Breeding Leopard Geckos

Leopard Geckos are relatively easy to breed compared to other types of reptiles. Put a healthy adult male with a healthy adult female and breeding will occur.

The female should be at least a year old, be ingesting plenty of calcium, and have good fat stores for the best chance of success.

The big difference between Leopard Geckos and most other reptiles is that instead of laying a clutch of eggs all at once, the female will lay two eggs at a time over a period of weeks. Eight to ten eggs per season is the norm. Sometimes only one egg will be produced early in the cycle or if the female is a first timer.

Preparation
Make sure your female is receiving plenty of calcium before mating occurs and during gestation. She will also need extra food, especially after she begins to produce eggs.

A gravid female will walk with her body lower to the ground and if you gently examine her underside you can actually see the protrusion of the eggs. At this point a nesting area must be initiated in the habitat, although the humid hide can also serve the same purpose.

Deli cups (16 oz) lined with damp sphagnum moss makes a good laying ground inside the habitat, but there are many variations on this. Using something see-through makes it easy to see when there are eggs that need to go into the incubator.

When removing the eggs for incubation do not turn them. They must be kept in the same position. The baby has attached itself to the top of the egg and if the egg is rotated the embryo will die.

Remember this especially if you are impatient and must candle your eggs to check for fertility. You must not - at any time - turn those eggs!

Incubation
A plastic shoebox with a 2-4 inch layer of damp vermiculite is an acceptable bed for the eggs that will take up to eight weeks to hatch depending on your choice of temperature. Set the box, with the lid on to keep humidity in, inside the incubator and have it preheated and stable before your female begins to lay eggs.

For the eggs you want to produce females the temperature needs to be kept at 80 degrees Fahrenheit. The temperature for male hatchlings is 90 degrees.

If you want some eggs to develop into males and some into females, use separate incubators. Geckos hatched at a mid temp to get a mix of sexes produce lizards that do not become healthy, reproductive adults.

Kat Magnus has been caring for geckos for over 25 years. Her newest book, "Gecko Care Made Easy," teaches Gecko owners absolutely everything they need to know about caring for their reptiles. http://www.reptilegecko.com/beb.html

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