Leopard Gecko Breeding
A Guide to Leopard Gecko Breeding
There are a few things you should consider before you begin leopard gecko breeding. First of all, you need to think about why you want to breed them. Having more geckos means having more geckos to take care of, unless you are absolutely sure that you have a way to find homes for them. It is not always as easy as putting an ad in the paper saying you have leopard geckos for sale.
More gecko mouths to feed mean having to have more live crickets, which takes some planning. And, you might start to feel that you have too many geckos demanding too much of your time. Leopard gecko breeding can produce as many as 10-12 more geckos each breeding season. They lay two eggs at a time for 5-6 months. That means more cages, more heat, lighting, climbing and hiding places.
It also means that you are risking the death of your leopard gecko. Chances are everything will be fine, but you do need to understand that pregnancy in any animal, as in any human, can be a dangerous thing, and sometimes the life of the mother-to-be is lost. But, if you understand the responsibility and are ready to breed and raise geckos, go for it. It provides much enjoyment to gecko lovers.
The first thing you need to do is make sure that you have a male and female leopard gecko. That might sound funny but many people cannot accurately tell the sex of a gecko, especially if the gecko was young when you got him or her. Salespeople in pet stores are, in fact, wrong more often than they are right in identifying males and females. Go online and find some photos of what male and female gecko genitalia looks like just so you know for sure.
In spite of what many people think, you do not need to do anything special about lighting or temperature to trigger reproduction. If you have the recommended temperatures and light in your habitat set-up, that is sufficient. Most breeders have one male in with 3-5 females. When he thinks it’s the right time, the male will start to stock the female. He may try biting her, working his way up from tail to neck. If she is ready, she responds. If not, she says no. Don’t worry, he will try again!
Once she starts to develop her eggs (usually 2), you need to make a good laying site. A small plastic box or 16-ounce cup filled with moist sphagnum moss is perfect. After she lays the eggs in the container, you can remove them “up side up” to an incubator. Two months at the right temperature and you will have baby leopard geckos.
The sex of the baby geckos is determined by the temperature at which the eggs are kept. Around 82 degrees females develop, 85-87 degrees will give you females and males, and at above 90, you should have all males. Just remember, no temperature formula is perfect!