Leopard Gecko Breeding

[Samantha12]

Howdy y'all!
So I got my RAPTOR male over a week ago and gave him a few days to get settled. Then I put my Diablo Blanco female in the tank with him. At first, he'd rattle his tail at her a lot, but never tried mating (as far as I saw). But lately, he's acting like he wants nothing to do with her. This morning was the first time I've seen them share a hide the entire time they've been together in the enclosure. I thought maybe he just doesn't know how to act with other leos cause he came from a breeder that left him alone most of the time, so I put my Sunglow female in the tank too, because the 2 girls get along fairly well. He didn't show any interest in her either.
I know the females have to be ovulating to mate, but I thought the male would try regardless? Also, my girls freak out when I try to look at their bellies. I've put them in clear containers and looked underneath, but it's really hard for me to see anything in there.
I'm planning on moving the diablo blanco back to her original enclosure tonight because the three of them are pretty crowded in a 20 long and my DB doesn't seem to like it in there. Also, I want them to have a few days or a week between when they are fertilized so I can tell the eggs apart.
How likely is it that they mated while I was asleep? Is there something more I can do to induce mating, or should I just keep rotating the females until I notice one is gravid? Is it possible my male is just uninterested? He was bred off season (hatched last January) by the breeder, does that mean he won't want to mate until later in the year?
Sorry this is so long, but I've already started building a hatchling rack, bought incubators, etc. and this is something I really want to do for the experience.
My females are 2 and 3 years old and 60-70 grams each. The male is just over a year and 80ish grams.
THANKS

 

[DrCarrotTail]

First off, quarantining new geckos for minimally 30 ideally 60-90 days is always a good idea. If the male has a disease or parasites that weren't obvious after the short period of a week, you could lose all your geckos. Personally, I'm a tad protective and I don't even keep my new and quarantined geckos in the same room as my existing collection.

To answer some of your other questions, some of my males rattle tails immediately, some need more time to get used to new room mates or surroundings. Only time will tell if your male is totally uninterested and/or infertile or just needs to adjust. If the females are not ovulating they probably didn't mate with him. I don't believe there is anyway to encourage ovulation or mating other than waiting till the time is right. If you want to be sure which female laid which eggs you can move them back to their separate tanks before they lay. Females can store sperm and only need to mate once to fertilize multiple clutches. Since there can be some variation of time between clutches, even if they mate a week apart its no guarantee that they will lay a week apart so I wouldn't worry about time between the two.

 

[Samantha12]

First off, quarantining new geckos for minimally 30 ideally 60-90 days is always a good idea. If the male has a disease or parasites that weren't obvious after the short period of a week, you could lose all your geckos. Personally, I'm a tad protective and I don't even keep my new and quarantined geckos in the same room as my existing collection.

To answer some of your other questions, some of my males rattle tails immediately, some need more time to get used to new room mates or surroundings. Only time will tell if your male is totally uninterested and/or infertile or just needs to adjust. If the females are not ovulating they probably didn't mate with him. I don't believe there is anyway to encourage ovulation or mating other than waiting till the time is right. If you want to be sure which female laid which eggs you can move them back to their separate tanks before they lay. Females can store sperm and only need to mate once to fertilize multiple clutches. Since there can be some variation of time between clutches, even if they mate a week apart its no guarantee that they will lay a week apart so I wouldn't worry about time between the two.

Thanks for your response. The male gecko was screened by the breeder for three weeks before being sent. I guess that doesn't always mean much, but I took his word for it.
I'm going to try to work with my females to see if they're ovulating. As far as seperating them, I only have the 20 gallon and a 40 gallon that I keep my 3 females in, so I'll probably just move my girls back in there and monitor them to see who looks like they're going to lay.
I feel like my DB may be gravid as her "hips" seem like they've gotten wider. Then again, I could just be seeing what I want to see.
Fingers crossed. I'll try to take some pics of their stomachs (if they let me) to post later.

 

[acpart]

Just to clarify: quarantining isn't just because the new gecko may have come from a place that didn't insure its health. Geckos carry a normal parasite load and in some cases the stress of moving can lower the immune system and increase the parasite load to the point where the gecko becomes ill (this is what I have been told; if I'm way off base, I'm sure someone on here will let me know). So it's possible for healthy geckos to have a bad reaction to a new place.

I have male geckos that I have never observed mating, yet I get fertile eggs, so yes, mating could take place while you're asleep. I don't really notice much physical change in my gravid leopard geckos until they're about to lay the eggs. I have had my males and females together for a month and so far one has laid her first clutch and one more has just ovulated. It may take awhile. I'd recommend the quarantine and trying the mating again in a month.

Aliza

 

[katie_]

Just to clarify: quarantining isn't just because the new gecko may have come from a place that didn't insure its health. Geckos carry a normal parasite load and in some cases the stress of moving can lower the immune system and increase the parasite load to the point where the gecko becomes ill (this is what I have been told; if I'm way off base, I'm sure someone on here will let me know). So it's possible for healthy geckos to have a bad reaction to a new place.

I have male geckos that I have never observed mating, yet I get fertile eggs, so yes, mating could take place while you're asleep. I don't really notice much physical change in my gravid leopard geckos until they're about to lay the eggs. I have had my males and females together for a month and so far one has laid her first clutch and one more has just ovulated. It may take awhile. I'd recommend the quarantine and trying the mating again in a month.

Aliza

Ive been told this before, totally believe it.

As for ovulation, the male may try to mate if shes not ovulating, but there isnt any point. They need to be ovulating to `conceive`.

 

[Samantha12]

I have quarantined the male, but it does appear that my Diablo Blanco may be gravid, though I could be wrong, and it looks like my Sunglow is ovulating so I would assume that she mated also. :main_thumbsup: we shall see!

 

[stager]

I thought my pure afghan male had no interest but he must like his privicy because she is ready to lay. I have a tremper giant that seems to like an audience he monts anyfemale you put near him even if they aren't ovulating, so I have to keep him alone.

 

[Samantha12]

I thought my pure afghan male had no interest but he must like his privicy because she is ready to lay. I have a tremper giant that seems to like an audience he monts anyfemale you put near him even if they aren't ovulating, so I have to keep him alone.

I'm not sure which would be worse haha. I think I would prefer the more eager male gecko, just so I wouldn't have to question whether anything is happening.