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There are certain ways that leopard geckos are bred successfully everyday. On this page your questions about breeding will be answered. If we fail to provide you with the information needed feel free to email us or sign our guestbook!
Q.) How many Leo's can be housed together to be bred?
A.) Always go to the basic rule of thumb for Leo housing. 3 Adults may be successfully housed in a 20 gallon enclosure , add 10 more gallons per extra gecko
Q.) What ratio of Leo's is most successfully bred?
A.) 1:4 Which means 1 male to 4 females. This is called a colony. Never have 2 males in the same enclosure, this could lead to unneccessary fighting and stress to the Leo's. They will occasionally fight to the death.
Q.) What is the cooling period for leopard geckos?
A.) The cooling period is when you drop the temperatures in the tanks to about 83 F in the day and about 65 F at night for about a month to simulate the change in seasons. If the cooling period is Sept-Feb then the breeding season should be Feb- Sept.
Q.) How can I determine the sex of my gecko?
A.) The male leo has a V of preanal pores and 2 post anal bulges, the female will not. The male is also larger than the female. PLEASE REMEMBER NO 2 MALES EVER IN THE SAME ENCLOSURE!!!!
Q.)How do I make sure that my female Leo is the right size for breeding?
A.)While your Leo is in the cool down season, or about a month before. Start feeding her food with more nutritional value, If your Leo is fully grown she may eat a live pinky. You can also feed her fatty waxworms. Leave a dish of Calcium because she needs lots of it to create the shells of her eggs.
Q.)My Female Leo isn't eating as much when it's breeding season is this normal?
A.)Your Leo will tend to slow down or almost stop eating while producing eggs, This is fine. It is completely normal for her to stop eating. After she lays her eggs she will eat more to catch up between eggs but while she has eggs inside she will tend to eat less.
Q.)What is an egg box and how do I make one?
A.)You should make an egg laying box of moist, but not too moist paralite or vermiculite. Get a sandwich box or something that she can climb into and move around a little, cut a hole large enough for her to fit into. All the leo's will benifit from it because it aids in shedding. They will kick all of the substrate out, so always put it back in.
Q.)Why is it important to not turn or flip the eggs?
A.)The eggs have an air pocket that must not break, although an egg can be flipped for over 10 min. without dying it is not recommended.
Q.)How do I know if my eggs are fertile?
A.) A fertile egg will firm up almost immediatly and have a chalky texture, it will be really white. An Infertile egg will turn yellow or grey and start to shrivel up almost immediatly or about 30 min after laid.
Q.)How do I know if my female is gravid?
A.) You will see her eggs when you flip her over, Please be careful. You will notice two white bulges near her bottom.
Q.)How often should I expect my female to lay eggs?
A.)About every 2-4 weeks during a breeding season depending on the individual lizard.
The word "het" is short for, heterozygous. Meaning that the animal carries a recessive gene like patternless,albino, or blizzard but does not express it physically. When bred to another het of the same trait, some of the babies will express the trait. Here is the expected ratio when animals are bred together:
Normal x Albino = 100% Het offspring
Het x Albino= 50% albino, 50% het offspring
Het x Het= 25% albino, 50% het, 25% normal (you can't tell a het from a normal by looking at them, so all hets and normals from this breeding would be considered 66% possible hets.)
Het x Normal= 50% het, 50% normal (all babies look normal and are considered 50% possible hets)
