Age threshold for breeding females

[Yveskevin]

Out of curiosity, what happens when you breed a female that passed the weight factor (atleast 45-50 grams is the minimum if im not mistaken) but, she is just a few months old? I've read so many articles in the net that says females should also be atleast a year old before breeding them even if they are already the minimum weight.

 

[B&B Geckos]

Breeding a young females increases the chance of egg binding (dystocia), as the opening in the pelvis may not be wide enough for the eggs to pass. In addition, it may stunt their growth.

 

[Phoenix1115]

The youngest and lightest female I've ever bred was 10 months and 50g. I wish I had waited because she lost too much weight for my liking (38g at the end of the season) and wasn't putting it back on very efficiently

 

[Beaks]

I was misinformed when I first got my Leo's and was told females physically can not and will not become "fertile" or breed until 40g AND they were sexed wrong so I housed them wrong and ended up with a pregnant Leo at only 24g!!!(I learned very quickly that I needed to be responsible and do a lot of research on my own to properly care for my geckos) Anyways, surprisingly my 24g female laid all of her eggs and hatched healthy hatchlings with no complications. She has always been "small" but healthy since I got her and never started gaining a noticeable amount if weight until now. So, regardless what I was told, they physically can lay fertile eggs at a low weight and young age....BUT IT IS SO DANGEROUS!!!! Like the previous post states, the risks are so much greater when your Leo is young or underweight. I always heard the 40g rule, but never read much on age. I would wait minimum a year, even if they exceed 40g because it takes a lot out of the female and I would want to be sure she is mature enough that it wouldn't hurt her if she wasn't thriving between her clutches. Complications can happen at any age and weight, but decrease significantly the older and heavier they become. The longer you wait, the better. This will make it a lot less stressful on you and your gecko making the experience more joyful than worrisome.

 

[Yveskevin]

The youngest and lightest female I've ever bred was 10 months and 50g. I wish I had waited because she lost too much weight for my liking (38g at the end of the season) and wasn't putting it back on very efficiently

Phoenix -

when you bred your 10month old female, how did the egg laying go? I mean, are they fertile? How many per clutch? Are the hatchlings healthy? Etc

 

[Phoenix1115]

She laid 5 clutches of 2 eggs each. The first batch were infertile but the rest were fertile. She was on the longer side so she didn't seem to have trouble getting them out. Her size was one of the reasons I went ahead with breeding, but again, I should have waited a bit longer

 

[stager]

I think 40 grams is to small atleast 50

 

[Phoenix1115]

Yeah over 50g is ideal. The bigger the better