Reptile Forum, Reptile Classifieds - CaptiveBred

[negri]

i have three females all just over a year old and am looking for one maybe two males . but got a couple of questions first .


laying


1.how deep should the substrate be for laying ?

2.i have an xl exo terra tank should i fill that to the doors with substrate or use a box ?

3.how big/deep is your laying box ?

4.should the laying box be lidded with a hole for entry ?

5.is it obvious that they have been laying ?

6. do females lay(unfertilised) eggs even though they havent been with a male ?

breeding


1.what colours /type are more popular ?

2.should i put one male in with the three females or pair them off so its easier to tell the babies apart .

3.should i get two unrelated males so that their offspring can be bred with new bloodlines ?

4.or would one male and the offspring of two of my females be ok to breed from when they are adults ?

hope the breeding qs are clear enough . .


thanks for your replies in advance
_________________
Eyeless frogs welcome...

Crested Geckos 1:7:4 + 8 Eggs
White Treefrogs 0:1:0
Green Anole 0:0:1
Fire Belly Toads 5:6:0
Bearded Dragon 0.1.0
Leopard Geckos 1.1.2
Albino Cali King 1.1.0
And a Fish Called George...

[Scott W]

laying


1.how deep should the substrate be for laying ? My boxes contain about 2" of vermiculite

2.i have an xl exo terra tank should i fill that to the doors with substrate or use a box ? Either, although the chances of finding eggs out of the box are slim to none

3.how big/deep is your laying box ? Mine are ice cream tub size approx 7"x5"x3" tall

4.should the laying box be lidded with a hole for entry ? That's what I use, mainly to keep the box humid and saves me topping it up with water too often

5.is it obvious that they have been laying ? I routinely check my boxes weekly, if they are of the right humidity it won't harm the eggs being there a week etc

6. do females lay(unfertilised) eggs even though they havent been with a male ? Don't know, all my females have males present from almost the moment they hatch

breeding


1.what colours /type are more popular ? the brightest are always the most requested

2.should i put one male in with the three females or pair them off so its easier to tell the babies apart . If you are aiming for particular projects then pairs are easier to manage

3.should i get two unrelated males so that their offspring can be bred with new bloodlines ? With less than 200 cresteds ever coming from the wild they will all be related in some way by now, however yes, it's still always best to try and outcross as much as possible

4.or would one male and the offspring of two of my females be ok to breed from when they are adults ? Inbreeding is no big deal is your stock doesn't show any genetic problems, just don't continue it for multiple generations



Hope that helps a little, I'm sure others may have different answers that could prove helpful too
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Please DO NOT pm orders for reptiles, send email instead scott@captivebred.co.uk

[Cleef]

Yup, good questions and good answers :]
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Steve P

[negri]

thanks for the quick replies ,


also one more question since you mentioned the humidity of the laying box .


how humid should the box be ? any more than the tank is already ? usually 60-80%
_________________
Eyeless frogs welcome...

Crested Geckos 1:7:4 + 8 Eggs
White Treefrogs 0:1:0
Green Anole 0:0:1
Fire Belly Toads 5:6:0
Bearded Dragon 0.1.0
Leopard Geckos 1.1.2
Albino Cali King 1.1.0
And a Fish Called George...

[Jackie]

Most of my answers are the same as Scott's but I do do things slightly different.

laying

1.how deep should the substrate be for laying ? about 2 inches deep is sufficient.

2.i have an xl exo terra tank should i fill that to the doors with substrate or use a box ? If you do fill it to the doors (which will be about 4 inches deep), as Scott has said you'll be lucky to find the eggs (and if you do getting them out without turning will be a delicate procedure.). To answer your question to a certain degree I do both. I have an inch of so of substrate throughout the viv and provide a laying box.

3.how big/deep is your laying box ? An ice cream tub.

4.should the laying box be lidded with a hole for entry ? I don't put a lid on mine.

5.is it obvious that they have been laying ? I find you can pick up on the females behaviour. Mine go off feeding for a few days before they are due to lay. They then dig test sites throughout the viv. You can tell where they lay as the substrate will have been disturbed.

6. do females lay(unfertilised) eggs even though they havent been with a male ? yes they can.

I tried lots of different methods regarding substrates and laying boxes when I bred Cresteds. I found that whatever you provided the female would lay where she wanted regardless. The best thing that worked for me, was to provide a layer of eco-earth (say 1 - 2 inches deep) throughout the whole of the viv and provide a laying box too (filled with moist sphagnum moss). I kept the bottom of the viv clutter free so I could see where the females had been digging. Here's a photo of their breeding/laying set-up:


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Best wishes, Jackie

3:4 Eublepharis macularius
1:0 Gekko gecko
3:4:1 R. auriculatus
1:3 R. ciliatus
1:1 R. chahoua
1:1 R. leachianus henkeli

[Scott W]

[negri]

thanks for that ,


just need to get saving now .


do you have any males at the moment scott ?

pm me with details
_________________
Eyeless frogs welcome...

Crested Geckos 1:7:4 + 8 Eggs
White Treefrogs 0:1:0
Green Anole 0:0:1
Fire Belly Toads 5:6:0
Bearded Dragon 0.1.0
Leopard Geckos 1.1.2
Albino Cali King 1.1.0
And a Fish Called George...

[Scott W]

pretty sure I can spare a few nice males, I'll have a look in a day or so.
_________________

Please DO NOT pm orders for reptiles, send email instead scott@captivebred.co.uk

[negri]

cheers
_________________
Eyeless frogs welcome...

Crested Geckos 1:7:4 + 8 Eggs
White Treefrogs 0:1:0
Green Anole 0:0:1
Fire Belly Toads 5:6:0
Bearded Dragon 0.1.0
Leopard Geckos 1.1.2
Albino Cali King 1.1.0
And a Fish Called George...