> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Date: Thu, 27 Nov 2003 14:21:07 -0500 > > I have two female leos that are gravid without being introduced to any males, > and this would be their first year breeding, therefore there would be no > sperm stored in them. > Seems like as soon as both of them reached 60grams they quickly started > producing eggs. I have all my leos in a rack system, with males either in the > container next to them or below them, all in seperate containers. I'm > guessing they sensed the scent of a male and that is why they got gravid. > However my question is this. Is it true that if a leo produces (infertile) > eggs without being mated at the start of the season that all throughout the > season she will lay infertile eggs, even if mated with a male after her first > clutch of infertile eggs, or is this untrue. > I sure hope it's untrue. But if any of you had experience with this type of > thing or could help me out that would be greatly appreciated. :) > Thanks in advance,
The first female leos I got were hatched in the fall, so I wasn't planning to breed them until late the following summer. Nonetheless, they started laying in late June. I borrowed a male for a week, and subsequently formed eggs were fertile. So the geckos didn't need the scent of a male to become gravid. I'm not sure at exactly what stage the eggs are fertilized, but it obviously has to be before the white and shell are added, so any eggs beyond that point in development at the time of mating will be infertile, but later clutches should be okay. I don't know (and don't know if anyone knows) what inspires a leo to start forming eggs, but suspect day length, warmth and level of nutrition are important. In nature, it would be very rare for a female gecko not to find (or be found by) a male, so mating wouldn't necessarily be a trigger. I've had a grandis day gecko and a Rhac ciliatus lay eggs without mating when I was waiting to mate them until they had grown up a bit more. In subsequent years, I've noticed that the first clutch of the season (often a single egg) is sometimes infertile even for mature leos. Also, the geckos seem to "know" that the egg is infertile -- they often lay them outside the laying box. (Or perhaps their behaviour isn't completely geared up any more than their reproductive tract is!) Maybe they get started developing eggs a bit before the male is in the mood? Sometimes the first clutch has defective shells or other abnormalities of size or shape, even if it is fertile. I had one first clutch this year with one egg twice the size of the other, but both hatched healthy little geckos. I'd like to hear about other people's experiences. Do your leos sometimes have a bit of a problem getting the machinery in tune at the start of the laying season, or am I doing something wrong? My leos have a dish of mineral supplement available at all times. They get more or less a natural day length for 43 degrees north, and spend most of the winter snoozing in their humid boxes, mostly ignoring the food and heat tape until well into February. The temperature in winter is about 18C (65F), sometimes a bit lower. _______________________________________________ Global Gecko Association http://www.gekkota.com Classifieds http://www.gekkota.com/cgi-gekkota/classifieds.cgi gecko mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.gekkota.com/mailman/listinfo/gecko
