The 50g rule?

[ColorSchemer]

I've heard mentioned a couple of times now "the 50g rule" I gather that basically it means that a healthy gecko, male or female, should weight in at 50 grams or more.

I have a 10 year-old male who weighs in at 52 grams and has gotten down to 48 grams when he was very, very ill with a mouth/eye infection last year. He has a very fat tail and is an active little slizard. I'm noticing though as I spend more time in the forum that he's not nearly as chunky in the middle as most of the other geckos I see pictures of here.

Am I under feeding him or is he just small? He was terribly neglected when i got him as a late juvenile. He gets a cricket, mealworm, or waxworm every night. I know that some feed their leos a lot more, but he seems very healthy. I think it is the super plump tail that makes me thing that he's fine how he is, but I'd like some other opinions.

Don't be alarmed by the eye. I know it looks terrible, but it turned out to be just a build up of skin and the cream I had been using to clear up some minor eye issues. I pulled it out very carefully last night and he doing great.

 

[Tanner505Geckos]

i really wouldnt breed him if i were you i have a female leo that has the same problem and i was gonna breed here but she wasnt wanting to breed period even when i would cool her down nothing and plus your leo has already had a stressful life i would let him relax and not breed him

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

The 50 gram 'rule' is a general guideline, and mostly applies towards females. Age is also important... for example, if a female is 2 years old and weighs 48 grams, she will likely not get any bigger. She will probably do fine laying eggs. Likewise, if a female weighs 55 grams and is only 6 months old, I would recommend waiting until she is at least 9-10 months old before breeding her. Males can be younger and/or smaller.

Egg laying is very hard on a female gecko's body. She needs the calcium to continue growing to her adult size. When females are too young/small, their bodies are robbed of that calcium because the eggs use it to form the shell. Young/small females generally do not lay as many eggs, do not recover as well between clutches, and can suffer from egg-binding.

 

[ColorSchemer]

Oooooooh, I didn't realize that the 50 gram rule with breeding. D'oh! So I guess all that matters for an older, male who won't ever be bred is that he looks active and healthy? Sounds good.

 

[Halley]

50g rule is just for breeding females. I would also not feed Waxworms every night that could lead to some serious health problems. And being 48 grams isn’t unhealthy weight at all. And I’m glad the eye thing ended up being nothing serious!

 

[Ccrashca069]

I am glad you are taking good care of him. I would feed him more but thats me.
If you wanted to start getting into breeding, I would sugest you breed a morph you like and only start with no more then 2 pairs. Also pick morphs you like not what you think will just sell.