New to L. Gecko, have some questions to ask IYDM :)

[cherrydee]

So last September I bought a pair of LG from a friend. Last month I was really surprised to see 2 eggs in the water bowl. It was laid early morning when i was still sleeping so upon seeing the eggs, I transfered it to a 2gal ice cream container with 1/2 deep vermiculite. The egg went bad so I threw it all away. After the incident I provided an open top rectangular microwavable container and put vermiculite on it. My tank has no moist hide BTW since I'm living in SEA with tropical climate. And now I think my LG is pregnant again. I have some questions if you don't mind me asking:
1. I'm planning to change to a cube shaped container with opening on the top lid to serve as moist hide AND lay box. Should i continue using vermiculite? Heard it's bad for the gecko? Also heard paper towel is not good for lay box. How about mosses?
2. How long exactly do vermiculite hold moisture? Do i have to re-spray water every week?
3. Will a simple ice cream container with vermiculite be enough to incubate the eggs? My friend is using the same method and is able to breed LGs. Or do i have to put the egg in a deli cup with vermiculite and put that deli cup inside a styrofoam box?
I'm living in a city where there's little to no access to exotic pet supplies. and i can't order in ebay or amazon since i don't have any cards.

 

[boa-constrictor]

1. Dont use vermiculite inside the cage. Use Eco Earth in a tupperware or well cleaned ice cream container. Then, transfer the egg into vermiculite. Have you done research on leopard gecko breeding? Do you know their morphs? Please don't jump into breeding leopard geckos if you haven't done hours of research
2. When incubating, use 50 grams of vermiculite to 70 grams of water.
3. You don't need to be incubating eggs or even housing male and female leopard geckos together if you do not have any access to exotic pet supplies. You need to have an incubator to incubate eggs. You need to separate the male and the female because they will stress each other out. May I ask how you are housing these geckos?

 

[cherrydee]

Well last night I bought a brick of coco peat and made a moist hide out of tupperware. My LGs seem to love it. Earlier this morning while I was sleeping my female gecko laid a pair of eggs in the moist hide so I'm really glad I made it in time. Is it normal for the egg to be really soft and kinda shrunk like that of a raisin (but not that much)? I transferred it to an ice cream bin with 2" vermiculite.

as to your question: My pair of LG seem to be living peacefully. I kept them in a 24x12x12 tank with 2 holed coconut shell as hides and a big inclining slate of smooth rock in the center. They usually have their own spot on the tank. I fed them 2 superworm each every other day. I gave it to them by hand because the male will eat it all if I leave it on the food dish

 

[boa-constrictor]

You always incubate to be safe, but I'm not sure how successful that egg will be. It may just be dehydrated. You are warming the eggs at the correct temperatures, correct?

Also, are you supplementing your leos?

 

[Neon Aurora]

Putting the eggs in just an ice cream container is very unlikely to work.. They require very stable temperatures or you risk birth defects.

Personally, it sounds like you have a lot more reading to do before considering the responsibility of eggs. I would separate these geckos, at least until you have done more reading about what you are getting yourself into. Besides, keeping a male and female together permanently isn't a good idea. It may be fine for a while, but the male will mate with the female persistently every year and put a lot of stress on her body.

If you're housing two leos together, you need more than two hides. 2 Superworms every other day is not enough for a laying female.

If you did incubate these eggs (the one you described sounds infertile), it should really be in sealed container with vermiculite:water ratio of 0.8. You would need either a commercial incubator or a homemade one. Mine is made of a styrofoam cooler with heat tape regulated by a Herpstat.

Do you have separate container to keep the each baby where they will get proper heat? What are you planning on doing with the babies?