Breeding Leopard Geckos
90Caring for Leopard Geckos
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Breeding leopard geckos is relatively easy once you have the male and female geckos. If you decide to breed leopard geckos, do not house the male and female together; this can cause stress on the female. Letting the male and female mate all the time can cause health concerns with the female, so do not let them mate unless you have the full intent of incubating the eggs. Otherwise it just causes unnecessary stress on the female.
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Sexing Leopard Geckos
Once you've decided to breed your leopard geckos, you must make sure that you have a male and a female, otherwise you will not any babies. Plus, putting two males together in hopes of breeding them, will only cause injury and possible death, so first, you must make sure that you have one male and at least one female. It is hard to determine the gender of leopard geckos until they are about six months old, so when checking a baby gecko for its gender, a male may resemble a female.
If you know at what temperature the gecko was incubated, it will give you a good idea as to what the gender is, but either way you should check the vent (base of the tail where it meets the body). Both genders will have a 'V' of femoral pores at the vent, but in females the femoral pores will appear much fainter than in males. Males also have two hemipenal bulges at the base of the tail, below the vent.
You must be certain of the gender of you gecko before you put two geckos together, so remember that the size of the head or the length of the gecko cannot determine the sex because there are always exceptions to the rules.
Appropriate Breeding Age
Leopard geckos should be fully grown before you think about breeding; make sure that they are at least one year old. If a female is too young, complications may arise, and the overall lifespan of the gecko can be shortened. The age is not the sole determining factor of breeding requirements. The female should also be in good conditions, not underweight or unhealthy. Female should be no less than 50 grams because the female will actually loose weight while being gravid, as the egg production takes calcium from her bones and body.
Mating and Egg Laying
Usually you will not see the mating process, but you will begin to notice bite marks on the female. The male will grab a hold of the female around her neck, but it is not uncommon to see marks on her body or tail.
If you begin to notice sores or bullying, you need to remove the male. Usually, you will only need to keep the male with the female for a few days to a week.
As the eggs develop within the female, you will begin to notice the female gaining weight. The skin will begin to stretch, and the eggs will become visible in her abdomen.
Occasionally, the first clutch will only consist of one egg, but usually they come in pairs. The female will lay her eggs about every four to six weeks.
Have a laying box, or humid hide, where the female can lay her eggs. Fill the laying box with about one to two inches of damp vermiculite or perlite, found at garden stores. The laying box allows you some time before the eggs dehydrate, but sometimes the female will not lay the eggs within the laying box, so you must remove them immediately, or else they will dehydrate.
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Incubating Leopard Gecko Eggs
Types of Incubators:
Homeade:
- You can use old styrofoam coolers with heat tape attached to a thermostat.
- An aquarium with an under water heater set to a particular temperature. Have the eggs in a tupperware of some sort, partially sitting in the water.
Commercial:
- 1602-N Hovabator (DO NOT use a Hovabator with a turbo fan or with an automatic egg turner. The thermal fan will dry out hte eggs even if you have optimum humidity in the deli cups.)
- Nature's Spirit
Temperatures:
The sex of leopard geckos is determined by the temperature of the incubator. In some morphs.
Usually if the egg is incubated for at 90º F, it will be a male, or if it is incubated at 80º F, it will be a female. If the eggs are incubated at 85º F, the chances your chances are 50/50 for either a male or a female, but you then run the chance of having "hot females" or "cold males," where they will not breed and are usually more aggressive.
Humidity:
You should keep a cup or two of water within the incubator if you are using a bought incubator. This will raise the humidity levels. You can also pour water in the bottom of some bought incubators to accomplish the same thing.
Incubation Medium:
When in the incubator the egg needs to be in some sort of container with a moistened bedding. Vermiculite and perlite work great. Hatch-rite, is a new incubation medium that has great results as well. With Hatch-rite, you do not need to add water.
Hatching Leopard Geckos
The eggs will incubate for about 40- 60 days. The higher the temperature, the faster the embryo will develop, and in turn the sooner it will hatch.
About a week before the baby hatches, the egg will swell, becoming noticeably larger. A few hours before the baby hatches, you will notice deformation of the egg.
Baby geckos have a hatching tooth that allows it to break out of the egg, but they soon loose the tooth after its purpose is served.
During the hatching process, the baby will take breaks, retreating back inside the egg, so if you are watching the baby hatch, do not worry. The overall process is fairly quick. The yolk sac will still be attached to the baby, so it is a good idea to leave the baby in its container for a little while so that the yolk sac can be rubbed off.
Leopard Gecko Breeders
- goReptiles
Small hobby breeder of select leopard gecko morphs, african fat tails, and crested geckos. - GeckoPhiles
Small breeder located near ATL, GA. Breeds various leopard gecko morphs, as well as knob tail geckos, gargoyl geckos, crested geckos, african fat tails, and velvet geckos. - Bright Albino
Breeder of various leopard gecko morph. Paul is a high quality breeder for a great price. - HISSS
HISSS raises and breeds top quality leopard geckos. You can find various morphs such as Enigmas, Bells, Trempers, Jungles, and more.
Caring for Leopard Gecko Hatchlings
Housing
Leopard gecko hatchlings must be housed with geckos of their size. If they are placed with larger geckos, they may be bullied and become stressed. This is the only time that you can house male leopard geckos, but as they age, you will have to separate them. Just remember to house the geckos with others similar to them in size, reducing any problems that may occur.
Reptile carpet and paper towels are both great when housing young leopard geckos. Remember to place a small bowl of water in with the hatchlings. Make sure that it is not filled too deep to prevent the baby from falling into the water bowl. Overall, the hatchlings should be given the same treatment as an adult, receiving the same heat and overall care as an adult.
Diet
Hatchling leopard geckos will not eat until their first shed, which is usually about three to five days after hatching. You should have small crickets or mealworms ready to provide the hatchlings. Remember to appropriately size the feeder insects to no more than than the width of the space between its eyes.
Handling
Handing the hatchlings should be as minimal as possible because to the baby, you are gigantic, and handling the babies will frighten them, possibly stressing them out. You should allow the hatchling time to grow a little. Wait about a month before handling the babies, and when you thing the babies are ready to be handled, start slow, just as you would the adults.
More Info About Breeding Reptiles
- Things to Think About Before Breeding Reptiles
Make sure that you're prepared for breeding reptiles. You don't want to harm any innocent reptile while you're trying to get your kicks. - Investing in High Quality Reptiles
When breeding reptiles, you want to invest in a high quality reptile versus plain-jane reptile from the pet store. - My Investment: The Cost of Breeding Reptiles
How much does it really cost to breed reptiles. The expenses from goReptiles. - goReptiles
About my personal hobby business.
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Comments
I will add pictures of leopard gecko enclosures in my 'caring for leopard geckos' hub. Thank you for the suggestion.
Oh man...I think I've got a lot of work ahead of me. I bought some leopard geckos and set them up in two 20 gallon long tanks, with a male and a female in each. After a few months one of the males attacked the female he was living with. It was a bite on the tail, and from what I've read thats a sign of mating. The female was not receptive and bit him in the neck and leg. I rushed to separate them, and luckily was no broken skin but it worried me a lot. Many of the geckos I've been keeping were in pairs: a fat tail pair (20 gallon long), 2 leo pairs (each pair in a 20 gallon long), a crested pair in a (30 gallon). The only ones that were on their own were a Pictus in a 10 gallon and a Tokay in a 20 tall. Now that I've seen what can happen if a male is permanently housed with a female, I'm considering housing each male separately. This will lead to me having to sell 1 male leopard gecko, placing another in a 10 gallon separately...and selling my tokay to make room for the male crested because I just don't have the money to make another 20 gallon setup... :o( Any suggestions?
I would say that you should not house males and females year-round. This could cause undo stress on the female for breeding non-stop without a break. You may want to invest in more cages to separate all the males from the females. Don't house the males together, either. Females loose a lot of weight in the breeding season, and it's best for them to give them a break by removing the males for a few months. Also, you need to do a lot of research and be very fluent in each of the species before you decide to breed. You will need at least one incubator, otherwise, the likelyhood of the eggs hatching is slim.
Yes, it is a sign of mating when the male bites at the female. Sometimes, she will bite back. You just have to watch out for any severe bullying and stress. I really would suggest you to separate you males and females, not housing them year-round.
And some advice, you'll never make any profits. You must account for the money spent on the reptiles, housing, feeders, and man hours. The babies will barely make you break even, if you're lucky. Only big commercial breeders actually make any money.
Thanks. I'd never keep males together, if i did I wouldn't have the space issues I'm facing now. As for breeding, I really wasn't planning or incubating eggs or dealing with hatchlings for another couple of years at least as I don't presently have the time for that. I realize that its a complicated process specific to each species, and that incubators haver certain temperature/humidity requirements for each species. I simply didn't think the housing arrangements through completely, and this was the result. The only way I can manage this will be to find other homes for a couple of the males.
I will never recommend to anyone to get rid of their animals unless they, themselves, feel they cannot properly care for them in any way, shape, or form. That's your decision to make. You have to think about the animals, as they cannot care for themselves.
I would recommend that if you decide to breed, that you spend the money and purchase geckos from breeders versus a petstore, as with a breeder you can be guaranteed a healthy animal with great genes. With petstore animals, you can't guarantee that, and breeding those reptiles and other animals, may result in animals with deformities or health concerns down the road.
hi!I have two leopard geckos.I really want them to mate so they can have babies.but HOW???
For the most part if you have a male and a female, you will need to house them together for a few weeks. They will take care of the rest. Make sure that you have places to house hatchlings, and the money to feed them until they are old enough to find permanent homes for. You will also need to purchase an incubator. The cheapest route is a Hova-bator without the thermal fan. LLLReptile sales them for 39.99. If you follow my above instructional, you should be able to hatch healthy hatchlings. Make sure you know what you're doing before you do it... It's a lot of stress on a female's body, if you do not incubate the eggs properly in order to have hatchlings.
Thanks I appreciate the advice. Its a crappy decision to make but my irresponsibility brought me to this point and all there is left to do is act on the animals best interest. I've witnessed pairs of leopard geckos housed together for years and assumed that I would not confront any problems. It was a pretty naive belief. In any case I'll make sure they go to capable owners, and be more careful in the future. Thanks again.
I just got a mel leo, i want to breed. I read about bredding but what are the signs? like my female started to wiggle her tail back and forth and i got a little scared they were about to fight so i seperated them. Help please
You will probably not see any physical signs of mating, as it tend to occur at night. What you may notice is tail wagging between them. The male will bite on the females neck and sides, so you may see a little of that or the bite marks on her. Don't worry, as they aren't fighting.
You will need to watch for fighting, bullying, and stress, though. Too much insistence upon the female will greatly stress her out.
Oh, and if you just purchased your male, you should not have them together. You should place him in a quarantine period alone for at least 30-90 days to make sure he is parasite free. Otherwise, you female could become ill from a health concerns brought in from the male.
if you have any more info could you send to my e-mail katlinb123@hotmail.com please
hi!!!!!!! i would like to know how to make a home made incubator?????????? and wat are the signs of bullying !!!!
Homemade incubators are NOT reliable unless you purchase a thermostat, which will cost you aroun $100. You best bet is to purchase one. Hovabator incubators work well; they're about $40 plus shipping, although they work BEST with thermostats.
You can make a homemade incubator with a styrofoam cooler, heat tape, foil tape, and a thermostat,
If you're going with cheap. Don't breed.
You may see excess bite marks. One gecko may not let the other eat as much as it truly needs. It's best to NEVER house multiple geckos in the same enclosure for prolonged periods of time. ESPECIALLY males and females. The female will be stressed bc the male will constantly try to breed with her.
Hi, I agree with whitney i have 5 leos and other reptiles, but yea a hovabator will be your bets bet but i actualy have a hot water heater room that will work for hatching leo eggs i have 3 juvinile leos and an adult pair and i read alot and studied and im gonna breed>
I wouldn't suggest a heater room unless you are able to control the temps to a tee. With fluctuating temps you will have deformed hatchlings if they hatch at all.
Question:If you have a male and a female gecko that have always lived in the same enclosure, is it still necessary to separate them to avoid the stresses of mating year round? I've had them for years, and although she has laid eggs, it's been sporatic and only early in the breeding season (February). Do I really have to separate these two if they live quite comfortably together??
You really should.
Why? Because the male is constantly mating with her. This doesn't give the female a proper healing time, so to speak. She isn't allowed to rest and recoup. This causes stress on her body, which can shorten her lifespan drastically.
Separating them, may cause a little stress for a short period, but leaving them together will cause more stress for a longer period- the female's entire life.
Hi... loved all the information. thank you for dedication to a fine article. you've got me hooked. i'm sure you'll have forgotten more than i can possible learn from this expierence.with your knowledge can you point me in the right direction as to wear to start with quality leos.
You can get quality leopard geckos from a breeder. Check online breeders and reptile expos in your area.
Make sure that you're prepared for this. Check out these links first!
http://hubpages.com/_reptiles/hub/Before-Breeding-
How can you tell if a egg is fertile or infertile?
Thanks ;-)
After a few days, preferrably at least 1 week, you can candle an egg. The longer it sits in the incubation medium in proper temps and humidty, you'll begin to see veins. The egg will glow red when candled. You can either purchase an egg candler, or purchase a pen-sized flashlight. Gently hold the tip of the flashlight to the egg (still in the deli cup and incubation medium).
I wouldn't remove the egg from the medium to candle.
If it's infertile, after a few days to a few weeks it will begin to mold, sweat, or dent.
Sometimes denting is just a way of dehydrating, so if your humidity is accurate within the deli cup, the only reason an egg should dent is if it's infertile.
The closer to hatching, you will begin to see the gecko inside the egg. A day or so before hatching, the gecko will begin to move around inside the egg, to which you can see by candling.
hi i was wanting to kno if you can tell me how to tell the age of my geckos i just bought a lil baby one today and its albino and i already have a male leopard gecko they are getting along but i wanted to find out how you tell how old each one is brandi
tinkerbell- it can be hard to estimate the age of a gecko. You need to separate them! you don't need to house a baby with anything but himself or an equavalent baby. You can severely stress out the gecko, and if it turns out to be male, you're going to have a fight which will probably result in the death of the baby gecko.
You need the weights and lengths to estimate the age. But even still it can be hard not knowing where they came from because there are giant morphs that are bigger at the same age as regular sized geckos.
Brandi, separate them! Do not let them "play" or interact. If you read anything about geckos, you'd know that when bringing hom a new gecko you MUST quarantine it for at least 30 days before introducing it to a new gecko. You could have just spread parasites or anothat illness to your male. Plus, the male can and will bully the smaller gecko. Just because you don't see it, doesn't mean it doesn't happen at night when you're sleeping and their most active.
Hiya!
I have just found out my gecko Aster is pregnant- and i am anxiously waiting the babies arrival! How do you know when they are going to lay their eggs? As she has been acting rather stragely for the past few days. Also, i work a full time job- is it essential for me to be there when she lays the eggs? Obviously to get them removed and incubated! I an so anxious as this is my first reptile and i don't want anything bad to happen to her!
No, you don't have to be there when she lays the eggs. You need to make sure that the lay box is moist at all times so that the eggs won't dehydrate if you don't catch them right away. The first clutch may not be fertle, but incubate them anyway until you see signs of infertility. A few days before she'll lay, she'll stop eating and hang out and dig in the lay box.
I'd suggest checking the laybox twice a day so that you don't miss the eggs and find them partially dehdrated.
Hiya! I have just checked on her and she is just laying down in the box- with no movement at all, not even when i call her! She isn't normally very responsive, but she hasn't moved her head at all! I've checked n she seems to be breathing ok- is this normal activity for a pregnant gecko? Is there going to be minimal movement/response from her now until she lays the eggs?
Chantelle, just leave her alone. She may be getting ready to lay. Try not to bother her until after she lays. After she lays give her a few days before handling her, but make sure to provide her with plenty of food so that she can start reboosting herself, so to speak.
Thanks alot you've been a great help- i will try not to stress, just a bit weary of the unknown! Thanks again!
wat if my gecko bites me really hard and i start to bleed wat shold i do
my leopard geckos previos owner says that the gecko is very aggresive towards other geckosand want to breed them wat should i do plus i dont know if its a boy or girl
If the male bites and harasses the female to an extreme, you really shouldn't breed that male. I have a blazing blizzard that, with certain females, has left huge bites on the sides of their faces. I quickly had to remove him to prevent further stress on the female.
Also, if you want to breed them, you need to wait until the female is at least 50-60 grams and 1 year old. If you do now know if they're male or female, then you need to wait until the geckos are. Also, I'd recommend not breeding the aggressive male as it can cause undo stress to the female. You need to make sure that you have both geckos housed separately until you are ready to breed and know if the other is a female or male.
Also, remember that they can lay up to 20 eggs a season, so you need to make sure that you can house up to 20 hatchlings, individually.
how old do the baby leopard geckos have to be to mate and how can you tell if she is pregnant and how old do they suppose to be?
Deon, females need to be at least 1 year old and weigh 50-60 grams before they can be bred. When they are gravid, you can see them putting on a little weight on the belly area. You can also see the eggs in her belly; they'll appear as pink ovals.
if there iz mold that growz on or around the egg from to much humidity will it harm or kill the egg and prevent it from hatchin?
More than likely the egg was infertile to begin with. Freeze it and throw it away if it's covered in mold. If it's just a little you can try an anti-fungal, but if the egg is infertle, then it's not going to matter.
ok how do u tell if it iz infirtle? two of the eggs looked really great then they suddenly started i guezz u would say "oozing" it seemed az if the yolk sak or something waz comin out but the egg waz not cracked nor rolled and they are about 2 weekz old i beleive the single egg iz no good but the pair fo eggz from my tangerine tornado were doin very well until today
If it's fertile you will notice a bulls-eye when you candle the egg. Sometimes it is very faint, depending on when you candle it. Often right after laid, you cannot see the bullseye, which is why you should incubate all eggs that are laid.
Check your humidity. What are you using as an incubation medium? What are your temps? What kind of incubator are you using?
well i notice a lil difference in a sertain area itz slightly darker but the main part on the two eggz iz that it lookz like the yolk sac or somthin (itz clear) iz leakin out but the eggz r still whit n plump
we r uzin a homemade incubator that our "breeder" reccomended it a rubbermade container with holez in the top and itz on thiz stuff u uze for plantz i believe i never remember the name of it the breeder gave it to me and there iz a cup of water off to the side in the corner and the temp iz about 80*f so im not sure what im doing wrong
what do u think or suggezt?
You can patch the leak. Just leave the eggs alone.
Breeder recommended incubators are either hovabators or nature's spirit. Another breeder recommended incubator is a homemade incubator out of a large styrofoam cooler with heat tape monitored by a thermostat.
I would suggest either purchasing a real incubator or by making one from a styrofoam cooler, heat tape, and a thermostat.
Also, check the humidity levels and make sure that you're not putting too much water within the container you're incubating eggs, as you will cause too much moisture which will kill the eggs, as can not enough moisture. It sounds like you're using either vermiculite or perlite.
ok so i will leave the eggz alone i thought maybe i waz uzing to much water but i drained a lil water out so that way the humidity will b high but not to high they seem to b doin fine i though of uzin the styrofoam container i felt it would work better but i need to know how to make it right and what exact thingz to uze
i am uzing perlite and thatz what the breeder i know uzez but hiz eggz seem not to b doin very well either
how and what do i uze to make the incubator outa the styrofoam cooler cuz i have one on hand
You need to buy heat tape, wiring for the heat tape, and a thermostat. It'll probably cost about $150-$175 depending on how much heat tape you buy and if you get the herpstat or helix thermostat. It's a lot cheaper to just buy a hovabator from lllreptile for $50.
ok soundz good thank u very much u have been a big help i appreciate ur advice and help thanx again
one more queztion though iz illreptile a website or a store or a brand? im sorry juz new at thiz and open to learn anythin i can
lllreptile is a very large website that has an online store selling tons of reptile products. They also sell feeders and are a wholesaler of reptiles. If you've been in the hobby for more than a few months, you've should have heard about them.
yeah never mind i know who they r they alzo have a store in california my boyfriend knowz bout them
well i appreciate ur help thank u very much
My daughter has two geckos, male and female, they did the deed and she laid eggs which we removed because we were not planning on breeding. We then separated the two of them because he would not leave her alone. About a month after they were separated the female laid 2 more eggs in her water dish, covered them with sand and spent all of her time on the mound like a chicken in her nest. I explained to my kids that with all the reseach I had done on breeding that these eggs were not going to hatch but I agreed to leave them alone. Now all of the sudden she is digging again. She is moving around and sending all the substrate into a pile. Her water and food bowls are completely covered and I am baffled by this behavior. She has not been with the mle since the last episode so there aren't any more eggs so I do not know what she is doing. Any thoughts?
When breeding geckos, the female will lay up to 5 times on one breeding, if not more. You shouldn't have had them together if you didn't plan on breeding, as this will cause stress on the females body. If the female is under 1 year old and weighs less than 50 grams, you have also shortened her lifespan by a minimum of 2-3 years just from this one breeding.
Basically, she'll continue to lay until she's done. She may even lay a few next year, as they retain sperm, but that's not a gaurantee. I've only had one female lay the following year without mating, and it was just one or 2 clutches.
Keep the two geckos separated from now on. And remove the sand, your risking your gecko's life by housing on sand, as impaction is a severe and deadly risk unless you catch signs early-on. It sounds like you need to add a humid hide as well; I'm assuming becuase she laid the eggs in the dirt, she doesn't have a humid hide. Even non-breeding geckos need one to assist in shedding. You just need to spray it when the gecko is going to shed. Both need one in their individual tanks.
My leopard gecko Aster's first clutch have just hatched- n i've just found 2 baby gecko's. It looks like they have come out of one of the eggs, but the other egg is looking fairly the same. Can 2 babies come out of the same egg?
Also, my leopard gecko (who is housed separate from the male) is producing eggs quite rapidly. The first came on the 31/03/08, the second batch got destroyed, the third (which only consisted of 1 egg) on the 26/05/08 and now she laid one on the 7/6/08- is this quite normal for a female gecko? She has not long turned 2 years!
Also, i need advice on the egg she laid on the 26/06/08- this has started to go a little furry on the exterior n has started to shrink in certain places- should i get rid of this egg?
Your advice is very much appreciated!
It's pretty rare for a twins to both hatch successfully out of the same egg. Sometimes they will hatch with the egg still plumped up. You can easily examine the egg and you'll probably fine a slit on one side of the egg.
The egg laying is normal for leopard geckos. They tend to lay 2 eggs every 3-4 weeks, sometimes sooner. I've heard of females laying every 8-14 days, but that's not as common as once a month.
For the "furry" egg, it's probably mold. You can try an anti-fungal. Don't destroy the egg until it is covered in mold as it may still hatch, but you do want to house it away from any other eggs, as it can increase ammonia levels in the deli cup.
hello itz me agian and i had another queztion
my baby geckoz the r about 2-4 monthz old and they r alwayz perfectly fine then when i change there habitat to a terrarium from my work place they stop eatin after a few dayz then die i have two that i am tryin to keep alive what can cauze thiz ive cleaned the tank they have a UVB and a bazkin light
any suggeztionz? i appreciate ur help :)
Why are you moving them around???!!! You need to keep them in the same enclosure with paper towels, a water bowl, calcium dish, food bowl (if feeding mealworms), and 2 hides. You're stressing them out severely. I understand wanting to watch them, but what you're doing is insane. No offense, but a little more research before you attempt to breed would have helped the situation.
You want to house the hatchlings individually, or at least in pairs (the 2 clutchmates). Do not house the hatchlings with adults or larger geckos.
You don't need UV lighting. Leopard geckos are nocturnal and do not require UV lighting. You need to make sure that you have an under tank heater to supply 90F degrees of heat to the surface of the tank. You need to measure the temperatures with a digital thermometer. You really don't need a basking light either; again as they are nocturnal the lighting only sets a day/night scenario; leopard geckos don't require lighting, as long as they are getting the proper heat from an under tank heater.
I suggest you not breeding your leopard geckos again until you know how to properly care for the adults that you have. If you have specific questions, I'd be glad to help.
no no u got me completely miztaken what i meant waz i work at petzmart and thatz where the young geckoz lived i moved them from there to my home into their own tank whic i uzually have two at a time and when i move them to my houze the tend to stop eatin and starve themzelvez i have one gecko who iz at the vetz office and he sayz he cant find anythin wrong but he put him on a medication called baytril and from what i have rezearched and learned the uvb light i have them under iz for a source of calcium it helpz them produce calcium and grow and the bazkin light i have iz not of high wattage itz juz hot enough to keep them warm and at night they get a night time light which iz red they r alzo on carpet so there iz no looze particalz for them to accidently eat my set up iz approved by a vet i know quite a bit therez juz a lot i still am curiouz bout i am no longer breeding juz cuz id rather enjoy havin my geckoz for quite sometime then to worry bout eggz i have moved pazzed that point my baby geckoz r not hatchlingz from me they r from a vendor for petzmart
alzo my adult leapord geckoz r doin perfect they r perfectly fine they eat well they are very active and r very healthy they get the same treatment and set up az my juvinile geckoz thatz why i dont underztand what iz wrong with them not even the vet findz anythin wrong and i do not handle them pic them up or change there habitat except for when i am changin the carpet out
i have alwayz been successful with my reptilez until now i have four snakez an iguana 3 adult geckoz that r doin very well and 2 bearded dragonz whom r alzo very healthy
i only waz azkin if u had any suggeztionz that waz all
Ok sorry I had you partly wrong. UV lighting does not benefit leopard geckos much less any nocturnal species whatsoever. You should leave a bowl of pure calcium in the tank to include dusting the feeders. UV is only beneficial for diurnal reptiles; it doesn't help them produce calcium, but it helps them to absorb the calcium in their body. You can really turn it off nocturnal species though; you're pretty much just wasting electricity leaving it on. "Just hot enough to keep them warm" What's that supposed to mean?? You need to make sure that you're giving them belly heat that reaches no more than 90 and no less than 88 in order to ensure optimum temperatures. You also need to purchase a digital thermometer for each tank. You need to clean and thoroughly disenfect the tank before putting new geckos in it. The movement from one environment to another is stressing them out. Plus Petsmart usually has pretty small geckos that are barely 2 months old, which can stress them out even more.
ok so what u r sayin iz that i dont need any lighting at all juz an undertank heater? and the set up i have goez like thiz it iz a ten gallon set up with carpet a seperate bowl with mealwormz which i change out every two dayz a seperate water bowl that iznt to deep so they dont drown themzelvez and a hide out and an artificial branch becauze for some reazon they love to climb they alzo have a thermometer that iz a stick on and a digital thermometer that readz 87.4f* my adultz r in a 20 gallon long with the same set up which r doin perfectly fine
when i feed them i duzt the cricketz and give them two at a time and i do so until they seem full and show no more interezt but with the juvinile geckoz becauze of the uvb light i only give them duzted crix once a week iz that wrong?
i started off with two juvinile geckoz which i thought were sick cuz u could tell by lookin at them they both looked like they were gonna die so i bought a new set up for new geckoz which i later purchazed (2)cuz i figured they would do better in a pair so they arent az strezzed they stopped eating and i took them to the vet who sayz he cant find anythin wrong i bought a new batch and they r doin fine i waz juz wonderin what could b wrong the new geckoz r at leazt 5-6 inchez and they r very healthy i juz didnt wanna do wrong with theze onez my adultz do great it waz juz my juvinilez i waz worried about
i liked ur advice and it seemz az if u know what u r talkin about thatz why i wanted to get ur opinion too but u see thatz all i needed waz a second opinion not critizizm too i really appreciate ur help but id appreciate it more without bein mizjudged or down spoken
Lighting is not necessary for nocturnal animals. The lighting jsut sets a day/night scenario for them. I don't use lighting. I just stick with belly heat. Are you using a stick on thermometer? If so those aren't accurate and you should really purchase a digital thermometer with a probe.
I don't mean to talk down to you, and I appologize for that.
ok i will try that maybe they would like that more so far so good i have a stick on which came with a starter kit and i alzo have a digital thermometer that i perchazed at a small reprtile store i dont like the stick onz like u said "they arent accurate" so i like the digital
well letz see how theze onez hold on everything iz well so far maybe it waz from one had an infection and they were pazzing it on they were all from the same batch theze onez were from a new batch so far so good
thank u for all of ur help i appreciate it very much and appology accepted :) thankz
Hopefully all will be well.
Hi i just got a female leopard gecko added to my terrarium with a male and the female might have already have been pregnant becuase the person i got her from said she is probly pregnant becuase she was house with a male for a couple of weeks. but i'm not really sure. when i was cleaning out the tank the other day she started to dig a little on the warm side of the terrarium but didn't lay any eggs. What should i do?
You should take the female out of the tank from the male. Don't house them together. You should have quarantined the female before putting her with your male. You need to purchase an incubator, deli cups, and incubation medium. You should easily be able to tell whether or not the female is gravid, since she's been with a male even 2 weeks prior. There's nothing you can do; well, you can 1) remove the sand as you're raising impaction risks and 2) add a humid hide with moist bedding. If she lays the eggs in the san, they will dehydrate. If you leave the sand in either way, you can potentially kill your pets due to impaction. Typically just because they dig doesn't mean they're going to lay. It could mean that she's trying to get closer to the heat source b/c the tank isn't providing accurate temps, or it could mean that's she's preparing. But, if this is her first lay, she may retain the eggs or she may lay duds. It typically takes more than a few weeks to lay first eggs. I hope that the gecko is age and weight appropriate.
well would paper towel be ok to use for them and i'm not really sure if the other gecko is an male i think it's an female and would it lay it's eggs on the paper towel if she's pregnant? And for the humid hide can i put in moist paper towel to? And the female hasn't been eating sence i got her on friday?
or i can i use moist soil for the humid hide?
Paper towl is perfect for the enclosure substrate. You can use bed-a-beast in the humid hide. She may or may not lay on the paper towels. She will definitely lay on the paper towels if she doesn't have a moist laybox. She may also lay on the paper towels if the eggs are not fertile, but incubate them anyway, as I've had females lay fertile eggs on the bottom of their tubs. It's normal for them not to eat for the first few days of bringing them home. Don't mess with her. Make sure she has an enclosure by herself, and leave her be for a few days. Just make sure she has fresh water and offer her food once a day, removing what she doesn't eat after about 15 minutes. If she is gravid, not eating can be a sign that she will lay within a few days, but it's also very common since you just got her.
what is bed-a-beast?
lol i just made an account
and the paper towels that you said were good to put in there don't really conduct alot of heat?
Glad you joined; hopefully you'll write interesting hubs for us all to read.
Bed-A-Beast also known as eco-earth and a few other names, but basically it's a block of dried dirt that expands when you soak it in water, similar to the compressed wash rags that expand when you open the package, but you have to soak the block in water.
Paper towels are a great substrate for the tank, not the lay box. They don't conduct heat, but it shouldn't matter if you're heating your tank properly- IE under tank heater. Just make sure that you have digital thermometers in the tank so that you can accurately measure the temperatures.
umm would it also be ok if i used vermiculitwe and some spanish moss.
For the lay box, yes, for the substrate in the rest of the tank, no.
i have one more question would the leoaprd gecko get hurt if he were to eat the vermiculite.
And thanks so much for all the help.
and my leoaprd gecko still hasn't been eating at all. Will she start eating once she lays the eggs if she's prenant becuase she has a pretty skinny tail. I am pretty sure she is prenant she looks like she is getting a little bigger but i'm not really sure.
Yes, it can hurt if they eat the vermiculite, as over time if it continues, it can build up in their body and cause impaction, so you really need to monitor the gecko and her fecal matter.
As for your gecko not eating and being very thin. I just want to say that you should have thought about the health of the female prior to breeding her, as the excess stress of breeding and carrying the eggs only worsens an ill gecko. As for being thin, geckos lose weight during breeding, which is why there's a safe minimum weight that they should be at before breeding is attempted. Make sure that you purchase a scale that measures grams with a .1 gram accuracy. You will be able to monitor the gecko's weight, and it will help you in the future to determine whether the female is really ready for breeding. They should be at bare minimum 50 grams; although 55-60+ is much better.
Even though they lose weight during breeding, they should not have a skinny tail.. Did the gecko have eating issues prior to you trying to breed her?
Generally, they only stop eating a few days before they lay, which is not enough time to make a tail skinny. And yes, they do tend to start eating the day or day after they lay their eggs. But because the female will again stop eating before her next lay, you need to make sure that she's fed and eats as much as she will. This is also another reason why the gecko should have been checked out and proven 100% healthy and proper weights before breeding her.
If she was 100% healthy, at least 1 year old, and at least 50 grams before breeding, then I would not recommend you breeding her again next season, as you've proven that she's a poor breeder since she stops eating throughout being gravid. I've had a gecko that was 100% health and well over 50g stop eating completely throughout breeding and egg laying that have ended up near death by the end of the season, which is why you should be extra cautious.
Than i thinki should take it out if it can kill her becuase she has been licking at it and eating it.
Probably a good idea. Try using perlite in the laybox instead. Some geckos will eat the vermiculite. But you still have to watch the perlite intake. Although, I have heard more geckos eating the vermiculite instead of hte perlite, but I've never had the problem using the bed-a-beast.
what if i used damp soil that has perlite in it
No. Not a good idea. Usually when you purchase soil with perlite, it's formulated for plants with fertilizers and nutrients that can kill your reptile if eaten.
well i put the vermiculite back in there becuase i don't have any perlite and it is my only option unless she will lay her eggs on the paper towels.
She may not even lay the eggs as she's sickly thin. But the vermiculite is better than nothing. Just watch her intake of the vermiculite.
so if she is pregnant and really thin she just wouldn't lay the eggs. She isn't really eating at all i have only seen her drink some water. Is not eating still a sign that she will lay the eggs.
NVM she just startesd to eat i put a couple mealworms in there from out of the feeding bowl and she ate them but when i put them in the feeding bowl she ignores them and walks away.
That's actually not the case. She may still lay the eggs, but as I'm assuming this is her first year breeding, it's normal for them to retain their eggs. Also, please do not breed this gecko again. If you do at least get a vet to check her out since she's having so much problems. Was she at least 1 year old and over 50 grams when you first bred her?
she is a little over a year old and probly weight around 40 grams
She wasn't well enough to breed yet. She was underweight to begin with even if you weren't going to breed her. Definitely should have waited to breed her as whatever the concern was before, causing her to be underweight, enhanced and progressed after you bred her.
Definitely a little more research next time, as this can be a big concern for the life and health of the gecko.
what is the fastest way to fatten up a leopard gecko?
The best way to fatten up the gecko is regular feedings. Try crickets, silkworms, butterworms (sparingly as they are like junk food just healthier than waxworms), and mealworms.
Don't use waxworms, as the gecko will fatten up but she will get addicted to them and it will be hard to get her off of them. Pinkies are also fattening and not all geckos will take them; if you try pinkies only do one a week plus regular feeders throughout the week.
A healthy gecko shouldn't have problems gaining weigh naturally. Just make sure that the female is not being housed with any other gecko and that you don't attempt to breed her again.
How many small meal worms can my one year old leopard gecko eat?
That would vary. I provide a bowl of mealworms at all times for my guys... Well, not lately as there's a mealworm shortage, but usually.
working
jordan says:
10 months ago
add pictures of cages sutible for lepord geckosaddd me
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