Breeding Leopard Geckos
98Caring for Leopard Geckos
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The Herpetoculture of Leopard Geckos
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Leopard Geckos For Dummies (For Dummies (Pets))
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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.
Just remember that even though it may be easy, breeding leopard geckos is NOT for everyone and not everyone with leopard geckos should try it. It can get expensive to breed leopard geckos, and it's not as easy to sell the babies as you may think. You can and will more than likely quickly become overrun with leopard gecko hatchlings. If you do not have proper experience with leopard geckos (IE you've only had yours for a few months), then it's suggest that you WAIT to have more experience before breeding.
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The Leopard Gecko Manual: Includes African Fat-Tailed Geckos (Herpetocultural Library)
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The Guide to Owning a Leopard Gecko/ Leopard Geckos: Identification, Care, & Breeding
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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. First time breeders will typically have fewer eggs the first year, but you will find that leopard geckos can lay up to 10 eggs a season.
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.
Typically, if the female doesn't lay the eggs within the laybox, they are not going to be fertile, but if you do catch them in time, you should try to incubate them anyway, as that is not always the case.
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Hatch Rite
Incubating Leopard Gecko Eggs
You will need an incubator to ensure that the eggs stay at a constant temperature. Temperature fluctuations during incubation can cause deformities, if not potentially kill the embryo.
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. 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. Super Hatch is another good option that is now available.
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. - 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.
Comments
my gecko had a batch in spring but a week before they were going tohatch they started rotting
Up to 12, sometimes more. Being it's her first time, it's hard to say. Most first time breeders will have less, but I've had many to have 12-16 the first year
My female just mated, it's her first time.
How many eggs will she produce overall?
Technically you can, but you need to be prepared for up to 10 or more hatchlings when bred just one time with a female. The older they are, the less productive they are. Most people retire leopard geckos from breeding at about 6-8, but there are some who don't care for the health and keep breeding past there.
Ive got a male leo off my mate. Just wondered if i can breed it cuz he said its about 8 years old.
I'm sorry. You could take one of the geckos, if the friend is willing to separate. If you house together there's no way to prevent them from mating. The male will mate no matter whether they are related, the female is too young, or whatever.
Sounds like you've got a busy household anyway. Tortoises can be a lot of work, considering they need inside and outside enclosures and they need lots of room.
I'm afraid we're going to have a disappointed daughter.
She'll just have to make do with the whippet, Eclectus parrot, and 2 tortoises then!
Thanks for the help Whitney.
Good forum!
You can keep them together, but they will breed. Two tanks is recommended as they will breed, causing stress on the females body.
Hi Whitney
My daughter's friend is looking to rehome his Geckos. He believes they are a male and a female.
Can we keep them together if we don't want them to breed?
We don't have the space for a second vivarium, so it's a matter of all or nothing I'm afraid.
You should release the gecko, as it was from the wild. And more than likely the gecko had mated before you caught it.
I cought a gecko in pretoria now its got eggs in the cage, is this possible for one gecko?
Well good luck breeding. Just remember that it can be VERY hard to find homes for the geckos. The economy has caused even more downfall in sales. Remember your reputation is non-existent and you'll probably have to keep them longer than most. Remember 15 grams is safe to ship, nothing less than that. But 10-15 depending on the health of the gecko can be ok to sell as long as it's not being shipped -IE take to the person, reptile show, etc.
Many people think this is a good project for school. The reptile market is flooded with leopard geckos. Jut remember that.
Genetics is also important.
If you rush into breeding by buying all adults, that's silly. Patience is a virtue. My adults should not be bred this year, as they were bred this year and need a cool down period. If you're looking for breeders for this year, it's not healthy to breed them more than once a year if they've already laid a full season of eggs. As for BF29, she retained all eggs from this season; I'm not guaranteeing her as a breeder.
I've been doing a whole lot more research about leopard geckos and breeding them. I've decided im going to attempt at breeding leopard geckos I already have a few people willing to purchase. This will hopefully also be my graduation project from high school, since my dream is to own a very successful exotic pet shop. Thank you for answering all of my questions. I was also looking at your gecko - BF29 I might buy her.
Demand for online market for leopard geckos is not the best, especially if you don't know full genetics and if you don't have a reputation as a seller. Because everyone thinks they can breed and make money, they all try, which leads to surplus of geckos available and not enough people willing to buy. I can give you about 5 or 6 people off the top of my head who actually make money breeding, several of them are wholesellers and the others overprice (but because they've been breeding for decades, they have the reputation people will buy a $75 gecko for $300).
I've been breeding for about 5 years, and it's hard to sell online. My sales are solely online, and I've seen geckos at low price, high quality sit for months and months. I have never been able to sell for what I have purchased. I've bought a gecko for say $150, less than a year later decide it really doesn't fit in my projects, even though it's bettered in color and pattern, yet can't get maybe $75 for it. I've seen geckos with less quality than what I have for sale being sold for more because they have a much wider reputation.
Breeding reptiles is not a profitable adventure- see my link above about my journey.
Remember, you have to have housing, food, incubator(s), thermostats, incubation mediums, shipping supplies, housing supplies (bowls, hide), etc. it can get quite expensive, even with just a few breeding adults.
One more question. Do you know how demanding the online market is for leopard geckos? I know there are successful leo gecko breeders that sell only online.
It is good that you are learning. Most people don't even try to do that. Just remember that if you opt to sell to pet stores, you need to talk to the pet stores beforehand. Not many actually take reptiles from people. They generally already have contracts with wholesalers (larger retail pet stores), or the smaller pet stores usually already have their local breeders they buy from and being smaller stores, don't need a surplus of animals. Keep that in mind.
Sometimes it is better to enjoy them as pets than it is to breed them.
In most cases, you will spend more than you will ever make.
I've had leopard geckos for a few years. I am still learning about breeding. I want to learn how. I don't know if i will. But i still want to learn. Sorry if it seems I'm not educated with geckos at all, I just want to make sure what i learned is correct.
No. you have a lay box in the enclosure. She opts to get in as she needs to. You don't force her to stay in the box. Just keep it moist. Tips are above for breeding and caring for gravid geckos as well as incubation and so on.
How much experience do you have with leopard geckos?
So i mate them once a year, and from that the female can lay 10 eggs at a span of a season? So i would keep her in the laying box lots of the time. Right?
You only introduce them once a year. The female will lay up to 10 eggs a season. First time breeders may not lay as many good eggs the first year, so don't promise the pet store a number. Also remember it's best to keep them until at least 10-15 grams (which can be 2-4 months) before giving them to anyone, even a pet store.
I'm planning on breeding leopard geckos for a local pet shop. I need to know 1)Are there laws about having all of your geckos inspected? 2)How long should i wait after the eggs are layed to breed the female again?
10 gallon tank is best, upgrading to a 20 long.
How big of a cage does a baby need?
The belly will be pink, with two ovals on either side of the abdomen.
i think my geckos is preganant and im not sure. can u try to send me an image on hub peges of how its belly is supposed to look like?
It's retained skin on the eye. It needs to be removed before an infection sets in. Since the gecko has shedding problems, it's not likely that he'll shed anytime soon in order to remove it that way. I would be a little worried about the shedding issues.
THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT! MY MALE LIZARD SHEDDED LIKE, THREE MONTHS AGO AND THE SKIN ON HIS HEAD HADN'T COME OFF AND WHEN I TRIED TO TAKE IT OFF, IT WASN'T READY. JUST NOW I TOOK IT OFF BECAUSE IT WAS READY AND ON THE SIDE THAT I TOOK OFF, THE EYE IS COMPLETELY WHITE LIKE HE IS BLIND.... I DONT KNOW WHAT IT IS OR WHAT TO DO?
There are a few links in the middle of the page that you may find helpful as they are about caring for leopard geckos and setting up the enclosure for a leopard gecko.
Thanks!!! I'm planning to get one and I need to know what do I need?
Sometimes 2 weeks or so.
How early can you see the eggs in the stomach???
You can start handling now, as long as you wait at least 5-7 days to let the geckos adjust to the new environment. Start slow and work your way to being able to pick up the geckos out of the tank. Be careful because I can only assume you got them at a pet store, and in this case you don't know the gender of the babies. If you end up with two males, you'll need to tanks. If you end up with a male and female, you'll want two tanks, as well.
I have just purchased 2 leopard gecko's as pets for my son's. We were told that they are babies but have no idea how old they are. I was also told not to handle them until they are full grown. How do I know when they are full grown?? I would like them to get used to my boys but don't want to stress them out either.
At least 2 months for females and a month or so for males. That is all in the article above.
ok, if i breed my leopard geckos and they have eggs, how long will it be before i can sell the hatchlings???
If you leave the eggs in the lay box they will dehydrate, so yes remove them as soon as possible.
ok thank you soo much you have been a huge help but i just got one more question should i remove the eggs fro the laying box as soon as pssible or what cuz ive been looking around on the net and some say to leave them in till about a week b4 hatchin and others say put in the incubator immediatly lol
Yes. One good breeding can lead to up to 16 or so eggs. They'll lay 1-2 eggs every 3-4 weeks.
It's not recommended to lower the temps. Some breeders will just shut off main source of heat and let it be room temperature, but if you're a begginer it's not recommended, as you can encounter many issues if not done correctly. You really don't need to lower the temps for corns either, although it's thought to enhance the likelihood of breeding. Leopard geckos don't need the temps lowered and raised again. They can breed any time, but generally they'll breed from late winter to early summer even if you don't alter temps.
hi i have a few questions you said that one breeding can produce up to 17 eggs! so ur saying if i put my male witht the female and the breed once she could have 2 eggs then 2 more and 2 more going on and on all from one breeding? and another thing is there anything that i should do before hand like raise there temps or lower them to put them in the "mood" like corn snakes or can you just do it any time and last but not least is there a certain time of the year to breed them or can they breed any time of the year?
Thanks, Kyle
If you have any other questions, just ask.
THank you so much, you have very much help to me.
giancarlo, You can find them at pet stores (which I generally don't recommend bc many pet store reptiles are ill) ranging from say $20 and up. Breeders will have adoption geckos that shouldn't be bred but would make fine pets, as well as geckos ranging from $10+. Depending on what morph you're looking for the price will vary. If you're spending the money to set up a cage and feed at least 3 times a week, daily for hatchlings after their first shed, it's not going to be cheap to upkeep, but they're not the most expensive pet either.
Akolm, glad I can help. If you have any other suggestions, feel free to ask.
Ok. Thank you so much! I'm glad that I came to this site. You have been a great help to me.
OK THANK YOU.I JUST HAVE ONE MORE QUESTION HOW MUCH TO LEAPORD GECKOS USUALLY COST?I DONT HAVE MUCH MONEY RIGHT NOW THATS WHY I ASKED MY FRIEND TO BREED HIS FOR ME.
giancarlo7, no you have to order it online. You're not going to find breeding supplies at a pet store bc they want you to purchase from them not make your own. I think you should just buy a leopard gecko instead of breeding. I'm not sure what experience your friend has, but if you don't have a place for potentially 10-16 hatchlings, it's not a good idea to breed.
Sheen, anytime you have questions, feel free.
Akolm, Leopard geckos do not need to be sprayed. That can cause high humidity, which can lead to respiratory infections and complications. They only need a humid hide, but only mist the humid hide when the gecko is going into shed. Other geckos do need to be misted, but not leopard geckos.
Thank you for all of the help! I had done a ton of research online about Leopard Geckos before buying one. A lot of the websites suggested that she be sprayed down (with a bottle that can be set to mist) at least 4 times a day. I have friends that are GREAT with reptiles & have been breeding snakes and lizards too. They are more than happy to help me incubate the eggs.
I really appreciate all of your advise!
Thanks for the info!
Whitney05 says:
5 days ago
That happens sometimes. The eggs were duds, most likely not fertile.