First time here with a pregnant leo need some help!

[Cridgway81]

Hello everyone i am a new user to the site was told about this great site by quantumhigh or more notably geckos of oz. I purchased two wonderful mack snow tremper albinos from him ( thanks by the way oz ). I had 3 females one a super hypo carrot tail tangerine. One a high yellow or so i believe and the other which was my first a normal but i believe is actually wild caught which i bought from petsmart. The two macks i bought are both males i just witnessed one of them mating with my tangerine the very next day actually sooner than i had expected. I know from my research she is for sure pregnant. Now comes the nervousness lol. Kinda like a first time father. I do not have any idea what to do. I made her a nest box that was a given but now what next. I do not have an incubator nor really have the money to buy a really good one. What to do? What do i do next they are still together in the tank. What do i do with the eggs, when will she lay? Basiclly i have no idea what to do now. I have been in contact with quantam but don't want to bother him too much and he tells me everyone here are great people and alot of breeders and knowledgeable people. So any info would help i have plenty of space thats no big deal i just don't have the knowledge of this part of it. I have researched but come up with alot hard to discern what is good advice. So any info is appreciated.

 

[Cridgway81]

Ok i realize i should have read deeper in this section before posting lol. I actually found a post very similar to this. I will state that i have done some research before these two have mated however, i read something and again maybe a newbie thing i dont know but it stated that for the leos to breed u had to put them in a slow cool down for 2 weeks then raise temp slowly then the breeding would commence. Had i known this was not true i would have setup my other tanks and seperated the males immediatley. I have an idea from research about hatchling care and incubation but i guess i am wondering if i should remove the male or not now that i know that she is definately knocked up. I know from reading it takes about 30 days or so to lay the eggs and how long before hatching begins but i'm worried about my female don't want to make another idiot rookie move and loose her.

 

[Wild West Reptile]

Ok, from my experience you don't "need" to lower temps and slowly raise them up to "commence" the breeding. I keep 1 male and 2 females in tanks together all the time with constant temps. Some people do this if the leo's are being stubborn I guess, but I have never had to.

You said you separated your males? Males should NEVER be kept together. They will fight and possibly kill each other.

Why don't you buy a hovabator incubator. They are cheap (around $40) and they will work fine if you get a digital thermometer or more expensive thermostat, which is reccomended, to make sure you are keeping the temp's where you want them. This is probably the cheapest most reliable way to incubate.

As far as when she lays eggs...take them out as soon as you find them and put them in a deli cup with your choice of either perlite, vermiculite, hatchrite, etc......and find some posts on here about that whole dealio. Remember to keep the eggs upright the exact way you find them. Mark them so you know which way is up. The embryos will drown if you move eggs around.

There's a million other things you need to know, which you will find on this forum if you search or ask , but I hope this gets you started. Good luck!

 

[Thorgecko707]

If you don't want babies, throw the eggs out. Hatchlings from geckos bought at chain stores are not money makers. If you want hatchlings it isn't exspensive. You can complete a setup for around $500.

 

[rickmoss95]

If you don't want babies, throw the eggs out. Hatchlings from geckos bought at chain stores are not money makers. If you want hatchlings it isn't exspensive. You can complete a setup for around $500.

i would have to disagree just a bit on this one. if you dont want babies, dont put males with females. it is hard on the females to constantly reproduce, so if you dont want to breed, seperate the males from the females...and deffinately dont put more than one male togeather. and i think the leopard gecko market is already flooded to the point where all but the very high end animals are not bringing much money. and it all depends on how you set up your system and caging as to how much it is going to cost you...and the amount of animals you plan on keeping. i would start off being prepared, then start your breeding endeavors, not breed then try to be prepared. i know this was not intended...but you should have done a little more research. i am not trying to bust your chops or discourage you, but always be prepared...even for the unexpected. i can tell you after over 23 years of keeping and breeding reptiles, i am still getting surprised! just be prepared, and expect for people to discourage you from breeding. i dont know if people do this so they have less competition or what, but they will. just know that there is probably alot more to breeding animals than you think. and as i stated earlier,DONT DO THIS FOR THE MONEY!!! the market is flooded, and be prepared to keep and raise every baby you produce incase they dont sell. you can always wholesale your babies,but dont just breed to breed. and know that the first bit of money you do make will end up going back into the animals, for food, caging, suppliments,ect. i have owned thirty thousand dollar animals before, and believe me, this is not a get rich quick hobby! i do this for fun and i am happy as long as my animals end up paying for themselves in the long run...and if you do it properly, they will. it is nice to make some money at this, and i have, but it is better to enjoy this and keep it a hobby and not like a second job. i have done some larger scale breeding, and made good money at it, but it became like a job...stressful, late nights feeding and cleaning...stressin if i was gonna make a certain amount on certain animals....ect. so now i am back to the point of doing this for fun, i am passionate about what i do and i love the animals i work with, getting too big for myself almost ruined that for me. i am happy to be back down to a managable number of animals that pay for themselves and are fun to work with. so be prepared, and love what you do...and you will have major success. just dedicate yourself, your time, and your money to your animals and you will love this hobby! and good luck.

 

[Quantumhigh]

Hi Chris, how is everything going? Still planning on the mack snow albino x shtct? Please dont hesitate to send me a text if you got any other questions. Your not bothering me at all, coming from someone who loves reptiles. I love talking about them just as much. If there is a question I can not answer I will get the answer for you. Excellent customer service is something I strive for!! Everyone here on the forums is generally more then willing to help with any kind of questions also. Just keep in mind its very hard to profit currently with Leopard gecko breeding and start off slow. Hatchlings can add up very quick with 3 female, Id just focus on the shtct x mack snow. See how it goes then go from there. Should be some pretty babies!

Welcome to the forums btw!

 

[Cridgway81]

Well thanks Oz and moss as well as park. You were right oz most are willing the o ly thing i have seen is this thor not sure what the problem is. You are not the one and only breeder of leos thor you are not the foremost expert and last i read why you are even breeding is a wonder to me, i mean throw the eggs out. Well so you understand if you read my posts i do not have but 1 store bought and she is not gravid. There are three others that are nicer morphs here and i have my setup complete hope that doesn't hurt your feelings. Btw to those of you that i have read negative comments like this from thor don't let it get you down i have my setup complete for way under $500. I guess its one of those things if you do it and someone else does not know how you think you have a secret. Well if you cannot post to help a guy out then how bout this don't post man. I asked for help luckily the majority will help. Thanks again you three for your help and support especially oz. I will post some pics for my updates.