Not cresteds but still a Rhac

[rhacodactylus]

Everyone is posting pics of their cresteds, so I thought I would share pictures of some new animals I received last month. My GT male that I got from Scotty Allen in 1999 when it was one month old died this summer when the room it was in overheated during a heatwave (yes, we have those even in Edmonton). Being quite depressed over this I gave up on leachies for a while but the fever struck and I broke down and ordered a compatible adult pair from Philippe de Vosjoli at www.giantgeckos.com. Well to make a short story long, this is what I got

This is the male Island D x Nuu Ana
http://members.shaw.ca/rhacodactylus/P101017011.jpg

This is the female henkeli x GT
http://members.shaw.ca/rhacodactylus/P101017211.jpg

Hope to have babies next year:)

[Rebecca]

Those are awesome.

[vanderkm]

These guys are incredible - hard to believe they are so huge!! One of the few lizards I have been tempted by!

Nice to see some pics of different and relatively rare species.

mary v.

[Scotty Allen]

Sorry to hear about your loss Neil, I still have a soft spot for those guys. My question though, if you went to all the trouble of ordering from Philippe, why a mixed pair? There is so much of this going on it is hard to find true "strains" anymore. Please don't take this as a condemnation, I'm sure your pair will produce some nice offspring. Don't forget, when egg laying begins, the female(s) require horrendous amounts of calcium.

[CDN-Cresties]

Congrats, they look great, I wouldnt mind a pair of those in the future.

[sara]

Very nice pair you have there. Out of curiosity, what island form is in the GT cross? I've heard that crosses display a certain degree of hybrid vigor, I suppose that would be a point to consider when making a choice in breeders... either way congrats on the new additions.

[reptiguy420]

man i didnt realize they got so big....i just got into cresteds myself but ive decided to pick up a breeding pair of those too!Girl friend is completely gonna lose her mind lol.I got 2 high end cresteds from acreptiles coming next week and my breeding pair also wooohooo!!!!

[rhacodactylus]

Honestly I was more interested in getting a proven compatible pair than a pure strain. He (Phillipe) had a pair of juvenile (~8 months old) GTs but it would have been several years before they could be bred. I had enough trouble finding a female for my original GT let alone one worrying if it would be compatible with him. Also the smaller size of these animals was a deciding factor.

Aside, the one I got from you was great for handling and feeding. I had no problems with it for the 5 years I had it. I've seen other similar-sized GTs that were quite aggressive as adults. It might also have something to do with the fact that I hand fed it for the first 6 months of it's life. There was no way that gecko was going to die after I paid that much money for one lizard. Of course, I have since paid 2-3x that much for a lizard. It's official, herp keeping is a disease:)

[Scotty Allen]

For what it's worth, I think you chose wisely then by opting for a compatible pair. When these guys first started coming into North America, I got to see first hand what was involved in pairing them up. It wasn't pretty. The few lucky individuals who were able obtain the first wild caught adults learned quickly and expensively that there was a lot more involved than just sticking a male and female in the same cage! Maybe now that the crappy weather is coming and I have a little more free time.....................

[beth wallbank]

Beautiful animals! Can't wait to see your babies.

[DragnDrop]

Sheeesh, I'm jealous! Not only a pair of leachies, but a compatible one at that!!!!!!!

I can see you had a heck of a decision to make with the different island mixes or a compatible pair. I'm at that stage too. I've got a mature female PI, and am looking for a mate, but I don't know if I really want to find one. With the horror stories I've heard (and Scotty didn't ease my nerves any with his post ;) ) I think I might be too scared to risk pairing up my Lady Oscar. The thing that bugs me is she lays (infertile) eggs every few months, it's such a shame to 'waste' them. If she'd been a male like she was supposed to be, then I wouldn't worry as much about keeping a single leachie.

[StickyToes]

Those are pretty sweet Neil!
Congrats and I can't wait to see the fruits of your labors next season! :D
James