How often do you breed your females?

[brillobee]

Do you breed your females every year, or give them a years rest and then breed them?

 

[KTyne]

I haven't bred yet but it is my understanding that most people will breed every year as long as the Female re-gains any lost weight from the previous breeding season.

 

[acpart]

I breed them every year as long as they stay healthy. I retire them when their production declines which could be any time from 2-5 years of breeding.

Aliza

 

[LepoInc]

Aliza, I hear people putting a year between seasons helps prolong breeding life. True? Or does it just waste fertility?

 

[stager]

I think once a year at most but personally only breed each female once take best female offspring and that's next years breeder

 

[acpart]

Aliza, I hear people putting a year between seasons helps prolong breeding life. True? Or does it just waste fertility?

I've never done it that way so I don't know for sure, but I've read that female leopard geckos have a finite number of eggs (as do human females) so I would guess that skipping a year would just prolong the amount of time the gecko takes to "use up" her eggs.

Aliza

 

[favrielle]

I read the same, that females have a finite number of potential eggs (around 100 or less?) and wondered... If breeding only in odd years doesn't extend the fertility of a female gecko, could it still have other benefits?

Such as:

Increased health, from a longer time to recover from the laying season
Reduced stress levels
Longer lifespan
?

If that were the case, I could see where it might be beneficial for some, especially small-scale breeders where their breeders are also their pets, to space out breeding years for their girls.

Of course, I'm just a noob, so I could be talking out my butt... but this is just what occurred to me/made me wonder.

 

[KTyne]

Having babies doesn't shorten an animals life unless they are unhealthy. Of course there are animals that die when they lay, like Salmon, but that's a different matter.
As long as the breeding Females are kept in optimal conditions with a proper diet (including supplements) then laying every year should not harm them.
They will ovulate anyways which means they are losing those eggs either way.