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Anthony Caponetto
Crested Geckos

March 4, 2005

PHFlame: Good evening, everyone, and thank you for joining us tonight!

On behalf of Jeff Barringer and all of us at kingsnake.com, I'm very pleased pleased to welcome Anthony Caponetto to our Seventh Annual Chat Week!

Anthony keeps what he describes as "a modestly sized collection of Pythons and Geckos." His primary focus is on Carpet Pythons and Crested Geckos. He is an active member of the Kansas City Herpetological Society and currently on the board of directors. His topic tonight is Crested Geckos.

Thank you so much for joining us, Anthony, and welcome!
texasreptile_nr: anyone an expert on humidity?

Derek_nr: one of my crested females are laying eggs right now

PHFlame: Thank you for coming to the special guest chat this evening. If you have a question for our special guests, please type ? in the room and you will be added to the queue. You WILL be called on in the order of ? received. Please do not type openly in the chat room.

PHWyvern: this is where you all start raising your hands by typing a ?

PHFaust: OK Morelia you are first

VAherper_nr: ?

moreliakeeper: what kind of a return as far as breaking even did you see in regards to the crested also how long on average does it take till ciliatus reach maturity?

palex134: ?

AnthonyCaponetto: Hello, everyone. Thanks for coming by.

rhaco1208: ?

mincus: ?

AnthonyCaponetto: Cresteds are fairly easy to breed and don't cost a lot to maintain, so the return isn't much of a problem.

AnthonyCaponetto: The females can typically breed at a year, but it really depends on their weight/health.

juuniper77: ?

moreliakeeper: thanx

Joe R.: ?

PHFaust: Palex

palex134: My male crested gecko lost his tail and is as of today 18 grams and my female is 25 grams how long until they can safely breed?

AnthonyCaponetto: They're close...I would give them another 3-4 months.

palex134: thanks

AnthonyCaponetto: Just make sure to feed them a lot.

PHFaust: VAHerper

VAherper_nr: anthony, are you test breeding to determine which traits are dominant and recessive? and if so what have you found out?

AnthonyCaponetto: I have been paying close attention to certain traits, but it will take more time to be able to say which ones are co-dominant vs. simple recessive vs. polygenic in nature.

AnthonyCaponetto: One of the more exciting ones I'm working with is the marble line.

VAherper_nr: thanks, and those marbles are insane looking!

AnthonyCaponetto: I'm getting some really crazy looking ones now. :-)

VAherper_nr: awesome!

palex134: How much would my crested wiegh if he is currently 18 grams and missing his tail?


AnthonyCaponetto: Add about 10% for the tail.

rhaco1208: ?

palex134: thanks ac u rock

PHFaust: sooo basically around 20 grams

PHFaust: :)

PHFaust: Rhaco

AnthonyCaponetto: LOL

AnthonyCaponetto: Anyone?

VAherper_nr: ?

PHFaust: Rhaco your tyurn

rhaco1208: What precautions should we take to insure separate bloodlines when breeding?

AnthonyCaponetto: I don't think inbreeding is that much of a problem.

AnthonyCaponetto: Just make sure you're getting stock from breeders who don't make a habit of inbreeding for the sheer reason that they don't have any other geckos.

AnthonyCaponetto: The only times I do it is when I'm attempting to develop a particular trait.

AnthonyCaponetto: Which at this point, has been very little.

rhaco1208: Thanks, I just started and dont want to make mistakes

PHFlame: MIncus, you are up

palex134: ?

mincus: what do you think are required for a crested greenhouse to become sucussful? also what kind of plants would be wise to use?

AnthonyCaponetto: I've never been to New Caledonia, but from talking to Philippe and Allen Repashy, they tend to hang out in thin twigs, similar to ficus benjamina.

mincus: ok and the greenhouse?

AnthonyCaponetto: I don't think it would take much work at all to get them to reproduce in an open environment, but...

AnthonyCaponetto: you wouldn't want an actual greenhouse. They need to be kept at fairly mild temperatures, so the best bet would be to keep them either in an outdoor enclosure where the temperatures stay between 50-85 or...

rhaco1208: ?

AnthonyCaponetto: in a large enclosure that is artificially heated and/or cooled.

AnthonyCaponetto: So to answer your question, I wouldn't plan on keeping them in an actual greenhouse. Might get too hot.

mincus: with a climate control system?

AnthonyCaponetto: Exactly.

mincus: ok so in hypothsis it might work?

AnthonyCaponetto: That way, you can make sure they don't all cook or freeze. :-)

mincus: ok thank you

PHFaust: juuniper your up

AnthonyCaponetto: As long as the temperatures, etc. are right.

AnthonyCaponetto: Juuniper, go ahead. :-)

juuniper77: I have not had a problem with my geckos (I have about 30) but wondered what you do

PHFaust: LOL
juuniper77 whispers to you anthony, do you use UVB for your geckos? I have seen some with MBD (i'm a vet)

THe first half of the question

juuniper77: oops didn't mean to whisper LOL

PHFaust: aww jen didnt know you wanted to whisper in my ear... :)

AnthonyCaponetto: Please repeat the question...

juuniper77: hehehe

PHGinger: juuniper77 whispers to you anthony, do you use UVB for your geckos? I have seen some with MBD (i'm a vet)

THe first half of the question

PHFaust: juuniper77 whispers to you anthony, do you use UVB for your geckos? I have seen some with MBD (i'm a vet)

juuniper77: save that for chicago LOL

AnthonyCaponetto: I'm not sure if anyone else can see this question, but Juuniper is asking about UVB.

AnthonyCaponetto: To answer the question, no I don't use UVB.

juuniper77: thanks, i tried to unwhisper it but it wouldnt after i did it once

PHGinger: yes we were pasting the whisper into the room

AnthonyCaponetto: I use a Calcium supplement with D3 added, so there's no need.

juuniper77: how often do you supplement, in the same subject

AnthonyCaponetto: I supplement them every time I feed live prey...1-3 times per week, depending on the time of year.

juuniper77: ok, that is what i do and recommend, thanks!

AnthonyCaponetto: With UVB, I'm afraid they wouldn't make use of it because they tend to hide during the day.

juuniper77: right, unless they happened to hide near the top

juuniper77: thanks anthony

AnthonyCaponetto: Not likely. :-)

PHFaust: Rhaco your turn

rhaco1208: Do you use CGD or your own concoction?

AnthonyCaponetto: I use CGD by itself for about 90% of my animals.

PHLdyPayne: ?

AnthonyCaponetto: The other 10% were ones that I had before CGD came out and have been stubborn about taking CGD by itself.

rhaco1208: Do they eat more crickets than the CGD?

AnthonyCaponetto: Those animals get baby food mixed into their CGD.

AnthonyCaponetto: They actually get more CGD than they do live prey.

AnthonyCaponetto: I will add that the ones who don't take CGD by itself don't produce as well for me.

AnthonyCaponetto: It could be that they're just pickier eaters and wouldn't eat as much as the others no matter what, but I've definitely noticed a difference in production.

AnthonyCaponetto: I was referring to females, by the way. Males breed just fine no matter what you feed them.

PHFaust: Joe now you

rhaco1208: Thanks so much

Joe R.: I don't keep geckos, but I've heard breeders say they had to pop the tail off certain males to get them to breed. Do you know if this works and why/how?

AnthonyCaponetto: I've never heard of that.

AnthonyCaponetto: I don't know what about having a tail would cause a male to not have a sex drive, but who knows?

palex134: sorry my connection died

Joe R.: I thought it sounded odd. thanks

PHFaust: Palex perfect timing your turn again.....

AnthonyCaponetto: Very odd. :-)

AnthonyCaponetto: Most of my males would breed a small cat if given the chance.

rhaco1208: ?

sebastian924: ?

palex134: is it my turn?

PHFaust: yes.... retype please, i think anthony missed it

palex134: what age do u breed ur IJCPs at? What morphs of IJCPs do you breed?

AnthonyCaponetto: My Irian Jaya Carpet Pythons breed at 18 months (males) and about three years for females.

SharkKing: ?

AnthonyCaponetto: There is only one morph of Irian Jaya Carpet Python right now, which is the granite.

palex134: those are so nice expensive tho

palex134: thanks Anthony

PHFaust: VAherper

VAherper_nr: what do you think the marble morph is a combination of? could it just random recessive traits pairing up or what? just your opinion on the subject, your animals are like no one elses

AnthonyCaponetto: VAherper, give me a second...long response.

VAherper_nr: haha sure, take aslong as you need

palex134: ?

AnthonyCaponetto: The marble morph looks similar to the combination of tiger and harlequin traits, but they still look a bit different and they don't seem to produce any tigers. That leads me to believe that the marble trait is a different one altogether.

AnthonyCaponetto: More coming...

AnthonyCaponetto: I have some that are so aberrantly patterned that you can't really discern the pattern on their backs from the pattern on their sides...it all just kind of blends together.

SengokuJidai_nr: ?

AnthonyCaponetto: All in all, I have to say that I THINK it's a different, new trait, but I can't be 100% sure until I breed the original female to a totally unrelated male....and while I'm at it, I figure I'll make it a red male. :-)

VAherper_nr: thanks, that clears up alot about the morph for me, especially that when bred they dont produce tigers

VAherper_nr: haha

PHFaust: Ldypayne your turn

PHLdyPayne: Hello Anthony, sorry I didn't get the start of your appearance here..anyway, my question is: Given the growing popularity of crested geckos, and I am asusming little to no wild caught specimens coming in, is there concern the North American population of cb cresteds will become overly inbred?

mincus: ?

AnthonyCaponetto: I've heard that one before and while I can't say that it will never be a problem, I think that there were enough animals being brought in that we won't have to worry about it.

PHLdyPayne: oh that's great to hear :) Thanks

AnthonyCaponetto: Furthermore, the government of New Caledonia is pretty supportive of captive breeding efforts, even in the private sector...

AnthonyCaponetto: ...so with that in mind, if a "shallow gene pool" were to ever become a real problem, they would likely issue permits for more to be exported.

AnthonyCaponetto: I say all that, but I think Philippe de Vosjoli or Allen Repashy would be better able to explain that.

PHFaust: Sebastian your turn

PHFlame: ?

sebastian924: My month old juvie appears to be ignoring food. It is much skinnier than the other juvies (same ages). I've separated it, and am feeding it baby food w/ supplements nad crix. Any other ideas?

palex134: ?

AnthonyCaponetto: Well, it could just be competition for cage space and/or food that caused it to quit eating and lose weight or it could be due to a disease causing organism, specifically entamoeba invadens.

AnthonyCaponetto: Take a look at this page for more info on entamoeba invadens... http://www.acreptiles.com/geckos_crested_randy-ks-post.htm

sebastian924: I've read about that, and thats what I fear. Where would I get the flagyll to treat it?

AnthonyCaponetto: You should consult a veterinarian.

PHLdyPayne: ?

PHFaust: Shark your turn

SharkKing: What do you know as far as the state of reptiles and amphibians in the wild in the world today?

AnthonyCaponetto: All my reptiles and amphibians are in the state of Missouri. :-)

SharkKing: What do you think of euro tanks being so much bigger than our tanks?

AnthonyCaponetto: Can you be a little more specific?

AnthonyCaponetto: Depending on the species, larger tanks don't always mean better.

SharkKing: A typical euro tank is about 80 gals compared to our 10-20 gal.

AnthonyCaponetto: My baby Crested Geckos grow much faster when kept in small groups and in a small enclosure where they can find food much easier.

AnthonyCaponetto: I know some Europeans who keep Pythons and I'm not sure that they all actually keep them in such large enclosures.

AnthonyCaponetto: I think it really boils down to what you're trying to accomplish and what each person feels is best for their animals.

SharkKing: Got ya!

PHFaust: Sengo your turn

SengokuJidai_nr: Anthony, is there a difference in size between the morphs of Crested Geckos? Ie: Harliquine, flame etc...

AnthonyCaponetto: Sengo, the "morphs" or pattern/color traits seem to pretty much be independent of size, etc.

SengokuJidai_nr: Ok, thanks.

PHFaust: mincus your turn

mincus: what do you see coming as far as morphs?

mincus: also when might a albino be found

AnthonyCaponetto: I do have some animals (my Bawaa Herps red line for example) who tend to get larger.

SengokuJidai_nr: cool

AnthonyCaponetto: Just a sec...

AnthonyCaponetto: As far as morphs, I expect to see more extreme variations of the ones we have now...

AnthonyCaponetto: For example, the dalmatian trait will likely one day result in a nearly all black gecko...more

mincus: ne new ones that are entirely different?

AnthonyCaponetto: As for an albino, there are supposedly already a couple of them in other countries, but I have yet to actually see a picture.

AnthonyCaponetto: Mincus, it's only a matter of time before true genetic (i.e. co-dominant or simple recessive) mutations appear in captivity.

mincus: ok so no clue?

AnthonyCaponetto: If I knew that, I'd be rich already. :-)

mincus: ok thank you

AnthonyCaponetto: It's all just a matter of odds...

PHFaust: Palex your turn

palex134: My crested geckos are housed together right now. Although they are too small to breed male is 18 female 25 grams, when they aproach 30 will they start to breed? Should I lower the temps prior to breeding and then raise them or will they breed by themselves when they get larger? They seem to be healthy!

AnthonyCaponetto: As stated earlier, the female needs to be at least 35 grams.

AnthonyCaponetto: By the way, I would separate your geckos until the female is at least 35 grams.

PHFaust: Welll our last questioner has left...

PHFaust: PHflame you had a question, so we will let you have final one

palex134: thanks u can see them here http://gallery.pethobbyist.com/index.php?user=46121&cat=500

PHFlame: Anthony, on behalf of all of us at kingsnake.com, thank you so much for being our guest tonight! Thank you to all who joined us tonight as well. Tomorrow night we'll be welcoming Mark O'Shea, Jeff Ronne, and Adam Britton.