Exactly 80 days after our female Knob Tailed Gecko laid an egg in her sand box we had a baby hatch from the egg. The egg was transferred to a vermiculite tub (to maintain steady moisture levels) and has been sitting in our incubator for all this time being maintained at 28 C. Unlike bird eggs where the birds tend and look after their eggs, these eggs get buried in the sand by the female and left to incubate without being moved. There is a small air pocket that is trapped in the top of the egg that the developing gecko needs to survive – if this egg is turned during its incubation period the developing gecko may suffocate.

Early on Sunday morning we found that the baby had managed to get its head out of the egg and over the course of the morning it wriggled out and was ready to live independently. It was weighed (3.9 grams) and set up in a small terrarium. We will look after it here at the Museum until we are sure it is feeding well. It will then be transferred to another museum, zoo or wildlife park where it will be on display.

The youngest member of our gecko family hatching from its egg. Photo: Claire Steel Source: Museum Victoria