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Posted by djs27 on February 18, 2003 at 16:54:29:
Hey everyone,
I bought a breeding pair of adult crested geckos just under 2 years ago. They were supposed to be wild caught, so if true, must be getting pretty old. I don't expect any more fertile eggs from the female.
Anyways, their first baby hatched in August, a year and a half ago. I actually noticed her walking around the adult cage. Since I was relatively new with these guys, the female layed an egg where I didn't notice it and it hatched in the cage.
The adult female breeder had a pretty rough summer so the male and female were separated about 6 months ago. I did this by dividing the top half of the cage from the bottom with egg crate. She started to look a little lethargic about a month ago. I thought that this was because egg laying was just too much for her last season. So, I switched the adult female with the first baby, who was a female and a year and a half old.
Now, the cage (3ft tall, and 2x2ft) was still divided in half. After about a week in the new cage, I noticed the 1.5 year old female in the lower half of the cage with the male/father. I figured she squeezed her way through somewhere and if she got through, I'd just let them be together. I was planning on waiting until spring before I let them breed.
Well, yesterday, I found her dead in the cage. She had been with the male for 3 weeks. He was very aggressive with the female I bought him with, which was why I separated them. He had bit her all up. The dead female had no physical marks on her at all. They had water in the tank and I misted them 2x daily. Every time I noticed them drink after a mist, I continue to mist until they are done. Her eyes were a little sunk in the sockets, but she was also a little stiff.
Unfortunately, I thought she was a little too stiff for a necropsy. Her belly was a little on the large size. Everything speculation I have about why she died is confounded by the 3 weeks she was with the male. I doubt 3 weeks was long enough time to catch anything from the male and then die from it. I'm wondering if it has anything to do with a bound egg. However, I don't think she could die from this so quickly either. It is possible she got something from eating crickets and has had it for a long time, but everyone gets crickets from the same batch. It is possible that the male restricted her from eating (I can't watch for aggression all night long), but I doubt she would die from malnutrition in 3 weeks.
I know everything is going to be speculation at this point, but it is just a frustrating situation since I won't know what happened. She just didn't show signs of being sick.
later,
Dave
