How To Tell If Your Leopard Gecko Eggs Are Fertile?

After seeing your Leopard Gecko struggling with pregnancy, you might be very excited to see your Leopard Gecko laying eggs. When your Leopard Gecko lays eggs, you might want to know if those eggs are fertile or infertile. But how to tell if your Leopard geckos are fertile or not.

Candling is a well-known process that can be used to determine whether or not the eggs of your Leopard Gecko are viable. To differentiate between eggs that are fertile and those that are not, you will need to adjust the illumination appropriately. It is possible to determine whether or not an egg has been fertilized simply by observing its outward appearance.

If you want to know more about fertile eggs and how to identify them properly, keep on reading till the end!

How To Identify A Fertile Leopard Gecko Egg?

If your Leopard Gecko is going to start laying eggs, you might be interested in knowing which of those eggs will really hatch into baby geckos and which will not. You can find out very quickly and easily if you check out a few features or utilize a method like one of the following:

• Candling
• Surface appearance

Candling

The candling of leopard gecko eggs is the simplest method for determining whether or not the eggs will develop into fertile offspring. This is mostly done in a darker room where the light can be focused on the eggs perfectly.

In order to make this procedure work, you will need a bright light source for example a flashlight that is small in size, and also a room that is completely dark, with no sign of light inside it.

When the light is placed on the top of the egg in a careful manner, the egg will illuminate, allowing you to view what is contained within.

During the process of candling the egg, you may see a pink color along with some faint lines. These lines represent the veins in the egg.

The more the incubation process goes further, the more the egg gets bigger in size. Hence all the things inside the egg become more visible. You might even notice a tiny red form in the shape of a circle inside the egg when the egg is in incubation.

If you see a shadow with veins after candling the eggs, you can tell that the eggs are fertile. If the eggs are not fertile, then you can see the yolk be yellow inside after the candling. You may also not see any veins in the egg.

If there is even a remote possibility that the egg could be fertile, you ought to continue to incubate it even if the yolk of the egg seems to be yellow on the inside.

Discover more cool facts about Leopard Gecko with this detailed post! Can You Leave Leopard Gecko Eggs With The Mother?

Surface appearance

The fertilized egg will have a chalky white color and the overall appearance would be similar to that of suede or paper. It can also be leathery in texture instead of paper.

The shells of infertile eggs will have more blemishes and dents than viable eggs. Most importantly it can have a shiny or translucent appearance.

If the eggs are not fertile, there is a chance that molds will begin to grow on the egg. This will eventually cause discoloration for which it will eventually perish if the egg is genuinely infertile.

Due to the mold growth, soon the egg will start to emit a putrid odor. That time you have to remove it from the incubator in order to prevent the mold from spreading to the other egg that is still healthy.

Sometimes the mold formation in one egg can make the healthy eggs infected as we.

In the event that a healthy egg becomes infected with mold, you should carefully treat the egg with some anti-fungal medication.

 If your Leopard gecko eggs have a dent in them, this does not necessarily mean that the egg is sterile or incapable of producing a baby.

A dent in an egg is typically an indication that the egg is too dry, and the dent will typically vanish when the egg is subjected to high levels of humidity.

But make sure that the humidity is not too high as it can cause severe damage to the eggs as well.

How To Care For Hatchling Leopard Geckos?

After the baby leopard geckos have emerged from the egg, you will need to place them separately, into smaller enclosures with the shell of the egg that is still intact.

It is essential to keep the egg remains with the hatchlings because the hatchlings will receive sustenance from the yolk sacs.

For the substrate in the tank, Paper towels should be used for the hatchlings so that any messes can be cleaned up quickly and the hatchlings remain protected.

The substrate should not be loose in texture as the baby leopard Geckos can swallow it which is dangerous for its health. This can also cause impaction which will severely affect its overall health.

After this period of time has passed, the hatchlings will start to become more active, and they will be ready to start eating solid food such as crickets.

The crickets should be gut loaded frequently as they offer a greater source of nutrients. Additionally, the crickets should not be any larger than the distance that spans the leopard gecko’s eyes. For hydration, you also need to provide the Leopard Geckos with sufficient water and the water dish must be cleaned and replaced with clean water every time.

When it comes to keeping the hatchlings together, make sure not to keep them with older ones or with other leopard geckos. There is a high chance that all of them will fight against each other which will eventually affect their health and growth.

Some might die in the meantime, which is definitely an unexpected situation you do not want to experience.

Hungry for knowledge about Leopard Gecko? We’ve got you covered in this article. Can Leopard Gecko Lay Eggs Without A Male?

Things You Can Do With Infertile Leopard Gecko Eggs

• Throw the eggs away
• Feed it to the mother
• Give it to a local breeder

Throw the eggs away

Before you throw the eggs away, check to see if the eggs can actually be fertilized by placing them in the freezer for at least one day. You can throw the infertile eggs if you see no chance of them being fertile at all

Feed it to the mother

You can feed the mother leopard Gecko the same eggs they laid. It might sound gruesome but it is true that the mother leopard gecko eats their own eggs which helps them to regain the nutrients they had consumed while laying the eggs.

Give it to a local breeder

If you give the eggs to any local breeder, there is a chance that they will keep the eggs until they can verify that they are truly infertile. That time they will dispose of them for you. In most cases, they will take fertilized eggs as well.

Final Words

We want fertile eggs from our leopard geckos. Since the unfertilized eggs are of no use, you will not be able to have any baby Leopard Geckos from them.

Therefore, you can use the procedures that were discussed above to determine which of the eggs are fertile and which are not. You should also make an effort to ensure that your newborn Leopard Geckos do not experience any discomfort following their birth and are provided with the appropriate environment to ensure their long-term survival.

As a result, you won’t experience any difficulties even if you keep many leopard geckos at the same time.