Two Little Firecrackers born on the 4th of July!

[BalloonzForU]

I was very happy to see two little heads popping out of their eggs at about 11:45pm last night. However I was a little shocked as one was not due to hatch for another week. The one that hatched early will most likely be put down unfortunately as it's eyelids were not developed all the way. Bummer as this was my first LVPA hatchling. (The LVPA hatchling is not the egg that some of you are waiting to see hatch, this is it's clutchmate, that I moved to another container, so no twins yet.) I'm hopping that's the only reason for the deformed eyes that maybe I turned the egg just a bit, and caused this and it's not my breeders themselves. The SHTCTBxSHT that hatch last night, had a little sister/brother running around in the incubator when I got up this morning.... .

Well, here they all are.


First the LVPA

The little Firecracker, man is this one crazy!

And the clutchmate to Firecracker, hatched this morning.

 

[robin]

VERY VEY nice!! the lvpa is beautioful and the other firecracker and his clutchmate are as cute as can be lol

 

[Sarah H]

Very Nice! too bad about the eyelids on the lvpa, very pretty color.

 

[BalloonzForU]

The other LVPA hatched, bummer no twins, big baby though. Unfortunately same eyes and some weird thing hanging off it's belly where you would see residual from a yolk sack, but it looks very fleshy. What a total bummer this has turned out with these two LVPAs. I have two more eggs from this pairing, I'm hoping for a better out come for them. These were the first offspring for both mom and dad, so I guess we will just have to see.

 

[Sarah H]

Bummer about the eyes they look like no lids at all. I wonder if you had any temp spikes. They are very pretty babies.

It should absorb the rest of that on it's belly though, I had one last month with a yolk part like that and it was compleatly absorbed that day.

 

[BalloonzForU]

Sarah & Robin, Thanks! They are very pretty. There are some of the eyelids there, just not the rim, as they can close their eyes most of the way. I'm torn with putting these two down, if they can live a normal life or not. I may raise them till they show signs of issues with the eyelids and eye infections due to shed issues around the eyes. If they are able to live a good lives I already have a good home for them as pets. However if they show any signs of living in pain or discomfort I will be putting them down.

I doubt I've had any spikes, I have a nature spirit with a helix, it has always been steady at 85. I would also thing that the other two babies would have had the same issue if was temps. I should know in about a month if it's the parents, as that's when the other eggs from them are due to hatch.

Edit: Doubting a spike in temp, but hey anything is poss. right? I hope not cause I have 5 more clutches due in the next couple of days and another 4 clutches in about 2 weeks, and more females laying....and damn I just got this incubator a couple of months ago. :main_angry:

 

[Jedi Master Bruce]

I use Nature Spirit's Helix incubators also. Some eyelid deformities are to be expected no matter what you do. I decreased the amount of rich vitamin supplements to the breeders and reduced my eyelid deformities drastically for the next season. Keep trying!

 

[BalloonzForU]

I use Nature Spirit's Helix incubators also. Some eyelid deformities are to be expected no matter what you do. I decreased the amount of rich vitamin supplements to the breeders and reduced my eyelid deformities drastically for the next season. Keep trying!

What do you mean you decreased? What were you using before and what are you using now? What exactly did you change, that you saw a drop in eye issues? Tell me, Tell me.... Please!!!!

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

Felicia, if you do not think you had temperature fluctuations (can cause eyelid deformities) check your vitamins... excessive Vitamin A can also create eye problems.

 

[BalloonzForU]

Felicia, if you do not think you had temperature fluctuations (can cause eyelid deformities) check your vitamins... excessive Vitamin A can also create eye problems.

See you learn something every day. Thanks Marica! Are there any other vitamins that may cause these or other issues? I know about D3 already.

 

[BalloonzForU]

Oh and Marcia is that just bad for the female to get too much of, when breeding, or both the male and female?

 

[Jedi Master Bruce]

Marcia and Kelli know much more about this subject than I do and can give you the best advice. I think I was "killing my geckos with kindness" by giving them all the good modern supplements that I could research on the internet. I was giving them Mineral Indoor supplement in a dish and dusting the feeders with Repcal mixed with Herpitavite every feeding. After the eyelid problem season, I just used Repcal with vitamin D in the dishes and for dusting feeders just before and during the laying season. The results were dramatic improvement in eyelid problems according to my experiment. I am now giving what I used to in the 1970's! Vionate in the mealworm dish! I still use Repcal with D3 in the mineral dish because I still hear it is the best. I used Osteoform or Bone Meal in the 1970's. What is old is new; what is new is old for me!!!

Marcia and Kelli are some of the ones I would listen to myself on this issue.

 

[robin]

to be honest since both hatchlings hatched out with partcial eye lids the chances of them having eye problems are very hight plus if it is not vitamin related and a genetic default. the best thing to do would to be to put them down. we cant keep every baby and we think that we can give them to a good home but you never know what that person may decide to do with them (breed them) and regardless of what has caused this these geckos should not be bred. just my opinon. it really sucks having to put down babies but it seems to be the best thing for the breed and other morphs and whatnot in general.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

IMO, Vit A is the most dangerous of the fat-soluable vitamins. If you can, use supplements that contain beta-carotene as their source of Vit A for all your geckos. We sometimes think "if a little bit is good, then a lot is better", and this is not the case with Vitamins A and D3.

You will find many differing opinions on supplementation, but most will agree that Vit A and phosphorous can have negative results when used in excess.

 

[BalloonzForU]

Thank you Marcia and Jedi?...LOL

Robin thank you too, I understand where you are coming from. The person that they would go to if they are able to live a normal life is one of my cousins, she wants her own, and she wants these two (her sister has 8 and will be breeding hers) but she doesn't want to breed. She's happy to watch her sister breed them. She knows they shouldn't be bred incase this was due to genetics.

I know it's hard to put them down, I've already put down 5 this year due to my incubation issue with my hova.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

If the geckos' eyes can close and you can find non-breeding homes for them, that's great. But, if their eyelids cannot meet there is a likelihood that the eyes will dry out and gecko will become blind. A blind gecko cannot feed, and a lifetime commitment to hand-feeding is not fair to the animal OR it's keeper. I know you will make the best decision according to the circumstances.

 

[BalloonzForU]

Well good news is one can close it's eyes all the way. The second one is still in the incubator waiting for that thing to fall off or shrivel up. arrrgggg. Still a long way to go before I know for sure how either will come out for sure. But there is a glimmer of hope.

Thank you Marcia! If their eyes were like the other 5 I would have put them down already, but the condition of the eyes themselves, and the lids that they do have give me some hope. The eyes are much better than the ones I did put down, their eyes had pupils in the wrong place, weird shape, and not constricting or dilating, and they didn't have any lids at all.

 

[Jeanne]

Hey Felicia,

Sorry to hear about the LVPA's. Hopefully your next clutch will be better. They ar such cuties!

 

[RoseT]

poor babies

 

[BalloonzForU]

Thank you, Jeanne & Rose.

The second to hatch LVPA has almost absorbed that big belly button he/she had. Keeping an eye on both's progress. They are very alert and run around with no problems, as of now. Only time will tell.