Three years ago I wrote about our New Caledonian Giant Gecko (R.leachianus) breeding plans. Well I am pleased to say that last year on January 28th 2016 we were rewarded with two beautiful eggs. Two more followed around 6 weeks later, at which point we removed the male because Flossy was starting to look quite ragged and bony. She must have used a lot of energy producing the eggs and needed time to recover. Forest, our male, is a large dominant boy and it is pretty clear that he calls the shots and takes the lion's share of food when they are together. They get on very well - as evidenced by the breeding success - but female geckos will happily lay themselves to death if protective steps are not taken.
She gained 20 grams in body weight after the separation and looked so much better for it. Starting July we placed them back together but no further eggs appeared and it was then time to begin cooling for winter. Last week, Feb 15th 2017, we were very happy to see two more eggs laid and this time we have immediately removed the male. A lot of literature advises that Rhacodactylus females can retain sperm for many months. Now we know she has been fertilised it doesn't seem sensible to leave her with him any longer. She has now eaten a full plate of food four days in a row, and much as she seems to get on with the big guy, it is clear that she feeds better in his absence.
Our pair are quite young and we would like them to remain fit and healthy for years. At the moment half a year away from each other seems better for their long term prospects. The male is around 7 years old and the female 4. With this species - when keeping pairs together - it is very important to check on the animals regularly to ensure things don't turn sour. It is not unusual for breeding pairs to start fighting after years of calm and/or one animal to become excessively dominant over the other.
The kids are thrilled whenever eggs arrive - though equally disappointed when the hatchlings leave - and we are hoping more of our animals will deliver the goods at some point during 2017. It provides a wonderful opportunity to revisit the topic of reproduction and genetics. We had some cracking babies arrive, three of them with lovely pink patches. A fourth baby was bigger than the others and a lovely silver/grey with light blue eyes.
Our animals are pure Isle E (female) and pure Pine Island (male), but how could we ever know this is the case without collecting them in the wild ourselves? They certainly look like typical examples from those areas. All New Caledonian Giant Geckos are R.leachianus now (there is no R.l.henkeli) and a lot of the locale claims are nonsense. We breed for size and colour and this pairing has thus far been a resounding success. Two hatchlings went to the Czech Republic and two were sold within the UK. A lot of potential buyers were disappointed. With only two eggs in each clutch, availability of this species remains limited. The photo below is one of the grown on babies from clutch number one. The new owner sent me a pic recently.
As I drove my youngest son to his football match on Sunday - down an outrageous country lane that was full of water, mud and rocks! - we talked about what this new crop of babies may look like, picturing the far away islands where their relatives still thrive.
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