What's a good weight for not breeding and for breeding?

[prettyinpink]

I wanted to write this down... What's a good weight for adults -breeding weight, and prebreeding weight. Also baby weight. I was just curious so I know what are danger zones, ect.

Is there maybe a weight chart

Thanks guys

 

[T-ReXx]

Leopard geckos should be at least 45 grams for males and 50 grams for females generally for breeding. I personally wait until 55 usually on both sexes.

Post breeding weight is trickier, it can vary a lot per gecko, but you want to keep them as close to the 50 mark as possible.

Other than that, it's difficult to say what a "good weight" is. Leopard geckos of healthy weight vary greatly. A better way of judging such a thing is general body condition: tail thickness, activity, no spine/ribs showing, etc. An underweight gecko will look underweight, and an overweight gecko will look overweight. It's just something you learn to eyeball with experience.

 

[Taquiq]

There has been a lot of controversy about this. All of the stuff I say here are what I do and my opinion so other people may disagree. The minimum weight for breeding is 40 grams for me, because some geckos are just small and won't get that big. I personally wait for 45 grams if not 50. I will usually start packing on weight for my females right before breeding season (like right now). Males don't need to be as big as females, 40-45 grams is fine for a male.

 

[Tony C]

I generally agree with Ted, but I look at minimum weight as a guideline rather than an absolute. For example, I have had females ovulate in the 35-40 gram range, and I will breed them if they start to form infertile eggs because my experience has shown that fertile egg production is far less taxing than infertile egg production.

 

[prettyinpink]

Okay here are my weights...Beau looks which I believe the perfect weight and he weights a lot more than my females I got (remember I mentioned I think they're thin) Do you think maybe he's bigger? As in a super? He's A LOT bigger than my females but his weight could be messing with my eyes

Beau (Patternless Tremper) = 86 grams He's three years old
RAPTOR Female = 52.5 Hatched 10-07 proven breeder also three years old
NOVA Female = 39.6 grams (I said she was TINY!) Hatched 6-8-09

Should I take a pic of beau on my hand and then a pic of the girls for a size comparision?

 

[Tony C]

This was one of my most prolific breeders:

She is over 2 years old, topped out at 44 grams pre-breeding, and was typically closer to 40. She laid six clutches for me, and one more for her new owner shortly after being shipped. As I said in another recent post, selective breeding for size, genetic Giants, and rampant obesity have changed the perception of what a leopard gecko should look like, but there are plenty of smaller individuals who defy the "rules" and make fine breeders.

 

[prettyinpink]

Ooh pretty Tony I want her!

Okay, just worried about that Nova, she's really small. I thought she was a baby then I read the hatch date and I thought that can't be right.

Beau doesn't look fat to me though...but he weights in almost double what breeding weight is. I'm confused.

So the genetics could be messing up everything for me? And that's why I'm lost?

 

[Tkurk1]

The bigger the better with the females. The more wieght the better offspring you will produce. When breeding skimpy females you get hatchlings that are weak and sometimes don't make it. Also defects if the mother dosen't have enough vitamins and calicum. Most females lose wieght while breeding and you dont want them to sprial downward to stop egg prduction.

 

[robin]

The bigger the better with the females. The more wieght the better offspring you will produce. When breeding skimpy females you get hatchlings that are weak and sometimes don't make it. Also defects if the mother dosen't have enough vitamins and calicum. Most females lose wieght while breeding and you dont want them to sprial downward to stop egg prduction.

obesity in reptiles will in fact cause them to not produce well. so, bigger is not necessarily better.

i had a fifty gram female give me 11 clutches all were fertile with healthy babies. first year breeder too

 

[gothra]

Beau doesn't look fat to me though...but he weights in almost double what breeding weight is. I'm confused.

I think its very normal for an adult male to weigh 86g. For your information, every one of my males weigh over 90g (except Lemsip who had his tail amputated, he is now at 80g). Your female weighs I'm not sure as I have never bred my geckos; but my smallest is 65g.

 

[T-ReXx]

Do you think maybe he's bigger? As in a super?

If by "super" you mean Giant, I would say no. The general rule for Genetic Giants is 90+ grams, with Super Giants pushing past 110 grams. I have a Giant female who weighs more than 86 grams. Most "normal" male leopard geckos easily reach 70, 80, 90 grams, and many non-giants can surpass 100 grams. There are geckos who are just big.

Beau (Patternless Tremper) = 86 grams He's three years old

Sounds normal to me for the average male.

 

[T-ReXx]

I generally agree with Ted, but I look at minimum weight as a guideline rather than an absolute. For example, I have had females ovulate in the 35-40 gram range, and I will breed them if they start to form infertile eggs because my experience has shown that fertile egg production is far less taxing than infertile egg production.

Of course, I agree, there are always exceptions to the rule. A gecko that is 2 years old is fully mature no matter what the weight and can generally be safely bred. When growing out younger geckos, the average weight for sexual maturity is 35-45 grams, and as breeding can be taxing on females, generally waiting until they put on a bit more(the 50g mark) gives them a cushion in case they pull one of the "I don't want to eat anything because I'm full of eggs/hormones" card, which plenty of them do. There's always a margin.

 

[prettyinpink]

Thanks guys