Leo breeding?

[maverickgrl79]

can some one give me a website that is good to learn about breeding Leos? I have a local mom pop pet shop that said if i have some babies they will buy them from me and i have never done this before. i wanna make sure i do it right.

 

[Caleb C]

How much did you get yours for? Most times, you will only get like $10 out of the low end babies that you sell to retail, and it isn't really worth your time, and the incubator costs unless you breed lots of them, or breed good morphs. To set up the incubator and have all the substrate and deli cups, it will probably cost ~$100.


http://www.albeysreptiles.com/incubate-eggs.htm

 

[maverickgrl79]

How much did you get yours for? Most times, you will only get like $10 out of the low end babies that you sell to retail, and it isn't really worth your time, and the incubator costs unless you breed lots of them, or breed good morphs. To set up the incubator and have all the substrate and deli cups, it will probably cost ~$100.


http://www.albeysreptiles.com/incubate-eggs.htm

it is not about the money i was just happy to know i had somewhere for the babies to go. r u saying i can not get good morphs from what i have? anyway thanks for the info.

 

[Caleb C]

You might get some decent morphs, but to get expensive morphs, you need to start out with expensive geckos.
The bad thing about selling it off to pet shops is that most of the time they won't receive proper care, neither at the pet store or at the new owner. I'm guessing that ~80-90% of reptiles sold at pet stores will be neglected, and most likely slowly die within a year or two. If you want to breed them and have somewhere good for the babies to go, sell them to your friends, relatives, and local people.
I've never bred them because the females storm the sperm, so you can't just stop them from laying whenever you feel like it.

 

[maverickgrl79]

ok ok ok Caleb i get it i wont breed um

 

[Caleb C]

Sorry if I came off as a little mean, I just wanted to let you know that selling to retail pet stores isn't the best idea, but if you have the extra time and money, breeding them can be a fun project for you and your son.

 

[Josh2]

This is a good website to find more information on how to breed Leos! We have breeders here that can answer your questions directly from their experience

 

[Eve Saint]

I think you might like the Book-----Genetics for Herpers---- it gives detailed information on breeding certain morphs and all. It gives good insight into what breeding certain types will get you.

 

[Geckomaster743]

I sort of agree with Caleb, I think its great that you have a place to give Leo's too but honestly you have to take some stuff in to consideration. And i dont mean that in the mean way i just mean like make a list of questions for your self such as:

Am I trying to make Profit?
Am I ready to breed Leopard geckos and have the amount of space and keep up with the costs to take care of them?
Will the Mom and Pop store take all of the ones i breed?
What will I do in a situation where i may to Cull a gecko because its suffering because of lack of Calcium/Vitamins?
Do i give the current lizard i own enough attention?

Stuff like that, Because with owning 6 lizards im not able to spend time with the first one like i used too. Owning too many of them becomes a chore. Plus i'm not sure how much you would be ok with having to kill a lizard because its suffering. Some times they just cant be saved and then again if you can try do you have the time to go on a Syringe every night? I just want you to consider some really important things before you would begin breeding. Not trying to scare you off or any thing though things can go really wrong during breeding. Petstores mass breed lizards and alot of them are killed in horrible ways because they arent fit to breed because of missings legs,tails,fingers or because they need Vet attention. And the mom and pop place probably wont continue to buy your geckos after a while because Non - chain stores tend to have some trouble picking up large amounts of bussiness because they arent so Wide - spread and advertized. Meaning that if you continue to breed after you have begun you may have no homes for the current lizards that you would own and you would be forced to send them to bad homes out of desperation because you have too much to handle.

Breeding can also be pretty fun and be pretty cool because you get to witness some thing coming out of its egg and beginning its new life in which you will take care of it. And by the way the amount of money you would normally make off of one leopard gecko is 10$. Plus who are you supposed to sell them too, And i mean Highend morphs if you get them. You would need a website and a whole place to keep a running collection. Petsmart buys leopard geckos for like 5$ and finds ways to give them reasons to place them at like 40$. If you would want to make 100$'s per lizard you would have to buy some more high end expensive morphs such as R.A.P.T.O.R's or Sunglows and other morphs that have names and that have genes that can be identified.. Since you bought yours from a petstore and you breed you will probably make alot less because you dont know the genes your gecko holds. And it can not be always told from the color, It could be het ( Carrying hidden genes that will be expressed when it as offspring ). Its like having 2 Albino Rats that are bred to each other. You would think you would get Albino babies but one Rat may be carrying a gene that makes some babies brown. Theres alot to consider in breeding which is why i changed my mind last year. Trust me i felt the serious need to buy incubators and all of this junk. But i just prefer to keep what i have and enjoy my pets while i still have them

 

[maverickgrl79]

well if you had read my post you would know i am not looking to make money, the local pet shop i am in everyday and the few reptiles are taken care of by my son who volunteers there. i have had to make the hard decision to euthanize a pet before.lol i guess i should have posted my life story on here and all my qualifications when i posted asking for a recommendation on a site. no more asking questions here i guess. thanks all

 

[Geckomaster743]

Maverick i dont mean to offend. Im sorry i didnt read your post as clearly, But i cant give you anything recommended if i dont know all the details. I just wanted you to be sure that you were ready. Gosh

 

[maverickgrl79]

But all I asked for was websites with good info I didn't ask wether I should or shouldn't do it. All i got was bombarded by negativity from you and Caleb I felt attacked.

 

[maverickgrl79]

Thanks I picked up the book!!!!!!

 

[maverickgrl79]

Don't know if I can Josh lol after What happened with this question.

 

[Geckomaster743]

Well glad that you found some thing that will help you! I just wanted to remind you of all the things that involve breeding. I had some thoughts here a while ago about breeding though every one gave me suggestions and tips on what i would need and then i looked over every thing and i asked my self. Can i really do it? But your a mother, and you have an Income unlike me and a place of your own so those 2 things right there are a big difference in both of our situations. Sorry if me and Caleb were acting rude in any way, But we just wanted to adress the points. If you have the space, the time and the money go for it! Though if its alright i'd like to ask some questions so i can help give you tips on what you will need.
How much space do you have?
Do you have a budget for breeding Equip?
What do you need to know about breeding?
Do you have a job or some thing that would take alot of time away from breeding?
How many times do you want to breed? There are 2 Eggs per clutch and a Female can be fertile for a whole season. Just dont incubate extra eggs.

These questions should really help! I know about alot of Reptile equip, Incubators and Hovabators that may be a bit pricey though ik of some deals that might help you out depending on how many times your breeding. Incubators are for about 50 Eggs+ and then Hovabators can hold up to 10 to 20 In some cases. I'd also like to know if you keep them in a Room deticated to the Animal's or just a Bed room with Cages on the side. Once again, Sorry if we had a misunderstanding Caleb and I only wanted whats best for your situation. If your going to breed though i'd keep your geckos organized like so.
2 Females per 20 Gallons 1 Male 10 Gallon Pregnant Female 10 Gallon. You want to keep females seperate because you dont know if the other female will look like a threat to the Pregnant female and then it may attempt to eat the egg. So 2 Females that are not pregnant can be kept in a tank as long as theres no agression because stress is horrible during breeding!

 

[Caleb C]

I'm sorry if you felt like we were being rude, but we just wanted to let you know that it's a very big commitment, and you can't really just stop once you start. It would be good if you had friends that might be interested, but you would need lots of extra space and equipment, a rack might be a good place to start, along with heat tape and a good thermostat.

 

[maverickgrl79]

Its all good guys, i did not feel like you were being rude i just felt attacked when i thought i was doing right by asking is all. i will not be breeding anytime soon i just wanted info on it. i just signed a lease on a new place with an extra bedroom for reptiles. easier to keep temps controlled. i am also getting 2 new Leo's in next week from the rescue a male and female housed together so i kinda need to know what could be on the horizon. i also have 4 for sure homes for Leo's waiting with friends who came to the birthday bash and fell in love. Sorry i was defensive, again i felt attacked is all.