Back in June 2009, the Reptile Super Show was host to the first annual Gekkoni Day held in San Diego, CA. Gecko keepers across the nation (and Europe) met for a few days to talk geckos and Harold was amongst them. After seeing the show, we decided to sign-up as a vendor for the next show to be held in Pomona, CA. Big show with lots of floorspace and a ton to look at. Managed to come back with a few new species, but we'll keep that a secret for now. Keep your eyes on the availability page, I'm sure we're not the only one's digging the new gex. See more
After being introduced to geckos of the genus Pachydactylus a few years ago, we've been smitten with the beauty of these African geckos. Pachydactylus weberi was one of the more recent additions this year and after some time, we're happy to announce we found our first neo in the incubator this evening. Only one has hatched out at this time, but the other one should be hatching in the next day or so. Fat and just as attractive as the adults, we are very pleased to be breeding these animals. See more
Gekko vittatus (or skunk geckos as they are commonly called) are one of those species many people find attractive, but few actually keep. Finding these CBB (Captive Born and Bred) is extremely difficult, so finding well acclimated wild-caught animals is usually the only choice. We were fortunate to acquire two pairs last year but later reduced to one (sending a pair to a friend). I tend to be hands off with many species and with these I decided to let all the eggs hatch in the enclosure. Gekko eggs in general take a long time to hatch (usually 100+ days), so incubating in-situ adds to that. After months of waiting, we finally found a healthy "skunk" wandering around. The hatchlings are even nicer than the adults. Hopefully we'll be able to offer F1 animals in the near future.
After working with Rhacodactylus chahoua for a couple years, we sold off all of our animals in 2007. They were always personable captives (though we did have one female that might've been evil), but at the time we started to really diversify our program and they made way for others. After hanging out at NARBC Tinley Park this year, the opportunity came where a young mainland animal was available. After some exchanging, we brought home a "chewy" after not keeping them for nearly 3 years. Welcome back home "Chewy"!
In the fall of last year, we added another Pachydactylus species to the collection - P. scutatus. After conditioning them for the breeding season and cycling them properly, we finally started getting some good eggs over the summer. Went downstairs today and managed to catch the result of our efforts: See more
Well I was headed downstairs last night to feed and water the geckos (I'm on a reverse photocycle here). I started with a rack of Phelsuma and worked my way on. Right before I call it quits for the night I decide to check my cage with Phelsuma barbouri in it. This is a very beautiful day gecko that seems to be in quite a bit of trouble as of late. Essentially very few people are having any luck breeding them and most of the females from the "glory days" seem to have all but disappeared. Lone animals are spread around and most are getting old. Well after 2 seasons of trying to cycle them properly, I got a bit of favor and noticed a single clutch of eggs about a month back (have no idea how long they were there since it was a surprise more than anything). I took a glance at the clutch and noticed one of the eggs had been cracked. "Okay, there's a hatchling in there, but finding it in the piles of slate is going to be no easy feat." As luck would have it, the large hatchling doted from underneath a rock piece and was only a minute's chase. Very proud to have had even a piece of success with this species. Thanks to those that gave me the opportunity to work with them. Looking forward to more success. See more
After considering this species for some time, I finally got the opportunity to pick up a well-started juvenile from a friend a little while ago. Native to Australia, these bold skinks reach a solid size of around 12" and every inch is loaded with personality. In the short time I have been keeping this one specimen, I've found that they relish pretty much anything you can offer them as food. When talking to my fellow breeder friend, I asked about diet. He said "they will eat table scraps, anything you give them. The more varied their diet, the better they will do long term." Jokingly I remarked on the "table scraps" bit and was met with a serious face. These lizards are certainly eager to try anything! Vegetables, fruit yogurt, live prey...anything offered is taken with gusto. Long lived and immensely interesting, I look forward to keeping (and perhaps breeding) them in the years to come. See more
My story with keeping this species is a lengthy one. After a friend of mine decided to get out of Australian geckos, I settled on a trio (1 male, 2 females) of these velvet geckos back in January of 2007. That season I got my first clutch of eggs from one of the females. As luck would have it, I managed to kill the embryos about half way through incubation (literally cooked them!). I would get no more eggs that year. And like most of the other species we keep, we did not get any production in the year following our move (2008). After properly cycling them this past winter, we got our first eggs in 2 years. On July 18, 2009, we saw our first O. marmorata in the incubator! Having hatched out Oedura monilis (another Australian velvet gecko) before, we were shocked at the size difference between hatchlings despite similar adult size (O. monilis are simply dwarfed). After over 2 years of no progress, I am happy to be one of the few people in the U.S. to have hatched out this species. Banded beauties that are rivaled by few. See more
Nephrurus (Underwoodisaurus) milli are probably one of the top 5 favorite geckos we keep here. Personable and easy to care for, I doubt anyone that has ever kept didn't immediately fall in love. This was my second season breeding them and the first clutch of the season hatched the same day the O. marmorata did. Big day here at CC Herps! Here's a picture from last season: See more
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