Ovulation Question

[LepoInc]

So I received a SHTCT from someone on Craigslist and the owner said she was four years old. I got home and weighed her and she is only 46g, but she looks full grown. So I am going to get her up to weight to breed her, but I am unsure whether she is going to ovulate or not. What should I do? I don't know any history on her so I don't know if she has laid before, ovulation records, but I know she hasn't been bred. Any tips would be great. I am trying the paper towel trick but how long should I wait before I check to see if she is ovulating again? And if I check one day and there is no sign of ovulation, would it be possible for the pink dot to be there the next day?
This is my first year breeding and I guess I am just getting anxious and nervous. Thank you for the advice

-LepoInc

 

[acpart]

Some people here will undoubtedly tell you not to breed a gecko whose genetic background you don't know, but I have to say that I'm not that strict. You just have to acknowledge to potential buyers the limitations of what you know about the geckos. Sometimes it seems as if the presence of a male is enough to get the female to ovulate. I recommend you do the following (assuming you have experience keeping leopard geckos, can purchase an incubator, egg containers, an appropriate thermostat, can fund and provide housing for babies and have adequate resources for possible vet visits):
--keep the female quarantined from any other gecko for at least a month
--get the incubator etc. all set up
--introduce her to the male and, as long as they're doing OK together, leave them together for a few weeks, checking her regularly to see if she's ovulating.

Aliza

 

[B&B Geckos]

Do the ethical thing and quarantine her for at least 30 days, and get her up to weight. In the meantime, check her belly a few times a week so that she gets used to this type of handling (you only need to check once weekly). If the two don't get along when introduced as Aliza described, you may also introduce sheddings from the male or pieces of paper towel with his scent into her enclosure to induce ovulation.

 

[LepoInc]

Yeah, I didn't plan on selling the babies to the market. I just want to get a handle on it before I purchase a quality gecko from a breeder. I am part of another forum but I wanted more opinions so I came here. Thank you

 

[DrCarrotTail]

The advice everyone else has provided sounds great. I'll just reiterate that she doesn't look like she's in the best condition for the stress of breeding just yet. You should fatten her up a bit, make sure she has been on a good vitamin supplement, and has had free access to calcium and a 90 degree warm spot in her cage for a couple months before introducing her to a male. This will ensure she doesn't have complications from trying to lay eggs with limited resources. Good luck

 

[LepoInc]

So within the week or so of me having Lilly, she went from around 45g to 55g and has had access to Repashy+ and gets dusted with it. She is doing great and went through a shed successfully (A little messy but she will get better). I am going to switch the male and females moist hides so they get used to each others scent, and probably put some paper towel in the males viv for him to scent up. When I introduce them to eachother, I am going to place them in a 20L tank that none of them have been in (well, a whole different setup from what they've had) with two moist hides and equal hiding places.

 

[DrCarrotTail]

Great to hear she's doing so well. I still would have quarantined her for a least a month as some medical issues are difficult if not impossible to spot in a short period of time. While breeding she should have access to pure calcium with no D3 or other vitamins mixed in, so she can munch on it as she needs it to make the egg shells without fear of overdosing on other vitamins and minerals.

Best of luck.

 

[LepoInc]

Yeah I have had her for almost a month now. But I have some Fluker's Calcium that I had before I got the Repashy+ so I will put that in with her. She has a crazy appetite, she even went for my finger once. It wasn't an attack, cause I've seen her do that too, but she kind of just strolled over, smelt my finger, and nipped at it curiously. Haha. Scared the crap out of me but still. I will get her all pumped and ready to go and hopefully she will ovulate. *Fingers crossed*

 

[DrCarrotTail]

I would take it slow and make sure she's super healthy before trying it. Personally I would wait until next season as she may not have gotten adequate vitamins and calcium in the previous owners care and she could use some time on a healthy diet to build up her reserves before the super stress of breeding. Without adequate resources she may hurt herself or produce babies that are deformed or have issues like metabolic bone disease which is very sad to deal with.