Infertile eggs

[LeopardGeckoLearner]

I have 2 females, that I just found out so I was wondering...
1 If they lay infertile eggs will it hatch if they retained sperm
2 or will they asorb the egg which I heard they do.
3 can they lay eggs without retaining sperm and they will hatch
Sorry for all these questions lately, I just been really "jumpy" about these leopard geckos. Thanks!
Jay

 

[indyana]

1. If the eggs are infertile, they won't hatch. If the female retained sperm, she could lay fertile eggs that would hatch. The longer the time since the female has been with a male, the less likely the eggs will be fertile.
2. Yes, geckos can sometimes reabsorb eggs. It's not clear why sometimes they absorb and sometimes they just lay infertile eggs.
3. In order for the eggs to be fertile, the female would have had to retain sperm from being with a male (females can't just reproduce asexually).

Have your two females been with a male this season? If not, you probably won't have to worry about fertile eggs.

 

[LeopardGeckoLearner]

I bought it from ++++++++ (Didnt know ANYTHING about leopard geckos) and I seen males in there (they had bulges) so I think she might have retained sperm.

 

[indyana]

In that case, it depends how big the females were when you bought them. If they are very young, they probably won't lay eggs at all.

If you're worried they might be old enough to lay, the best thing to do would be to make sure they are getting all their required supplements for calcium, D3, and multivitamins. A lot of keepers leave pure calcium or other supplement mixtures in the cage for easy access. Also, make sure they have a humid hide in which to stay hydrated and lay their eggs. The easiest way to do this is to get a decent sized tupperware container and cut a hole in the lid, then fill it part way with damp coconut fiber. You can look up how-tos online for making a nesting box.

That way, they'll stay healthy if they need to lay eggs, fertile or infertile. It's up to you whether you want to try to incubate any eggs.

 

[LeopardGeckoLearner]

It was about the same size as it is now, 7 inches. Thank you so much for helping me by the way. [emoji1] [emoji1]

 

[LeopardGeckoLearner]

Would it be a good idea to buy a male leopard gecko so I can breed them? I have a 20 gal tank, and I was going to use a plastic cup, cut a whole so he can climb him when he wants to be alone. I am going to wait a while though, just in case it retained sperm.

 

[LeopardGeckoLearner]

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[LeopardGeckoLearner]

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[acpart]

I recommend that you don't get a male now to breed for 2 reasons:
1. As you say yourself, you're pretty new to leopard geckos and you really should become comfortable with regular leopard gecko care before getting involved in breeding, incubating, housing and feeding babies.
2. It generally isn't a good idea to breed pet store geckos where you will have no information about their genetics and will be producing geckos of unknown genetics that will be hard to sell.

Spend this year learning about and enjoying your geckos and think about breeding with decent breeding stock next year if you're still interested.

Aliza

 

[LeopardGeckoLearner]

Okay, thanks. It just looks SO cool and amazing to breed leopard geckos.

 

[LeopardGeckoLearner]

Wait... How do you recommend I do it (like 2 - 3 years from now) if it is a bad idea?