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Breeding groups: How many females can i put with my male? 

5/11/2013

2 Comments

 
PictureThis is a sterlite 50 qt modified into a love nest for 2. It is large enough for 3.
Breeders have different opinions about pairing crested geckos. Some leave them in 1:3 groups, others 1:2 and 1:1 and still others only leave the male in long enough to do his job and then separate them. My personal choice (and I am running 1.1 and 1.2's right now) is to have a 1.1. Tracking the genetics is important to me and I like to know who mom is. But with a 1.2 I like the fact that it saves space, also I think that it gives the girls some relief from the male. I leave in older males because they usually don't lose weight or cause their partners to either, but remove the younger males because they are more likely to get into a prolapse situation, drive the girls crazy, and keep them from laying on a regular schedule by wanting to mate every time the girl heads for the nest box. But if the girls get along then I leave them together. I have certain girls who can only live with a male and certain girls who can't live with anyone, so that makes a difference too. 


Bottom line: You can breed in any of those combinations. But you have to make sure you have girls who won't fight each other, plenty of space, food and hides for each of the geckos, plenty of nest boxes. Overcrowding can cause excessive stress and fighting and will lead to illness. Then you need to be willing to live with "mystery moms" or else watch daily to see who is in the nest box. You particularly need to keep an eye the health of everyone in the box, the male to make sure he isn't losing too much weight, the females for the same reason, both to make sure that neither one is getting beat up too much (some wear and tear is normal, you might see missing crests particularly, but you shouldn't see bleeding cresties), and watch the females for egg binding and the males for prolapse. Group size depends on the personalities of the cresties involved and what you need in order to meet your space and breeding goals. Just remember: the health of the geckos should always come first. 


2 Comments

How wet is too wet for my cage?

5/10/2013

0 Comments

 
A crested gecko cage specifically, and most of the nocturnal geckos we raise in general, should be at 90% humidity at least ONCE a day. It should not stay that high but fall to around 30-40%. So misting once is usually enough in most climates. This will vary depending on extremes in humidity. For example, winter in most areas of the US is dry outside, and particularly dry inside since we have the heater and fires running to keep us warm. Indoor humidity can fall as low as 18%. You may find that to keep your humidity at rainforest levels that you need to increase your misting to twice a day or even install an automated mister or fogger. If you are in a dry desert climate the same can apply all year round. Installing a moist hide and/or a large shallow water dish is also a good idea if your enclosure runs dry on a regular basis. Your gecko can choose the moist environment if it needs to shed or is uncomfortable. If you are in a humid climate during the summer months on the other hand, you may find that you need to increase the ventilation in your enclosures or decrease the amount you mist or both. A moist hide is still a good idea, but be careful it isn't staying too wet and promoting mold growth within the enclosure. You should not see mold on the surface or fungus gnats. These are signs that your enclosure is too wet. Food left overnight in the cage should not show signs of mold the following day either. This is another sign of a lot of moisture within the cage. The food should stay fresh for at least a day and a half with optimum humidity levels and the walls and plants will be dry by the start of the next misting period. 
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    Lorna @ RedSkyGeckos 

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