Questions about Gecko Breeding

[Ziggurat]

Hi! I'm Ziggurat, the newest member. I don't actually own any leopard geckos yet, (though I had experience handling my middle schools' class pet, a leopard gecko my teacher adopted. Poor guy, lost his tail before he was adopted.) but am now interested in starting a leopard gecko breeding business. Before I start a business though, I need all the information I can get about breeding them.

So, I have so many questions the forums will probably be hit by a slew of them over the next few days. The Leopard Gecko Manual is only so much to go on. I hope this isn't against any rules.

First question to kick things off: Will 1 male and 2 females be alright to start breeding?

 

[ElapidSVT]

breeding leopard geckos is a fun hobby, there aren't more than a handful of people in the world that make a living at it.

2 females is a bit too much to start, imo. 1:1 will work and you'll see if you are up to the fun and heartbreak of breeding herps.

good luck!

 

[acpart]

I recommend that you get 1 or 2 females, keep them this summer and fall and see how it goes with them and your interest. Read caresheets, read posts in the breeding section, google "leopard gecko breeding" and read that stuff, ask questions. If you still want to breed at the end of the calendar year, get a male and once the quarantine period is over in Jan., you can start next season. Think really hard about whether you have the time, space and money for the breeding equipment you'll need, housing for the babies, food and vet visits. I also echo what the poster above says, namely that hardly anyone makes money at leopard gecko breeding, those who do don't make much and if you compute an hourly wage for those who make a profit, they'd do better working at MacDonalds.

Aliza

 

[Ziggurat]

Good thing I'm not planning to make it my primary career then! I plan on one day becoming a zookeeper, having a career and hobby involving animals is strongly recommended before applying for the job. Still, I really do want to make a small business of breeding them. If all goes well, I will continue doing it. Also, I'm not doing it right away. I already knew I would need time to find a place big enough for them. This could take over a month! I'm asking my questions so much in advance so I will be as prepared as I can be to care for hatchlings and my breeders. I will also need to earn the money to actually buy the geckos, their home, ect.

This brings to mind a second question I'm interested in. Is the market for leopard geckos big enough that I can find customers interested in geckos from a small business owner that are healthy (I certainly hope they will be healthy!), as used to human contact as I can get them, and if I can decide on what kind of morph I want to try, pretty to look at? Not to mention from good lineage. I plan on thorough recordkeeping.

Any other comments from anyone? Encouragements?

 

[acpart]

The market for leopard geckos stinks right now because lots of people are breeding them. If you do a forum search for "market" you will find more than you ever wanted to know about that. I have already said most of what I have to say in some articles in Gecko Time:
http://www.geckotime.com/breeding-leopard-geckos-on-a-small-scale/
http://www.geckotime.com/how-to-sell-your-geckos/
http://www.geckotime.com/care-and-feeding-of-gecko-hatchlings/
http://www.geckotime.com/preparing-to-vend-at-a-reptile-show/

Aliza

 

[M_surinamensis]

Before I start a business though, I need all the information I can get about breeding them.

Before you start breeding them, you need all the information you can get about selecting them.

Before you can select them, you need all the information you can get about keeping them.

Before you keep them, you need all the information you can get about preparing for them.

Before preparing for them, you need all the information you can get about them.

Doing it right is more important than doing it fast. Being aware of a goal, such as breeding for profit, is beneficial since it will inform decisions you make along the way, but you should really strive to understand everything before starting anything. Don't skip to the end. That is not the way to experience success.

 

[Tony C]

This brings to mind a second question I'm interested in. Is the market for leopard geckos big enough that I can find customers interested in geckos from a small business owner that are healthy (I certainly hope they will be healthy!), as used to human contact as I can get them, and if I can decide on what kind of morph I want to try, pretty to look at? Not to mention from good lineage. I plan on thorough recordkeeping.

To be blunt about it, no. I wound up giving away as many geckos as I sold over the last year or so.

 

[OhioGecko]

Before you start breeding them, you need all the information you can get about selecting them.

Before you can select them, you need all the information you can get about keeping them.

Before you keep them, you need all the information you can get about preparing for them.

Before preparing for them, you need all the information you can get about them.

Doing it right is more important than doing it fast. Being aware of a goal, such as breeding for profit, is beneficial since it will inform decisions you make along the way, but you should really strive to understand everything before starting anything. Don't skip to the end. That is not the way to experience success.

:main_thumbsup:

 

[Ziggurat]

*smiles and tentatively gives :main_thumbsup: back to Thad* Hello Thad. Talks with you were interesting and informative. I just hope my questions were intelligent and not horribly stupid, school has done wonders for my self esteem. *extreme sarcasm* I do assure you that caring for animals if one of my life's ambitions.