About 2 months ago, my roommate bought a female Leopard Gecko to put in with my female. I've been told by a couple enthusiasts and read online that you can put females together in a single tank.
Well, come to find out my female is actually a male. At first, I mistook the mating ritual for signs of intimidation or dominance towards the new female, until I saw the actual coupling.
Crap. I wasn't meaning or even intending to breed Leopard Geckos. I separated them right after that first and only coupling, got another tank set up, and put the real female in her new enclosure.
A couple weeks later, my roommate is moistening/stirring the substrate in her humidity box and he finds eggs. I help him throw together a quick "incubator," which is just some plain vermiculite in a tall deli container kept over the heat pad side of the female's tank.
Those eggs either weren't fertile or died because after a month they looked yellow when candled. I removed them, cut one open, and it was actually hollow with what looked like little white mites inside. During this month, she actually laid another pair which shriveled before I could get to them.
Last night, my roommate mentions that she's looking a little egg-y again. I wake up this morning to two white eggs laid ON THE FLOOR of her tank, directly on the Eco Carpet, in two separate locations
. I they laid eggs side-by-side against a wall so they wouldn't roll around. Quickly, I throw together another jimmy-rigged incubator, and text my roommate that he may want to bake some vermiculite to sterilize it to limit the possibility of more mites. A quick candling and the eggs glow yellow, but I think it's too early to determine the viability.
I make sure he keeps her calcium dish filled and I feed her an extra superworm (Zophobas morio) when she'll take it to make sure she stays healthy.
I doubt with just a single coupling between two inexperienced geckos that any of her eggs will be viable, but we'll still treat them as such until confirmation is made. I hope, for her sake, that she doesn't lay too many more pairs, but I've read that they can lay several pairs from a single mating with one report stating 11 total pairs
Just wanted to share my experience. If anyone wants to provide input or share their own experience, go for it
Well, come to find out my female is actually a male. At first, I mistook the mating ritual for signs of intimidation or dominance towards the new female, until I saw the actual coupling.
Crap. I wasn't meaning or even intending to breed Leopard Geckos. I separated them right after that first and only coupling, got another tank set up, and put the real female in her new enclosure.
A couple weeks later, my roommate is moistening/stirring the substrate in her humidity box and he finds eggs. I help him throw together a quick "incubator," which is just some plain vermiculite in a tall deli container kept over the heat pad side of the female's tank.
Those eggs either weren't fertile or died because after a month they looked yellow when candled. I removed them, cut one open, and it was actually hollow with what looked like little white mites inside. During this month, she actually laid another pair which shriveled before I could get to them.
Last night, my roommate mentions that she's looking a little egg-y again. I wake up this morning to two white eggs laid ON THE FLOOR of her tank, directly on the Eco Carpet, in two separate locations
. I they laid eggs side-by-side against a wall so they wouldn't roll around. Quickly, I throw together another jimmy-rigged incubator, and text my roommate that he may want to bake some vermiculite to sterilize it to limit the possibility of more mites. A quick candling and the eggs glow yellow, but I think it's too early to determine the viability.I make sure he keeps her calcium dish filled and I feed her an extra superworm (Zophobas morio) when she'll take it to make sure she stays healthy.
I doubt with just a single coupling between two inexperienced geckos that any of her eggs will be viable, but we'll still treat them as such until confirmation is made. I hope, for her sake, that she doesn't lay too many more pairs, but I've read that they can lay several pairs from a single mating with one report stating 11 total pairs
Just wanted to share my experience. If anyone wants to provide input or share their own experience, go for it