No Fertile Eggs

[DannyCrazy4Geckos]

One of my female leos has laid 4 clutches of eggs so far and has always been in the presence of my male but all of the eggs have turned out to be infertile. I'm not sure of their ages but I'm wondering if my male has a fertility problem or was just too young at the time. Opinions or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
- Danny G.

 

[LadyGecko]

Hi Danny
How old are both Leos and what form of mineral/vitamin supplements are you using?
It has been suggested that some supplements given often to breeding age Leos can cause infertility
I'm not sure if this has ever been proved out or not
First season females can vary by laying many infertile clutches or they can lay all fertile clutches-most are somewhere in between
it's enough to drive ya crazy-LOL
I think that this is truly one hobby/obsession where patience is really rewarded

Sandy

 

[geckogod2]

swap out the male try another.

 

[brandy101010]

I would guess that it is because of your female being a first year breeder. my first female layed 3 infertile clutches before any babbies hatched.
Hope your luck turns around soon!

 

[Jeanne]

How much does your female weigh?

 

[TheHiddenGecko]

I've had the same problem. 18 eggs, all infertile from the same female. I'm positive it's not the male. I'm giving her a while off from breeding and then I'll try her again.

 

[PaulSage]

It has been suggested that some supplements given often to breeding age Leos can cause infertility
I'm not sure if this has ever been proved out or not

I've heard the same thing as well. ...lack of vitamin D3 in particular.

 

[DannyCrazy4Geckos]

Thanks everyone for the feedback. Like I mentioned earlier I'm not quite sure of my geckos' ages, but the pet shop I bought my male from guessed he was about a year old, and I got my female from a friend who wasn't sure of her age. The calcium supplement I offered the geckos was T-Rex brand 2:1 calcium/phosphorus ratio. I don't have a scale to weigh my geckos, but it's probably a good idea to get one. I guess every female gecko is different.

- Danny

 

[brandy101010]

Asking a pet store about the age of a reptile is usually useless. I don't know how many times I have asked the age of a gecko or other animal and the answer I usually get is "i'm not positive but I think close to a year." That is the answer for anything that is obviously not a hatchling. some of these so called "year olds" diddn't even look like they were 5months old.

Sorry for the rant there! lol

 

[geckogod2]

Asking a pet store about the age of a reptile is usually useless. I don't know how many times I have asked the age of a gecko or other animal and the answer I usually get is "i'm not positive but I think close to a year." That is the answer for anything that is obviously not a hatchling. some of these so called "year olds" diddn't even look like they were 5 months old.

A lot of pet shops will not know the age of their reptiles, the majority buy them from a supplier who may have no clue either. Some reptiles are wild caught while others are captive bred. the petshops that do buy from local breeders may have an idea but in no way will they have exact hatch dates and such unless they breed their own. As far as the employees at the pet shop, you might luck out and have someone who is experienced in reptiles and can give you more accurate ages. To those who work there and are not so informed, all we can do is estimate ourselves and try to teach them.

This is not to say don't ask them for that info. You don't know untill you ask and it doesn't hurt.

 

[Grinning Geckos]

For your calcium, you want to use just a plain calcium carbonate - like T-Rex Bone-Aid. The 2:1 calcium + phosphorus is made for vegetarian reptiles, like iguanas. Insects already have a high phosphorus content in them so you want a straight calcium to help balance it out, and adding additional phosphorus to it is most likely overkill. I don't know if that would cause the infertile eggs, but that's the first place I would start.

 

[gko reptiles]

Thanks for the Phosphorus info Shanti! I've heard not to give leos P, but never knew why!! lol

Ok - as for your male/female situation, are you sure that they've bred? (If you are, please disregard the rest of this post!! lol) I had a male and female together all the time last year and I never really knew if they bred or not. Soon after I seperated them because we got a rack system. Her first clutch was infertile. MY first thought was: "Maybe they didn't breed"; so we
re-bred them. This time we saw it happen and the next clutch was fertile. If you have the room, try seperating them and then putting them back together under your supervision for awhile till you KNOW that they bred. Good Luck! It may be anything!

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

I agree, no phosphorous! Try RepCal or MinerAll, and you may want to alternate calcium with Vitamin D and then without every other feeding for awhile. The VitD serves as a catalyst to increase calcium absorption efficiency.

Have you candled the eggs at all? They may very well be fertile, but the shells could not be forming enough without sufficient calcium, which could cause them to fail.

 

[DannyCrazy4Geckos]

Thanks again everybody. Now I know to use pure calcium powder along with Vitamin D. I bought 2 other females from Golden Gate Geckos (thanx Marcia!) a few months ago that I'm thinking about breeding pretty soon. I'll keep all of your tips in mind and keep on trying. I wish everyone happy gecko hobbying!

 

[DannyCrazy4Geckos]

P.S., I did try candling the eggs and they looked infertile, but I incubated them anyway. Once I was sure they weren't going to hatch, I even dissected the eggs and didn't see any signs of baby gecko remains.