# smooth knob tail gecko egg help!!!



## eddie123 (Dec 11, 2011)

purchasing two smooth knob tailed geckos on tuesday and owner said that as hes selling his collection he is willing to chuck in the recent clutch of 2. i already have a hovobator(look it up on google images). Enclosure is setup just need to sort out the incubator. What temps does the eggs have to be at? what humidity? how long? hatchling care? hatchling food? what incubation substrate? what is the cheapest and most reliable heat source i can grab for the incubator. thats all of the top of my head, if i think of any more ill incude. Sorry for all the questions im just getting a bit worried!
any help would be awesome!!!!!!


----------



## snakes123 (Dec 11, 2011)

I have my temps and around 29. And that takes around 60-70 days. Hatchies are just im small 4L tubs small amount of sand a hide and heat mat or cord.


----------



## GeckoJosh (Dec 11, 2011)

Set the incubator to 28.5 degrees, Hovabators should have their own heat source.
Put the eggs in a small sealed tub with moist perlite or vermiculite, the perlite/verm and water must be weighed so its a ratio of 1:1 water:verm/perlite, that part is very important.
Personally I think a ratio of 4:6 water:verm/perlite is better and I also will only use perlite now as vermiculite has caused me nothing but grief.

Also the eggs need to stay the same way up at all times other wise the embryo will drown, I find the easiest way to ensure this is by gently marking the top of the egg with a semi-blunt pencil.
Good luck,

Josh


----------



## Chris1 (Dec 11, 2011)

i find the dryer mix better too,....i lost tonnes of eggs to 50:50 ratio.


----------



## dickyknee (Dec 11, 2011)

I make a 50:50 mic of vermiculite and water , then I put a 10mm high pile of dry perlite on top for the eggs to sit on , never lost an egg to date.


----------



## eddie123 (Dec 11, 2011)

thanks for all your help, dickyknee i will try that. Do you get vermiculite and perlite from bunnings?


----------



## snakes123 (Dec 11, 2011)

not sure about perlite but i got my vermiculite from bunnings.


----------



## GeckoJosh (Dec 11, 2011)

I buy both from Bunnings


----------



## eddie123 (Dec 11, 2011)

dickyknee what water perlite ratio do you use for the top half


----------



## dickyknee (Dec 11, 2011)

eddie123 said:


> dickyknee what water perlite ratio do you use for the top half



The top part of perlite is dry , I do not add water ... the whole idea is to have the eggs sitting on a dry substrate.


----------



## eddie123 (Dec 11, 2011)

thanks for the quick reply can anyone answer any other questions?


----------



## dickyknee (Dec 11, 2011)

My temps are normally around 30 in the bottom of my inc where I put the gecko eggs , a little high but I use the same inc for snakes and geckos. 
Humidity I have no idea , I mix the vermic add eggs then put them in and they always hatch.
Hatching times will vary slightly with temps , mine are around 50-55 days , others may go longer.
Hatchling care , small tub , sand , hides , heat and small crickets , I keep them sprayed till they shed the first time then mist a few times a week.


----------



## Radar (Dec 11, 2011)

For a substrate I use clean sphagnum moss, just run it under the tap so it's soaking wet, 'pump' it a few times like you would a car sponge to get water all the way through, then squeeze it hard so it's just moist/damp with no excess in it. Don't worry about measuring, I've never lost a single egg with sphagnum. Sphag lets more oxygen in around the eggs then other mediums I find. My incubator is set at 30C (single heat cord hooked up to a probe thermo) as it is multi use, but varies from 26 to 36 in summer. Hatch at 60 days every time. Provided you don't get a temp spike in the last few days of incubation and you haven't messed the eggs around too much you shouldn't have any issues. 

Hatchlings - As dicky has has explained - it's best to only put in a few crix at a time or they freak out, it also lets you monitor how they are eating. They will generally start to eat at 5 to 12 days old.


----------



## eddie123 (Dec 15, 2011)

well i got the geckos today, the adults are stunners and the eggs look fine. He gave me vermiculite anyway so it was no trips to bunnings. incubators at 29-30degrees and it stays round that. he said they had been in his incubator for a month so hopefully they hatch soon. mum looks like shes got some more in her and dad is always out and about. these are his pics not mine.


----------



## GeckoJosh (Dec 15, 2011)

Links don't work Eddie


----------



## eddie123 (Dec 15, 2011)

i think i fixed it. whoops


----------



## BurtonReptiles (Dec 15, 2011)

nice geckos mate


----------



## eddie123 (Dec 16, 2011)

thanks. hopefully the eggs will hatch to be just like the parents!

1 egg has hatched, what do i do? when do i move it out? what do i feed it? how long until i can sell it? how do i fill out the reptile liscence!!!!!!!!!!!?


----------



## dickyknee (Dec 19, 2011)

eddie123 said:


> thanks. hopefully the eggs will hatch to be just like the parents!
> 
> 1 egg has hatched, what do i do? when do i move it out? what do i feed it? how long until i can sell it? how do i fill out the reptile liscence!!!!!!!!!!!?



Shouldn't you have sorted this stuff out way before you started breeding them ??

Leave the egg alone till the gecko is out and running around , the put it in the small tub you should have set up for hatchlings.
Feed it small crickets or woodies.
You can sell it when ever you want.
Put in your license book as bred and the date.


----------



## eddie123 (Dec 19, 2011)

dickynee i just recently bought them and the owner sold me the eggs too. 1 is running around so i will take him out. i have small crickets i was just checking. filled in the liscence book and i have decided to sell them in about 4 weeks when they are eating well by themselves. i have a fairly big tub and it has some play sand at 2cm on the hot end and 15cm on the cool end, it has 1 hide on the cool end and the hot end is about 30 degrees.


----------



## dylan-rocks (Dec 19, 2011)

Hey eddie, they wouldnt have to be jason(username)'s geks?????


----------



## eddie123 (Dec 19, 2011)

no dylan rocks, but he is on this website. i am not willing to reveal his name.fullstop


----------



## dylan-rocks (Dec 19, 2011)

Ok cool, because i thought u bought the geckos i was hoping to get


----------



## eddie123 (Dec 19, 2011)

haahaha hope urs are just as cool as mine are


----------



## dickyknee (Dec 19, 2011)

eddie123 said:


> dickynee i just recently bought them and the owner sold me the eggs too. 1 is running around so i will take him out. i have small crickets i was just checking. filled in the liscence book and i have decided to sell them in about 4 weeks when they are eating well by themselves. i have a fairly big tub and it has some play sand at 2cm on the hot end and 15cm on the cool end, it has 1 hide on the cool end and the hot end is about 30 degrees.



Should be fine in that ... good luck.


----------



## Chris1 (Dec 19, 2011)

just incase u missed it in Rednuts comment, they wont eat straight away, they will be absorbing yolk for 5ish days,...

crickets before then wont be eaten, they will just stress tehm.

for the first few feeds (after 5 days) i offer food fro an hour, then remove it, so if theyre not ready they dont have crickets jumping all over tehm all day.

till them i mist them daily,..to make sure they dont dehydrate. tehy seem to appreciate a good misting,...


----------



## JasonL (Dec 19, 2011)

I have hatched numerous species of geckos at warm room temp just sitting on a shelf. Small reptile eggs don't need an incubator, the eggs take a bit longer but the babies always seem much larger and healthier.


----------

