Eggsellent!

I have tried a few times recently to breed a pair of gargoyles - Frank and Pâté. Frank was the father to last year's gargoyle hatchings and he's a really nice (not to mention very handsome) gecko. He is gentle with the ladies and was great with Sausage last year. But this year everytime I've introduced him to Pâté she has repeatedly done the gargoyle version of "Heck no! I have a headache!" They do a pretty loud squawk and shake their tail - very obvious "back off" signs. She'd do it whenever he touched her, even if it was just his tongue as he smelled her. I gave it up for a bit because... as I expected...

Pâté was gravid! :) Found a pair of beautiful, perfectly calcified eggs tonight. They're most likely infertile "duds", but I know her previous owner had her with a male at ont point, so I will incubate the eggs until they either go bad or hatch! Female cresteds and gargoyles can store sperm for a very long time, I've even heard of situations where it was over a year! I don't throw eggs away unless I'm positive they're bad. I didn't see a "cheerio" in either one of these eggs, but they did have some veining visible. I do think they're infertile, however. But in any case, I'm pleased she laid (first time she has with me) and she should be more accepting to Frank when I try again in a few days. Sausage did the exact same behaviors last year when I tried breeding her to Frank, so I was definitely curious if the same situation was ocurring - and it was! Patience is definitely a virtue with my gang this year. Especially since Frank is not exactly quick about his business, he'll probably need a whole night - he likes to romance the ladies. ;)

I took a photo of the newly laid gargoyle eggs next to the fertile crestie eggs I have that are a week old, just to show some scale for folks who may not have both (or either!) species. Gargoyle eggs always seem so huge to me! And they *are* certainly much bigger than crested eggs, both in length and circumference. I mark the eggs with the spot I think is "up", the date laid, and a letter identifying the female who laid it. The brown spots on the crestie egg (on the right) are due to staining from the substrate in the laybox, in the less-calcified areas of the egg (though it is still in good condition).



I also finally got a picture of the magic "cheerio", for those who may not have seen one and had no idea what I was talking about all this time. ;) This egg is one of Liebchen's, and so is a week old. Can't really miss the red circle on the left, but that's what you're looking for in fertile eggs. That's the beginning of a crestie baby! The other spots on the eggs you see are the brown ones you saw in the previous photo, they're not internal. This picture was taken with a miniature flashlight behind the egg (which is how I candle all my eggs).



So there you go! I'm pleased with the progress on the crestie eggs (the cheerios have definitely gotten larger and thicker), and I think I will have additional clutches to add to the incubator from Perdi and Panic anytime now. :) Hopefully I can also get a successful breeding out of Frank and Pâté soon, I think they will make some lovely red babies.

And as a final note - Hida, the gargoyle gecko who went through the ordeal in the mail the other day, is doing great! She cleaned her food dish the first night she was here, so she's not too stressed. I really like her already, she's pretty and has an interesting personality.