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The world’s largest children’s museum is experiencing an egg-splosion! A sweet little freckle-faced Crested Gecko popped out of its shell Sunday morning, April 7th. Although it’s too soon to know with certainty, the teeny-weeny lizard may grow up to be a “dalmation colored” Crested Gecko. Who knew we’d have this many itty bitty eggs. It begs the question: What is in the water at the world’s largest children’s museum or could it be the comfy accommodations filled with love from thousands of visitors?
It started February 12 when the first tiny egg was laid. Since then, 17 eggs have popped up throughout the habitats. March 15 marked the sighting of the first little head peeking out of its Crested Gecko shell and continues today with the hatching of a Lined Day Gecko.
The latest baby measures 1.5 inches and is too wiggly to weigh. It joins two sibling Crested Geckos and two Lined Day Gecko babies. There are more special deliveries “due” to make their appearances in the near future. These include babies from Fan Fingered Geckos, Crested Geckos, Bibrons Geckos and Lined Day Geckos.
Within the museum’s temporary Geckos exhibit, there are 18 species of geckos. There is a total of 80 reptiles on display (some harder to find than others due to camouflaging talents) in an exhibit that runs through May 15th. This traveling exhibit was created and cared for by Peeling Productions at Clyde Peeling's Reptiland.
Depending upon environmental conditions, it takes geckos between 45 to 100 days to hatch according to caretakers from Reptiland. The eggs need to be kept in a warm, humid place, which is provided to the “infants” behind the scenes at The Children’s Museum. The wee ones have a little growing to do before their gender is known. It can take a few months to determine whether they are boy or girl geckos.
“We are thrilled to be a part of exposing nature’s wonders to children and families. The hatching of these tiny creatures adds another layer of education to this informative and fascinating gallery and opens the door to family discussion,” said Dr. Jeffrey H. Patchen, president and CEO, The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis.
The new “additions” to the museum gecko family will not be on display because of the special care they require but, special caretakers do bring them out on occasion to show them to our visitors. The museum also keeps you engaged with their progress through social media.
The Children's Museum of Indianapolis is a nonprofit institution committed to creating extraordinary learning experiences across the arts, sciences, and humanities that have the power to transform the lives of children and families. For more information about The Children's Museum, visit www.childrensmuseum.org, follow us on Twitter @TCMIndy, Facebook.com/childrensmuseum and YouTube.
