Breeding and Petco.....

[Jusselin]

so i am thinking about talking to the 19 year old boy at petco about breeding questions =[ doesnt seem to really know much....is there a place i can read up on breeding from point A to point B? everything on how to select the geckos to breed and how to get them to bowchikawowow and what to do when the eggs are layed, and how to get them to hatch?

 

[OnlineGeckos]

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

http://vmsherp.com/LCBreedingLeopards.htm

That should get you started, good luck.

 

[Jusselin]

thank you

 

[scm133]

The Herpetoculture of Leopard Geckos is a good book, also.

 

[fl_orchidslave]

The first part of breeding is knowing how to properly care for adults. Since you're new to geckos, I suggest you start by reading numerous care sheets. Some will vary a bit but you will see the general consensus for husbandry, etc. While breeding may seem fairly simple, sorting thru genetics is quite confusing. Incubation for eggs and caring for hatchlings can be tricky if you don't have a full understanding of the basics of leopard gecko care. Take your time and read read read. Too many people jump in with not enough knowledge and panic over things that they would understand had they taken the time to actually learn first.

 

[Jusselin]

good advice every one, thank you so very much.... couple of questions...

Husbandry? what does this term mean?

how do i know what NOT to breed together?

 

[Pinky81]

Husbandry means "care of" Like Laney said don't worry about the breeding part at this point...start by learning everything you can about Leopard Gecko Husbandry and Anatomy. As far as what not to breed...you need to do LOTS of reading on the different genetics/morphs. If we were to try to answer that question we would be writing a book..seeing as many have writen books I suggest you purchase some and read about it. Perfect starter book would be "The Herpetoculture of Leopard Geckos"

This site is a bounty of knowledge so search through all the past threads and READ READ READ!!!

 

[OnlineGeckos]

A lot about understanding leopard geckos comes from experience. I've learned a lot by just having them and taking care of them, many things that I've encountered are not things you read about unless you specifically search for them. So as suggested above, you should have geckos for awhile before jumping into breeding. It helps to really learn everything there is about leopard geckos and proper husbandry.

 

[DierdreDreamwalker626]

The first part of breeding is knowing how to properly care for adults. Since you're new to geckos, I suggest you start by reading numerous care sheets. Some will vary a bit but you will see the general consensus for husbandry, etc. While breeding may seem fairly simple, sorting thru genetics is quite confusing. Incubation for eggs and caring for hatchlings can be tricky if you don't have a full understanding of the basics of leopard gecko care. Take your time and read read read. Too many people jump in with not enough knowledge and panic over things that they would understand had they taken the time to actually learn first.

+1 on that!! Let me add though, do not read the care sheets from Petco, Petsmart, etc. Those are not always correct. We found that out the hard way. (lol)

We were new to geckos as well when we got the idea to start breeding. We decided to wait at least a year with the geckos we originally bought for pets before we moved farther with our plans. It helped prepare us for breeding and got us more familiar with them.

 

[acpart]

Here's something else I did that I recommended before: as you read, whatever you think is worth knowing, copy and paste into a word document and you will have a running text with all the stuff you think is worthwhile in the same place. That's one way I prepared for breeding 6 years ago.

Aliza

 

[LZRDGRL]

What NOT to breed together: The three albino strains (Tremper Albino, Bell Albino, and Rainwater Albino). Never mix those. This would create mutts with lots of hets, and the babies would all look like Normals, and you couldn't sell those, since it's frowned upon.

Everything else is "allowed," but not necessarily pretty or meaningful. My suggestion would be to make a list of what breeders you have, males and females, and then use the morph calculator to find out what they would make for you in various combinations.

It might be wise not to attempt too many different projects at once; just specialize in one, like Eclipses if you like them, or Reverse Stripe Trempers if you like those, or Jungle Bells... Then, you can add more traits to this, like Mack Snow; works with all Albino strains.

Get VERY good breeders. Quality over quantity! The babies will be as pretty and valuable as the parents. If you just breed Normals and Hypos, you create cheap pet store babies that are already flooding the market, and the mass producers will underbid your prices.

Thus, get one wonderful male, and a harem of about 5 girls for him, of different morphs and traits that work together. The male is the most important and probably the most expensive. The females can be replaced with their daughters later if those look prettier.

Before you pair them, make sure you have the prerequisites: a good incubator (hovabator is about 39 dollars, but the thermostat is another 100; if you buy a mini fridge like the Think Geek one, it's 99 bucks and no thermostat necessary). Have the right substrate for the egg laying and incubation containers, and of course plenty of containers. Plan on pet sitters if you need to go on vacation, because breeding leos requires your presence (to check on the eggs, give them fresh air once a week, take the hatchlings out, etc.), so your whole life will change! Plan on lots of additional food (mini crickets and mini mealworms), extra calcium for the breeding females, etc.

You're welcome to look at my breeding groups for pairing suggestions. You can also find links to where to buy the supplies on my info page.

Finally, before attempting any breeding project, have a market for your offspring. You will hold back the best ones for line breeding, but you need an outlet for the others. Count on one female producing around 12 babies per season, two seasons a year. Ask your friends, create a website, get informed about prices to stay competitive without destroying the market through price dumping, find out about competitors, go to shows to learn how to become a vendor, etc.

A lot of research will go into this! So, in short, here are the necessary steps:

1) analyze the market situation, create outlet & website
2) learn about genetics
3) choose one meaningful project
4) acquire the right high-quality breeders and sell what you don't need
5) get necessary supplies (incubators, medium, lay/incubation boxes, thermostat, cages, UTHs, etc.) and do research about how to incubate
6) attend shows, become listed as a vendor, raise hatchlings and vend
7) invest in advertising (banners, logo, shows, auctions, Internet presence)
8) make a name for yourself through the beauty and health of your babies, distinguishable from competitors, so that in a few years, you will become a recognized breeder, and people will actually buy from you.
9) finally: get to know other reputable breeders for exchanges and professional growth

That's about it Good luck climbing the ladder, like we all did...

Chrissy

 

[BrightReptiles]

Very good write up chrissy, I believe you covered everything and i read the whole thing

 

[LZRDGRL]

Very good write up chrissy, I believe you covered everything and i read the whole thing

Yeah, you can tell I'm an English teacher: blah, blah, blah :main_laugh:

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

I don't have much to contribute to this thread except... why on earth would you buy a gecko from Petco and then consider breeding it?

 

[LZRDGRL]

Naw, the person said he or she would TALK to the "boy from PETCO" about breeding, not he or she would buy a gecko there for breeding!

This would be the worst idea ever, because with PETCO geckos, you won't have any info about the hets and the lineage. Hence, you could have bad surprises when the babies hatch, and you also wouldn't find customers for your "mystery geckos."

But the person who posted this is 27, so one can assume at that ripe age one knows not to buy a cheap PETCO gecko for a breeding project

Chrissy

 

[sunshinegeckos]

But the person who posted this is 27, so one can assume at that ripe age one knows not to buy a cheap PETCO gecko for a breeding project

you would think