Crestie Eggs Always Failing.

[George1994]

Hello all,

Been away a long time! Good to be back posting.

Me and my missus have been trying to breed some cresties for a while now. The female has laid quite a few eggs for us now, and most have made it to quite a late stage before going bad! We haven't had a single egg get through to hatching and it is quite upsetting. We have no idea what could be going wrong. The eggs are found early, as the vivarium is checked daily for them, the eggs are not turned over, the eggs are kept in an incubator, in a tub of vermiculite and the temps are checked and are correct.

Could there be a problem with the geckos themselves? Neither male or female is a proven breeder and I believe this to be their first season of even trying. We have now stopped her from producing eggs so she can have a break and recover. Could it be down to their time? Or maybe one of them isn't going to be able to provide viable eggs?

Do you lot think it is worth trying with out other female gecko, who is a proven breeder?

Thank you.

George.

[George1994]

Oh, also the male has gotten INCREDIBLY aggressive since breeding, even long after separation from the female. Any time anyone puts their hand in the viv to do anything, he will go out of his way to bite them. Of course it isn't a problem for us, it doesn't hurt, I was just wondering if this was a common thing to have happen to the males?

Cheers again.

[butterballpython]

What is the temperature of the incubator, and how humid is it? In general, you can usually expect a smaller number of viable eggs from first time breeders.

You might try another substrate for your incubator. I prefer perlite that's been wetted down and then squeezed until all the water possible is removed, and possibly even left to sit. You want it to be just damp enough to hold together, not too wet or too dry. If you go this route, be sure the perlite doesn't have any additives for fertilizing plants. I use Gro-Well brand perlite. It's available at nurseries. Some people swear by Hatch Rite or Hatch It, but I've had poor luck with those.

What kind of incubator are you using? A commercial one or one you made yourself? If it's a home-made one, does it have air holes, or are you opening it to permit air exchange?

The Pangea forums is the best place to get help with cresties. I used to be very active there.

For what it's worth, I have a male like that, too. He's a beautiful home-bred red harley with plenty of white markings but he imagines himself to be a Tokay gecko. He bites me on a regular basis. Fortunately, their teeth are pretty tiny. One of his offspring has the same personality, and, of course, that would happen to be the nicest looking one, the one I plan to keep. She gaped at me three times in the first minute or so right after hatching, so she's named Tokey.

[George1994]

What is the temperature of the incubator, and how humid is it? In general, you can usually expect a smaller number of viable eggs from first time breeders.

You might try another substrate for your incubator. I prefer perlite that's been wetted down and then squeezed until all the water possible is removed, and possibly even left to sit. You want it to be just damp enough to hold together, not too wet or too dry. If you go this route, be sure the perlite doesn't have any additives for fertilizing plants. I use Gro-Well brand perlite. It's available at nurseries. Some people swear by Hatch Rite or Hatch It, but I've had poor luck with those.

What kind of incubator are you using? A commercial one or one you made yourself? If it's a home-made one, does it have air holes, or are you opening it to permit air exchange?

The Pangea forums is the best place to get help with cresties. I used to be very active there.

For what it's worth, I have a male like that, too. He's a beautiful home-bred red harley with plenty of white markings but he imagines himself to be a Tokay gecko. He bites me on a regular basis. Fortunately, their teeth are pretty tiny. One of his offspring has the same personality, and, of course, that would happen to be the nicest looking one, the one I plan to keep. She gaped at me three times in the first minute or so right after hatching, so she's named Tokey.

Hey, thank you for the quick response!

The incubator was set at 74F, it isn't in use now as we have no more eggs and she has stopped laying. I know that first time breeders would offer fewer viable eggs, but out of the 12 or so we got, not a single one made it the whole way. Some got very close, only a week away from the time they should be hatching but none made it!

Next time I will probably use a different substrate for it then, maybe try a few as I am likely to try both females with the male when they are ready!

I believe the incubator we used was this one... http://www.888reptiles.co.uk/8857.html. If not that exact one, it is one very similar! And yes, the door was opened regularly to allow transfer of air.

Maybe it was just due to them both being first season breeders. Hopefully next season it will be a different story and we will produce lots of Gecko babies!

Once again, cheers for the response and the food for thought.

[butterballpython]

I've never seen that incubator before and can't comment on it. None of them making it doesn't sound right. You should have had some if not most of them hatch. Your temperature is good. Cresties need a humid environment, but you probably already have that.

My incubators are nothing more than plastic tubs with holes poked in the lid with a large needle. They work very well.

Other than checking on their diet, I don't have any other ideas at this time.

[George1994]

Yeah that is what I thought, for now all I can do is chalk it up to them being first timers really. I know that females can have a hard time their first season, not sure if males can though.

Next season I will make 100% certain that everything is perfect, I tried that this year though, so trying not to get disheartened about it, you always feel that you have made a mistake somehow! Ugh. Fingers crossed it all goes to plan in the future. I will keep you all updated anyway!

Thank you,

George.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Do they even candle or do they die during incubation, I'll be honest I NEVER used an incubator for Cresties, I just incubate at room temps in deli cups with a egg tray in the cup.

Sure there could be issue with the geckos if the eggs do not candle right, male fertility issue or female.

What is the background on those animals? Did you raise them, bought them as adult?

[George1994]

Do they even candle or do they die during incubation, I'll be honest I NEVER used an incubator for Cresties, I just incubate at room temps in deli cups with a egg tray in the cup.

Sure there could be issue with the geckos if the eggs do not candle right, male fertility issue or female.

What is the background on those animals? Did you raise them, bought them as adult?

Hiya Deborah.

Yeah, all eggs were quickly candles to check they were fertile. All the ones which were viable were promptly put in the incubator.

I might try some out of the incubator next season then. Do you maintain a constant room temperature and monitor it or is comfortable for a human good for them?

No background on them, they were both adults when purchased, but as I mentioned neither were bred before. My female, the one I've not tried to have eggs with yet is a proven breeder so will see what happens when I give her a shot.

Thank you for the reply!

Sent from my EVA-L09 using Tapatalk

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Hiya Deborah.

Yeah, all eggs were quickly candles to check they were fertile. All the ones which were viable were promptly put in the incubator.

I might try some out of the incubator next season then. Do you maintain a constant room temperature and monitor it or is comfortable for a human good for them?

No background on them, they were both adults when purchased, but as I mentioned neither were bred before. My female, the one I've not tried to have eggs with yet is a proven breeder so will see what happens when I give her a shot.

Thank you for the reply!

Sent from my EVA-L09 using Tapatalk

The temperture usually fluctuate between

Hiya Deborah.

Yeah, all eggs were quickly candles to check they were fertile. All the ones which were viable were promptly put in the incubator.

I might try some out of the incubator next season then. Do you maintain a constant room temperature and monitor it or is comfortable for a human good for them?

No background on them, they were both adults when purchased, but as I mentioned neither were bred before. My female, the one I've not tried to have eggs with yet is a proven breeder so will see what happens when I give her a shot.

Thank you for the reply!

Sent from my EVA-L09 using Tapatalk

The temperture usually fluctuate between 70 to 75 in the spot where they are located depending on the season so depending on the time of the year I have to wait a little longer than usual.

Eggs can be successfully incubated anywhere between 69 to 80, I am not a fan incubating those guys at higher temps.

The strange thing to me in your case is that they candle right but sometimes during incubation something happens. Sure every now and than you will have an egg does not hatch but all of them that's a lot.

At this point I would make sure that the incubation method is correct, make sure it's not to dry but at the same time not to humid especially if your eggs are in direct contact with your medium.

After that it will be about trying the male with another female and vice versa.




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[George1994]

Thank you for the information Deborah, I will try a few different methods in the future and take everything on board. Been a great help!