Breeding 101

[Crewdog00]

Hey guys,

I'm thinking about getting into small time breeding. Would like some tips for a first time breeder.

Thinking one male and two female adults to start. Make my own rack system and buy a comercial incubator.

Thanks in advance. If someone could post a DIY or step by step for small scale breeding that would be great.

 

[Russellm0704]

I suggest checking out some good youtube channels. Sasobek11 has a great channel. There are tons of great channels out there.

 

[acpart]

This doesn't cover the how-to, but more the concept of what to shoot for:

http://www.geckotime.com/breeding-leopard-geckos-on-a-small-scale/

Aliza

 

[Crewdog00]

Thank u. Looking forward to doing more research most of the stuff o line is how to mate and how to incubate. That parts easy. It's the business part of it that I am lost.

Making babies. And then storing them feeding them. Handling them. Caring for them and the. Ultimately selling them to either break even or profit.

I'm not doing it for the money as much. It's more of a cool project for me to start but is like to break even and not lose money to do this.

Obviously I'd be a new breeder and I have low overhead so I can be very competitive in the market. But getting my babies out there for sale. I'm clueless.

 

[DrCarrotTail]

This will be my second go at small scale breeding - last time I bred a couple years and then graduated and knew I'd be moving all over the country so I sold off my collection. I’m tired of waiting until I know where I’ll be for the rest of my life (since that might never happen..haha) so I decided to give it a go and cross the “moving-with-geckos” bridge when I come to it

I like the article acpart put up – I read it a couple months ago when heading out to buy a few gecko gals and it really got me thinking about finding a niche – something I could work on that no one else was and make my own way. I think community is paramount in making your way in this hobby. Finding like-minded people on places like geckoforums and helping others out so they know and like you is a good idea. I also plan to purchase my stock from small breeders like myself so I can get to know people, learn from them and about what they’re working on, and be in a position that they might be interested in buying something from me or trading with me once I start to develop interesting and unique things of my own.

I think learning the basics and starting to develop a unique line of geckos takes a few years and in those years it’s a negative sum game. For myself this time, I’m planning on learning the ins and outs of what works for me while getting to know others and raising some super healthy babies. When I have some I’m ready to find homes for, I plan on buying a table at a local reptile expo and getting to know some local folks there too. In my job I work with a lot of teachers and was also thinking that might donate some babies to classrooms to or maybe ask if they’d like a guest speaker to talk about some real-world genetics issues in their classrooms to get more people interested in geckos locally.

I’m also going to work on making a “brand” for myself, figure out a logo and learn how to develop an attractive website. If I find something interesting enough to throw out there I might just be starting a blog so others know about what I’m up to and have a reason to check my page out. ☺

Not sure if this helps or if I'm thinking in the right direction - maybe some more experienced people can tell how they started out or point to an existing thread where they did

 

[acpart]

Here's another article more about the "business" end.
http://www.geckotime.com/how-to-sell-your-geckos/
By the way, I'm glad the breaking even/making a profit part doesn't seem to figure prominently in your plan because it rarely happens. Even the people who do make a profit usually calculate they're earning some tiny hourly wage given the amount of time they're putting in. If I'm lucky, I come within a few hundred dollars (usually in the red) from my small to mid-sized hobby and that's not including cost of electricity or car use to reptile shows.

Aliza

 

[Crewdog00]

Thank you. I think this is what I will do to start.

I have one normal female now. She's an adult and I will add a female sunglow and a male sunglow to the list.

Breed male with both females and see what happens. I will get two incubators. One for male eggs and one for female.

I will make my own rack system to house the male alone and the two females together. And the. Have a section for hatchlings in shoeboxes. Use heat tape and regulate heat.

Let me know if I'm missing anything. I am planning on selling all my babies once they are juveniles at cost to break even and get my name out there to see what people think of my offspring.

From what I've read I should get normals, sunglows and maybe albinos of I breed the morphs I'd have.

Tha ka guys let me know your thoughts.

 

[LBsLeos]

All I can say is do it for the hobby and the love of the animals and not the business end of it or you will get frustrated and not enjoy it. There are SO many people breeding leopard geckos that the market is completely saturated. Check out any classifieds section or any reptile forum and they are flooded with endless pages of geckos for sale. In my area even the pet stores have so many local breeders that they are overstocked and not buying most of the time.

I am not trying to discourage you by any means because I was in your shoes just 3 years ago and jumped in any way. I love this hobby and I love these animals so turning a profit is not a high priority for me and it has been a great experience and I hope to do it for years to come. I just like to emphasize what many others have said in regards to the business side of breeding leopards.

 

[GodzillaGecko]

I was thinking of doing the same thing. Small breeding setup and see how it goes. And I agree..Do it for the love not the business side. But if you are going to start breeding play some slow jams and light a candle. Give them a romantic atmosphere LOL.

Good thing is if I do breed any geckos. The closest pet shop (if I chose to sell through them) is 40 minutes away. Its the only shop I would sell through. Clean, very very clean, and every animal is well fed. Only place I've actually felt comfortable walking in and saying...wow I'd buy there pets!

You can also make your own incubator. Its not hard to do and is cheaper. Especially if you have more then one female laying eggs. Then you might need the alternative.Its on youtube also somewhere.

 

[Crewdog00]

Change of plans. I'm gonna just breed for sunglow or normals. And line breed.

I have a co worker interested in leopard geckos as well so we will split up the babies and take care of them.

Only issue is I will be keeping my geckos away from my home so I can't be with them 24/7.

I'm excited to Learn and get the experience.

 

[acpart]

You may want to consider getting one incubator and incubating at the mid-range temp for a mix of males and females and then adding an incubator the following season after you see how things are going. I'm near Boston and breed Trempers, so feel free to contact me to see if I have something you're interested in. We could meet halfway.

Aliza

 

[Crewdog00]

Oh wow. Thank you so much for the offer. That be super cool.

I was thinking of keeping incubator at 85 so it's half and half.

I look forward to being in contact. I tried finding local breeders in CT and I couldn't find one. Boston isn't too far.