Anyone else breeding Lygodactylus williamsi?

Jerm · #1 (**permalink**) 09-23-2009, 05:39 PM

I currently have a trio and one female looks like she is getting ready to pop. Just curious if anyone else on here is attempting to breed these guys. I wanted to exchange info on temps and food for them. Also dealing with the glued eggs issue, what methods are being used to incubate. I am currently feeding dusted fruitflies, dusted crickets a couple of times a week, and a mixture of fruit baby food plain yogurt and honey daily. I give them a basking spot of around 85 F with the rest of the tank around 78 F. I have a trio in a 30 gallon planted tank. I want to add bamboo in hopes that they might lay their eggs inside and I can remove them.

Petersi · #2 (**permalink**) 09-23-2009, 05:58 PM

Ask Josh from josh's frogs i think he has been breeding them lately. I saw some mini geckos at his shop.

rollinkansas · #3 (**permalink**) 09-23-2009, 06:06 PM

You can incubate in-situ. Just take a plastic drinking cup, poke some holes in it and tape it over the eggs. When the gecko hatches, itll be confined to the cup and you can take it out safely...or you can just leave it wherever she drops and pull the babies when you see them.

hexentanz · #4 (**permalink**) 09-23-2009, 09:32 PM

I do not breed the williamsi yet, but I am working with the kimhowelli which are similar in laying.

I know some people have great success with placing one or two sheets of newspaper rolled within a bamboo tube. Once the eggs are laid you can safely remove the sheets with the eggs attached and then cut the paper down.

I have done this with my tubes in the hopes the female chooses the tubes over a piece of bark.

Eggs should be incubated around 26 to 30 degrees Celsius.

Also be careful with giving the fruit,honey, etc daily. The geckos will eventually get too fat and can get a condition where their tails become too heavy to hold properly (drop tail). Usually these mixes are provided once weekly or monthly as a treat.

Growing babies can have these mixtures a little more though.

porkchop48 · #5 (**permalink**) 09-23-2009, 10:02 PM

DAng i wish that was the case with mine.

They manage to lay their eggs clear at the bottom of a bamboo tube. Stuck to the bottom rounded part of it. I have no clue how to get them out. Not a clue.

I dont even know how to protect them from the parents should they hatch in the tank

hexentanz · #6 (**permalink**) 09-23-2009, 10:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by porkchop48

DAng i wish that was the case with mine.

They manage to lay their eggs clear at the bottom of a bamboo tube. Stuck to the bottom rounded part of it. I have no clue how to get them out. Not a clue.

I dont even know how to protect them from the parents should they hatch in the tank

Use some fine mesh screen for mosquito's :P slap it over the tube with some rubber band and tilt the tube towards eye view, so you can notice when they hatch.

*edit

orrrrr! get a cricket box container or deli cup and cut out a section to fit over the tube.

Jerm · #7 (**permalink**) 09-24-2009, 01:57 AM

Thanks for the replies guys.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hexentanz

Also be careful with giving the fruit,honey, etc daily. The geckos will eventually get too fat and can get a condition where their tails become too heavy to hold properly (drop tail). Usually these mixes are provided once weekly or monthly as a treat.

Growing babies can have these mixtures a little more though.

I didn't realize this, thanks for the info. So my female that is big may just be overweight instead of being gravid? Here is a pic of her. Another issue that I have is I have been treating for mites and have gotten rid of some of them but there are still a few. In this pic, you can see one near her eye. I thought that she was gravid so I wanted to wait until she laid her eggs before I treated her. I still don't know how I am going to get rid of that on though. Any suggestions?

Also, I thought about putting paper towel tubes in there and if they lay in them I could just cut the tube down and get them out. Do you think that this would work? The only thing that I worry about is the humidity making the tube soggy.

Corpus Callosum · #8 (**permalink**) 09-24-2009, 03:46 AM

My female is usually larger than that when she's gravid (you can see the egg outlines on her belly).

rollinkansas · #9 (**permalink**) 09-24-2009, 03:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jerm

Thanks for the replies guys.
I didn't realize this, thanks for the info. So my female that is big may just be overweight instead of being gravid?.

If you get a picture from the underside, the answer will be 100% clear.

hexentanz · #10 (**permalink**) 09-24-2009, 07:52 AM

I agree a clear view of her underside will give you a better idea if she is gravid or not. She does look a little plump so it may just be she is. You can find quite a few gravid lygo female pics via google to compare.

With regards to the mites, you can usually free these by taking a q-tip that has been dipped in a tiny amount of veggie oil (small drop) and rubbing it over the mite. This will suffocate the mite. Avoid temptation to be too liberal with the oil should it not come free the first time around or you will also suffocate the gecko.

I have heard of others using the cardboard tube method will no ill effects. When the time comes to take it out just also cut enough off to lightly surround the eggs as well. You can also place the eggs on top of a film can cap for extra protection.

Here is what I do to incubate eggs. Got Eggs? by `hexentanz on deviantART (the pins protect against the eggs shifting should I absolutely have to move them)