Caught My Leos Mating - Have Questions

[30secondstobob]

Hello everyone! I'm not new to keeping reptiles but have never bred any before. I've had my male tangerine Leo for 8 mos. He is 7 1/2 inches long and about 70 grams. I just got my female high yellow a couple of weeks ago. She is 6 1/2 inches long and about 56 grams. They are in what I would consider a proper set-up. (30 gal long tank, warm, cool, and moist hides, etc.) They are fed crickets, meal worms, super worms and have each had a couple of wax worms. I walked into the room the other night and to my surprise they were mating already. I have a couple of questions.
First of all: Although I live in Florida, and it is still very warm out, I thought the breeding season for Leos ended a couple of months ago. Can they still produce fertile eggs? (I also raise canaries and even if hens lay an egg this time of year, it would never be fertile because males simply do not produce sperm during the fall and winter.)
Secondly: How long from this observed mating until eggs may be laid?
Third: Can I just make a quick and simple incubator (say with a styrofoam cooler, low wattage bulb, thermometer, deli cups, vermiculite) to keep the temp at around 85 degrees, or do I need something more elaborate?
Finally: Do the eggs need different day and night temperatures? Thanks in advance. Bob

 

[lillith]

One: They should have been quarantined before they were ever put in the same enclosure...did she get her 60-90 day quarantine?
Two: They can breed any time of year, on or off season; especially if they have never met before, this can have an...umm...stimulating effect on the pair. A male and a female housed together will mate. Period.
Three: You could, as long as the egg container itself maintains about 80% humidity and you must include some sort of thermostat, temp fluctuations can kill the eggs. (NO day/night variance. Stable temps are preferred.)
Four: What are you going to do with the hatchlings? If you're not planning on keeping them forever, toss the eggs. Unless you got both parents from a breeder and know their lineage, including possible hets, you will not likely find homes for them, other than Craigslist or friends.

Finally, read up in the breeding/egg incubation sub-forums.
The info is there if you search for it.

 

[30secondstobob]

Thank you Lillith (Janece?) for the quick, intelligent reply - nice to meet you! Obviously if I just got the girl two weeks ago, there wasn't a 60 to 90 day quarantine period. Shame on me, I guess? I got the girl at the Repticon show in Tampa - same place I got the boy last spring. It was the same vendor, a regular at all the shows. I generally try to thoroughly examine and observe any animal I purchace for any signs of ill health. The girl had bright eyes, pink mouth, clean nose, ears and vent, good color, plump tail, no scars, all her toes, ate well and is active. I guess there's always the chance of internal parasites (which I have treatment for on hand), but these I've read can be picked up from any cricket or worm you purchase, so why go overboard prematurely worrying about them?
I got the girl because I do want to breed them - just didn't think it would happen so fast. Every source I've read states that their breeding season is from January to September and requires a cooling period to put them in breeding mode. I planned to condition them (extra healthy foods and vitamins) for a few months and cool them (reduce daylight and temp) , just as I would my birds.
I personally do not believe in breeding animals for profit, I'm just an animal nut - but do like to see what two interesting animals will produce. Long ago, I read that the ultimate sign that your animals (specifically birds reptiles and fish) are thriving is when they produce young before your eyes. I work with over a hundred people, many which have kids. It has never been a problem to rehome dozens of canaries (as well as my daughter's baby hamsters), so I don't foresee a problem finding homes for a few leos.
Just out of curiosity, why should temperature fluctuations kill eggs? We have lots of wild house geckos, anoles and skinks around here and they lay eggs all over the place including in my outdoor hanging plants. The day and night temp often varies by 20 degrees. I assume the temp in the deserts of Afghanistan and Pakistan varies as well. When I intended to breed in the summer, I was just going to leave the egg containers in my garage where the daytime temp is 85 to 90 and about 10 degrees less at night. Just wondering. Bob

 

[30secondstobob]

Just a follow-up. I did get two eggs today, buried at the bottom of the sphagnum moss in the moist hide. I carefully transferred them into the home made incubator I made that holds the temperature at 86 degrees. The eggs were much bigger than I expected - bigger than my bird eggs. Bob