Tokay eggs

[kearth]

I have an issue with Tokay eggs.

A female tokay came into the pet store and laid eggs shortly after arriving. They were stuck to the side of the tank so we took her out and moved her to a new tank.

After the owner of the store did a couple shows for me I bought her a male to go along with the female. That pair has laid 14 eggs. They are all still nice and round and white. But this group of 14 eggs ranges from 150 - 245 days. And she just layed another egg on monday.

The eggs that were laid on the side of the tank are about 2 years old... Any suggestion?

What the heck to do I do to make them hatch?

 

[Vicious_Fish]

When I bred them it took a while to get them to hatch. Some eggs were in the incubator well over 100 days. I think if the eggs haven't hatched within 200 days it's safe to say that they are no good but you can always candle them to make sure. The incubating temp for Tokays is 80-85˚F. The warmer the temp the faster they hatch, usually.

 

[EricIvins]

I have an issue with Tokay eggs.

A female tokay came into the pet store and laid eggs shortly after arriving. They were stuck to the side of the tank so we took her out and moved her to a new tank.

After the owner of the store did a couple shows for me I bought her a male to go along with the female. That pair has laid 14 eggs. They are all still nice and round and white. But this group of 14 eggs ranges from 150 - 245 days. And she just layed another egg on monday.

The eggs that were laid on the side of the tank are about 2 years old... Any suggestion?

What the heck to do I do to make them hatch?

First things first, don't seperate the Female or the Male. they take care of the eggs and offspring. That screws up the complex social structure these guys have ( much more complex than any other Gecko I've seen, and most Monitors )

Bump the ambient temp up to the mid 80's, and they'll hatch a whole lot quicker. If you have any eggs that are over 600 days old, it'ssafe to say they are quite mummified by now..........

 

[Vicious_Fish]

^ Yep, my male and female Tokays use to guard the hollow cork tube the eggs were laid in all the time.

 

[kearth]

The first eggs were seperated out from the female. She was by herself at the time she laid the first ones.

The second batch was also taken out after about 100 days ( they ran out of room to lay their eggs on the cork ) so they were moved to another tank ( the eggs not the geckos). The male and female. Ok so that was a screw up. Could that have something to do with them not hatching?

They have started laying new eggs in the tank they are in now. So they should be left in the tank with the parents?

Them temps have been about 70 -72 degrees. Not even close to 80-85 . Any chance some of them may still hatch. I will have to candle them and see fi I see anything.

I was not holding out a whole lot of hope for the 2 year old eggs at all.

 

[EricIvins]

The first eggs were seperated out from the female. She was by herself at the time she laid the first ones.

The second batch was also taken out after about 100 days ( they ran out of room to lay their eggs on the cork ) so they were moved to another tank ( the eggs not the geckos). The male and female. Ok so that was a screw up. Could that have something to do with them not hatching?

They have started laying new eggs in the tank they are in now. So they should be left in the tank with the parents?

Them temps have been about 70 -72 degrees. Not even close to 80-85 . Any chance some of them may still hatch. I will have to candle them and see fi I see anything.

I was not holding out a whole lot of hope for the 2 year old eggs at all.

I'am a firm believer in that we know absolutley nothing about how these complex social structures work.........And we have no idea how the hormones and pheremones work either........

What I do know, is the few people that have had success with Tokays ( and not a clutch or two here or there, but results on a consistant basis ), keep either pairs or colonies together, with both sexes guarding the eggs, and anything that does hatch, gets assimilated into that social structure. Look up some of the articles Kevin McCurley has written about Tokays, and he's only scratching the surface......

 

[kearth]

Thank you Eric I appreciate the help.

I had read some where before that the adults would eat the hatchlings. That is part of the reason the eggs were removed.

Of to search for Kevin McCurley

 

[EricIvins]

Thank you Eric I appreciate the help.

I had read some where before that the adults would eat the hatchlings. That is part of the reason the eggs were removed.

Of to search for Kevin McCurley

I'm sure when that social structure is compromised, chaos will insue......However, when the animals are left to think, act, and do for themselves without human help, they'll actually do things you'd never thought possible.........But thats also because we're very misguided when it comes to these things.......


I'm also sure that if these things could talk, we'd get the middle finger more often than not for husbandry that the books say you should practice.........