my female leo just layed her 3rd clutch of eggs, and soo far i have been un successful hatching any, they always end up caving in, get moldy, or dry out, they die before they get a chance.first, is it okay that the eggs are covered in a light layer of sand once i put them in vermiculite? or do they need to be cleaned? and second, i have the container, with the eggs 1 inch appart in vermiculite ( moist enough to pack a quot;snow ballquot;) and i was wondering what a sufficient amount of heat would be... can i leave them under a heat lamp of 100W? is that too hot? and do i have to continously keep them moist? how long will the vermiculite stay moist for before i need to moisten it again?HELP ima huge newb at this stuff and i really want to keep these ones alive this time!
I can't help with the problems with incubation, however one thing I would say is that when they are born keep them under a UV lamp. The vet I go to says despite the fact they are nocturnal, in the wild they still get loads of light, just like we are exposed to the dark, therefore they need UV light. There are countless cases of geckos with metabolic bone disease simply because they haven't had the UV they need. The food needs to be sprinkled with calcium dust which can only be metabolised if UV is present. Use a small amount of this on the food, just rub them in it and it'll stick! For food, try very small crickets bought from a pet shop. Rule of the thumb is no bigger than the space between their eyes, but dont worry if they dont eat as soon as they are born. Personally, I would use a heat mat to keep them warm when born, just under the substrate. Keep them on kitchen roll.
Tim is incorrect. Leopard geckos do not need UVB lights. To answer your questions, you want the vermiculite to say moist and the eggs to be kept at a high humidity. The less holes in the container you have the eggs in, the more constant the humidity will remain. Normally you'll see condensation in the sides of the container. If not, add water, and also add water if the eggs start collapsing. Keep the temperature constant. 86 degrees will give you both males and females. I incubate leopard gecko eggs at 80 degrees if I want females and 90 degrees if I want males. I personally keep babies separate after they hatch and keep them in 6 quart Sterilite containers in a rack system heated with heat tape. You'll feed the babies every day or every other day. Give them small crickets and occasionally small mealworms. Dust the food in calcium every other feeding or so.
