In-Tank Incubation / Will Chahoua Eat Their Offspring?

Michael

The Chahoua Chamber
Staff member
Messages
381
Location
Atlanta, GA
I'll admit that I had one instance a few years ago where I walked into my gecko room to see two little babies in the corner of an adult tank, much to my surprise. I use bioactive vivariums so I always knew there was an outside chance it could happen, but I was surely shocked when it did! Here is a picture before I removed them:


1176411_586485864726532_45890520_n.jpg


This tank had a ~12" cork round that I filled with soil and planted on one end, and I really never thought my female would dig into it to lay eggs, but I was wrong. She dug a solid 4-5 inches down into the tube and laid the eggs in soil, meaning that these babies hatched and then had to dig their way out of the dirt before emerging. I'm surprised that these little guys are that resilient - here are the eggs I recovered from inside the planted cork tube:

21401_586490564726062_1324880965_n.jpg


I've also had some occasions over the years where females lay eggs that are stuck to the cork bark or wedged in difficult places, and the thought has crossed my mind to leave them in the tank and allow them to incubate there. I haven't actually done it, just because I'm worried that if they hatch, one of the adults might find them first - and be hungry.

But that brings me to my next point: Will chahoua eat their young if given the opportunity? I've heard mixed things over the years. I'll say that when I found these two babies in the adult's enclosure years ago, they were in the tank for at least 24 hours overnight and I'd wager that their parents definitely knew they were there. Both mom and dad were basking, just a few inches away from the babies. I feel like if they wanted to or were hungry, the parents could have easily eaten the babies. But they didn't.

Knowing how Chahoua guard and carefully look over their eggs, I am inclined to say that they would NOT eat their own offspring, but I might be a little too afraid to test it. I am also a little worried that my isopods might get into them... but someone once told me that isopods do not eat fertile eggs, only infertile ones. Is that true?

What are your experiences? Any thoughts to add?
 

Angie_MamaT

Chahoua Egg
Messages
1
Hi, guys! Yes, I had one ml baby hatch in the tank with the parents. The other egg went bad and the clean up crew took care of the contents but left behind the tiny skeleton which was interesting to see. The surviving baby was discovered with no tail so we assume one of the parents took a bite. We were so surprised when Courtney spotted him as we had no idea there were hidden eggs in the tank. “He” has grown really well and is working on regenerating his tail which has been cool to watch. It’s a pretty special baby to us, we are attached and not sure if we can bring ourselves to sell him. Interesting topic!
 

Michael

The Chahoua Chamber
Staff member
Messages
381
Location
Atlanta, GA
Hi, guys! Yes, I had one ml baby hatch in the tank with the parents. The other egg went bad and the clean up crew took care of the contents but left behind the tiny skeleton which was interesting to see. The surviving baby was discovered with no tail so we assume one of the parents took a bite. We were so surprised when Courtney spotted him as we had no idea there were hidden eggs in the tank. “He” has grown really well and is working on regenerating his tail which has been cool to watch. It’s a pretty special baby to us, we are attached and not sure if we can bring ourselves to sell him. Interesting topic!

WELCOME! And thank you for sharing. These instances are rare, so your input is greatly appreciated! :)
 

Dragonborn Exotics (Ryan)

Chahoua Hatchling
Messages
89
I'll admit that I had one instance a few years ago where I walked into my gecko room to see two little babies in the corner of an adult tank, much to my surprise. I use bioactive vivariums so I always knew there was an outside chance it could happen, but I was surely shocked when it did! Here is a picture before I removed them:


1176411_586485864726532_45890520_n.jpg


This tank had a ~12" cork round that I filled with soil and planted on one end, and I really never thought my female would dig into it to lay eggs, but I was wrong. She dug a solid 4-5 inches down into the tube and laid the eggs in soil, meaning that these babies hatched and then had to dig their way out of the dirt before emerging. I'm surprised that these little guys are that resilient - here are the eggs I recovered from inside the planted cork tube:

21401_586490564726062_1324880965_n.jpg


I've also had some occasions over the years where females lay eggs that are stuck to the cork bark or wedged in difficult places, and the thought has crossed my mind to leave them in the tank and allow them to incubate there. I haven't actually done it, just because I'm worried that if they hatch, one of the adults might find them first - and be hungry.

But that brings me to my next point: Will chahoua eat their young if given the opportunity? I've heard mixed things over the years. I'll say that when I found these two babies in the adult's enclosure years ago, they were in the tank for at least 24 hours overnight and I'd wager that their parents definitely knew they were there. Both mom and dad were basking, just a few inches away from the babies. I feel like if they wanted to or were hungry, the parents could have easily eaten the babies. But they didn't.

Knowing how Chahoua guard and carefully look over their eggs, I am inclined to say that they would NOT eat their own offspring, but I might be a little too afraid to test it. I am also a little worried that my isopods might get into them... but someone once told me that isopods do not eat fertile eggs, only infertile ones. Is that true?

What are your experiences? Any thoughts to add?
A little off topic, but does your substrate stay quite damp with it being 4-5" deep? Mine dries out pretty quick, wondering if I should add more to hold moisture longer and up the humidity.
 

Michael

The Chahoua Chamber
Staff member
Messages
381
Location
Atlanta, GA
A little off topic, but does your substrate stay quite damp with it being 4-5" deep? Mine dries out pretty quick, wondering if I should add more to hold moisture longer and up the humidity.

It stays decently..... MOIST. Haha, just had to sneak that word in where I can.

I mist pretty heavily every night, and on top of that, I dump a good bit of water (probably a liter and a half) in the tanks about every week or two. If I start to see the soil looking a little lighter/drier, I dump in the water. This is just what has worked best for me over the years :)
 

Dragonborn Exotics (Ryan)

Chahoua Hatchling
Messages
89
It stays decently..... MOIST. Haha, just had to sneak that word in where I can.

I mist pretty heavily every night, and on top of that, I dump a good bit of water (probably a liter and a half) in the tanks about every week or two. If I start to see the soil looking a little lighter/drier, I dump in the water. This is just what has worked best for me over the years :)
I guess you have bioactive tanks so it doesn't really matter, but because of all that moisture do you have wood mites? The little mites that crawl around in the soil and in the food dishes?
 

Michael

The Chahoua Chamber
Staff member
Messages
381
Location
Atlanta, GA
I guess you have bioactive tanks so it doesn't really matter, but because of all that moisture do you have wood mites? The little mites that crawl around in the soil and in the food dishes?

I did a few years ago and I let all of my tanks dry out thoroughly, then I rewet them and introduced isopods, and I've not seen a wood mite since. They were a PITA when they were here though. I don't think they hurt the geckos, but it freaked me out for a little while. I also thoroughly treat and bake all of the wood and sticks I put into my tanks beforehand :)
 

Dragonborn Exotics (Ryan)

Chahoua Hatchling
Messages
89
I did a few years ago and I let all of my tanks dry out thoroughly, then I rewet them and introduced isopods, and I've not seen a wood mite since. They were a PITA when they were here though. I don't think they hurt the geckos, but it freaked me out for a little while. I also thoroughly treat and bake all of the wood and sticks I put into my tanks beforehand :)
I have had them in the past and thoroughly cleaned everything and let everything dry out. Worked for about half a year to a year and I have them again. The seem to originate from my chahoua enclosures. They have peat moss as their substrate. I try to let it dry but I don't want to drop the humidity that much. From all the research I have done and conversations I have had with breeders, these mights are harmless to geckos. Just annoying to the owners.
 

TroysGeckos

Chahoua Hatchling
Messages
65
I keep my Chahoua in naturalistic terrariums and did have one situation where I was surprised to find a new baby hatchling hanging out on the door as I went to enter the enclosure to mist!

I remove every egg I can find from the enclosure because I feel I can control the environment better outside of the enclosure and I don't have to worry about a parent gecko (possibly) eating the offspring when it hatches.
 

Michael

The Chahoua Chamber
Staff member
Messages
381
Location
Atlanta, GA
I recently added more plants and natural elements to all of my vivariums, so I'm hoping I don't lose (sight of) more eggs... but on the flipside, I'd be curious to experiment more with this trend and see what happens. It's not my intent to directly leave eggs in the enclosure, but... I guess my feeling is, "If it happens, it happens."
 
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