Kiddos leaving the nest...

I always am a bit sad when shipping geckos off, or passing them off to their new owners. My little ones have always had a lot of time put into them and were definitely not cared for as just "one more" in my collection. Each gecko I own is special to me. But these two are going to wonderful homes where I know I will receive updates, so that makes the "hand-off" much easier!

First went a juvenile gargoyle, currently unnamed. She went to the home who bought my leachie a few weeks ago. I wasn't suprised when their wonderful family came back - the mother fell in love with Frank (the kiddo's father) when she came to get Gherkin and both her and her son were very interested in the gargoyles. If you haven't heard - Rhacs are like potato chips, you can't just have one! (I'm living proof. It all started with one here too.) Enjoy your new home, little one! Here she is fully fired, though this is an older photo:


The second little one to leave the nest was a holdback of mine, but I'm trying to thin out my holdbacks because I have outstanding ones from last year and recent hatchlings from my lavender project that I think will be equally amazing. It was a true orange brindle with reverse pinning (seems like you don't see that color so much, it's either red or yellow, not a true orange...)/end muse. This is going to be this person's first gecko and she is so excited. :) She did her research and asked a lot of questions, I felt quite comfortable about sending the little one home with her and I know it'll be spoiled rotten! Again, an older photo but still a good representation:


Weighing my options for spring breeding! Leaning towards adding to Frank's harem at the moment, I really do love raising gargoyle babies. They're so chunky when they hatch and seem much less fragile than cresties. Heck, they weigh twice as much or more at hatch! I don't have any stripes in the mix so that cold be a fun addition. I'll keep you all in the loop.

Lavender Development

I apologize for the delay in posting, I've been ill. However, I did follow through and got some photos to show you how the hatchling lavenders show their color right after their first shed! Here is The Flash, all adorably curled and sleeping in some egg carton, less than 48 hours old:




See how the base color has already gone to a light greyish color with an almost purple tint? Just like mom and pop when they're unfired! Most hatchlings have a red base for at minimum a few weeks, but not these kids. I think it's pretty neat.

I also got a photo of some older kids, these are Liebchen's but also sired but Inigo. They were awake and climbing around, so I can't say these are their "sleepy" colors - they're definitely lavender fired down. Meet Surprising Lee (hatched 12-8-11) and Normal Lee (hatched 12-11-11 and the one on top):


You may have noticed that these older kids seem a lot creamier. Don't worry, Match and The Flash will follow suit! That's another change these particular lavenders go through really quickly - the orange color of their markings turns into lovely cream. Here's more proof for interest sake! This is Normal Lee hatching:


In other news, I sold my Nuu Ana leachie (Rhacodactylus leachianus), Gherkin, a few weekends back. I admit that it was a very difficult decision, but I decided that with my health problems I can not afford to keep around many animals as pets. Leachies are so notorious for compatability issues that buying him an appropriate mate had the potential of being difficult and much too expensive. He turned into a gorgeous animal and deserved to be bred. He is now in a wonderful home where I know he will not only be loved as a pet but they also plan to try and breed him in the future. So I'm going to stay focused on my two current species for now, though I'd really love to get into R. sarasinorum or E. agricolae. We'll see! I may just add to the red-base garg project, or get one or two nice crestie females for my groups.

In any case, I took some shots of Gherkin for his now-owner before she got him, and I would like to share them. I got Gherkin as a 6 gram unassuming-looking hatchling. But I saw potential! Here he is the day after he came home:


You won't believe how he developed. His pattern became absolutely beautiful, he got a ton of "snowflakes" (the light spots), and he is now well on his way to being a "New Caledonian Giant Gecko". Check it out (and yes that is my totally awesome fish/cat/dog-chewed-on Smokey the Bear ruler):


You read that right, 8 inches nose to tail, and he's not even straight! He weighs just under 60 grams. He's going to be a very impressive gecko when he completely fills out and reaches his full-grown size. Some more shots (I love the snowflake patch on his head!!):




Goodbye beautiful boy. I will certainly miss you. Enjoy your new home and be good for them!

Major Updates - Life and Geckos!

I can't believe how long it's been since I've posted, but the months since then have been a whirlwind! I went and did the unthinkable, and got married. ;) My husband is in the Air Force and left for a 6 month deployment to Afghanistan the 8th of this month. Obviously we were not together long - only about a month total since our marriage on November 12th due to his training - so I miss him a lot. I decided to get off my butt and restart the blog to not only keep myself busy, but since I've actually got things happening now (gecko-wise) and other goings-on as well with the horses, etc.

Biggest news is... *drumroll please*... we've got hatchlings, folks! 8 of them, in fact. All are sired by Inigo and out of either Panic or Liebchen. Both moms have 4 each. :) And they're all outstanding - it's obvious literally after their first hatchling shed that they are going to be lavenders like their parents. They fire up a purplish color and fire down very light grey with creamy markings - just what I hoped for with this project! The first 4 hatchlings will be going to the person I received Panic and Liebchen from (when they're old enough and the weather is good), and I'm keeping the rest for a bit to see who I want to keep for myself.

I don't have the lightbox set up and I've been really bad about taking pictures (but I have a good excuse as you now know!) so don't have photos of the older hatchlings yet. I will try to get some soon. I do, however, have photos of the last two just after hatching - "Match" on the 16th and "The Flash" on the 18th. Though bear in mind that because these are "just hatched" photos so you don't get a true feeling for their coloration. If you've seen a lot of hatchlings you may notice that they don't have the quite the same reddish tint typical of crested hatchlings (it's more purple/dark), which I have learned is the first sign the baby will be lavender. And any reddish color at all is gone after the first shed. If I remember I'll try to get a picture of these two tomorrow to show you what I mean.

So, meet some Inigo x Panic kids, fresh from their eggs! First is Match:


And his clutchmate, who hatched tonight - The Flash:


The Flash... has a story. He hatched in a way I had never had one of my babies do before. I was feeding the geckos and almost done, so checked on the egg, expecting it to hatch anytime. No pip (hole), no nothin. Literally moments later I turn around and there is a fresh gooopy hatchling sitting in the incubator!! I realized he was the bumping around I'd heard behind me because he had left yolk splattered everywhere and dripping from the top of the incubator! Proof:


He even had almost completely buried his egg in perlite. My best guess? He pipped his egg and shot out of it immediately after... upwards! No reason for it, other than he's The Flash. And gosh he has some attitude, little bugger was gaping at me when I was getting off some perlite a few minutes later. Look at this sassy face, he knows he's hot stuff with all that cream!


I also got a pretty good shot of The Flash's egg teeth, so I thought I'd share for those who haven't seen or got a good look at them before. They use these specialized scales to slit their egg open, and then they are lost with the first shed. See the two little bumps at the end of his snout? Those are them! (And excuse his ridiculously goopy head, he hadn't had time to dry off at all after all The Mad Egg Escape.)


If you want to see any more photos of these kids I've got some more "just hatched" pictures on my iHerp account.

Nothing makes for a better first post of a new year than babies! I am very excited about them, all of the hatchlings from my lavender/cream project are turning out incredible. Obviously there was no success with the dalmations or gargs, but now I've just got more to try for this year! :) Before I talk your ear off, I'll end this post here. But I've got lots of things to post about soon... I've got more gecko news, interesting wildlife sitings, horse talk, lots of photos, etc. Stay tuned. ;)