gecko available.