Breeding Groups or Solo?

[goReptiles]

I've always been really big on keeping geckos individual to reduce stress and bullying. Lately, I've read more people keeping females on groups, as a breeding colony.

I figured, it'd cut on cleaning and feeding time, but I don't know if I want to risk stressing out my reptiles, much less not knowing which females are laying and whatnot.

What do you guys do? What do you find are the pros and cons?

 

[Franks_Geckos]

I will sometimes keep 2 adult females together year round, but I have to pay close attention to their ovulation cycle when they are paired with the male so I can be sure who laid which eggs. I do try to keep them all solo as much as possible, but it's not always feasible. Either way, I think that the females are stressed alot more when the males are present and generally even more if they are the only female in with the male as he is not "spreading the love around" per se. It's hard for me to pick one over the other because I have done both and each way has pros and cons.

 

[Tony C]

I keep my females singly. I am doing a lot of test breeding to prove possible hets, so it is very important for me to know exactly who each egg comes from.

 

[CapCitySteve]

I keep my females in groups of three. All of different morphs if possible just incase i have some females that lay at the same time. That way i can tell what the babies are. But i also check my girls daily and can ussually tell which ones have laid by their digging behavior and also weight loss before and after.

All my groups now get along just fine. I did have one female who was a bully that i recently got rid of. I kept her seperate or with a male.

 

[goReptiles]

Frank, I didn't even think about having more than one female per male in terms of spreading the love. I know that's always better for tortoises, but I didn't think about geckos, too... Hm.. Something to consider.

Steve, thank you for your input. I was thinking that one would be able to notice which female laid from behavior and appearance, but sometimes I know it is hard. I have my cresteds in groups of 3-4 and sometimes I can't tell which laid.

 

[janjgeckos]

I keep mine in groups and the only time I have a problem with wich one laid is when more then one lays at the sametime. Most of the time it dont matter that much because I have mine grouped to make certian morphs. Like I have A male snow raptor with a female snow raptor, A Super Snow tremper het raptor, and a raptor. I try not to keep a bunch of different morphs in one group

 

[acpart]

I keep mine together Jan-Oct in groups of 1.2 or 1.3. Since I only have 3.7 breeding, I can watch the females pretty carefully so I know who laid what. I did make a post last season called "uh oh" when I came down 1 morning to find 2 geckos in the lay box and 4 eggs but each was crouched above her eggs and they were very different morphs. I have rarely had any trouble with the groups and mine are pretty used to being together.

Aliza

 

[adam&nikki]

i keep mine in groups 1 male to 3 females ive never had an issue on tellin what one layd eggs i try and keep a close eye on them

 

[T-ReXx]

I think it really depends on what you're going for. I keep most of my animals singly, mostly because I like careful records and work with a lot of hets. I have kept females in 0.2 or 0.3 groups before and it can work well assuming everyone gets along(especially if they've been raised together) but it can be somewhat tricky keeping track of genetics in those types of setups. Weight can be key, as well as laying behavior, but in reality if you really want careful genetic records single animal introduction is the way to go. That being said, if you are going for a specific morph and have animals that all have the same genetic makeup(i.e. Super Snow male, mack snow or super snow females, etc) then group breeding can work out just fine. It's just easier to slip up and miss information on laying, and of course all animals need to be monitored more closely. I think group breeding can save space and cleaning time, but it can mean needing to spend more time just making daily obserservations of the animals.

 

[ariana]

i keep my females in groups, but i feed each gecko separately in a separate container, and i check them every other day to check for shedding, ovulation, egg in bellys, and eggs in lay boxes. every other day i do spot cleaning, remoisten the moist hides, and clean up calcium spills. i get fresh water daily. i have enough time to spend time with them and make sure theyre all healthy and well and unstressed, but some people might not, due to jobs school or whatever.

 

[goReptiles]

Thanks for all the opinions guys. It's something I'm not sure if I'm ready to do yet, but it's something I'm considering.

 

[ariana]

unless youre 100% comfortable with it, i wouldnt do it. make sure you want to, and if you do theres always people on here to help out

 

[thegeckoguy23]

my female is a loner till i get another female but she is my breeder

 

[JoshuaTrana]

If you put them together just watch for bullying. And if you are breeding them check it as frequently as ou can its possible you can just catch them as they lay to tell them apart

 

[Enigmatic_Reptiles]

I keep all my geckos single