Re-Introducing

[Bg3489]

Quick question:
I have a male and female leopard gecko both around 1 and a half years of age. I had them in the same tank and around January this past year they mated and I then separated them into two separate tanks. We saw the eggs and then after a pretty long time realized they were no longer visible and for some reason she had lost the clutch. She is very healthy now and eating again and I was wondering if I could re-introduce them to mate again now at this time of year? Is there any harm to this? Any thoughts as to why she suddenly was not pregnant anymore? ( I brought her into local reptile store and they confirmed twice she was indeed pregnant). Also since they started to mate am I always going to have to keep them separate or will they be able to be housed together when it is not mating season. Thanks for the input in advance! Anything will be of great help I am new to all this

 

[ajveachster]

If the ovules reabsorbed then she is probably not fertile. There should not be an issue with reintroduction. IMO it is best to keep them apart because the male may try to mate when she is not ready. Fights can ensue.

 

[Bg3489]

When you say she is not fertile is that because she is still to young to breed? I'm going to keep them apart for now for sure she is ready and no fighting will occur.

 

[ajveachster]

How old and what weights are they? It might just be that the eggs did not get fertilized when they were introduced the first time. It happens.

 

[Bg3489]

They are both approx 1.5 years old. The female weighs about 40 grams and the male 45-50 grams

 

[ajveachster]

Most breeders like to have their females at 50g or above to breed. When I said infertile I meant that the sperm did not fertilize the egg. Since she is a little on the light side I would keep them apart for now. Once she is up to a higher weight, you can reintroduce them. There are some breeders that set up breeding colonies, and don't have a problem. Since they have been together, if you wanted to do a colony type setup then I don't know that you would run into any issues. Since we do not have ours in a colony setup, I don't have much info on the subject. Try doing a search to see how to set one up properly. It sounds like you should have enough time to get things in order. Good Luck!

 

[Bg3489]

ok thanks so much for the help!