Breeding Question

[beardeds4life]

Ok, so I have heard mixed opinions of when to introduce males in with females. I have read that you only do it before they ovulate, some say during, and some say it does not matter. What do you guys think? I might breed this year but it would be late in the season so I will have most likely missed her ovulation but what do you guys think? I really do not want to have to wait till the ovulation because that kinda intimidates me.:o

[SpOoKy]

There is no need to breed beardies. The market is over saturated and it will be very hard for you to find homes for all of them.

[beardeds4life]

Beardies? Why does everyone think I am talking about beardies? Leopard gecko!!!!!!!!!!! I have been planning on breeding LEOPARD GECKOS this season for over a year now. Everyone is telling me no to breed beardies (pm's). I KNOW!!!!!! Sorry if I sound rude but this is the leopard gecko section NOT bearded dragon section.

[KORBIN5895]

How old are they? Well she.

[youngster]

Everyone thinks you're breeding beardies because of your name, "beardeds4life"

[beardeds4life]

Oh, that makes sense. I love beardies hence the name. I do not have a female but I think I am going to buy a shtctb from russo's reptiles that is 56 grams as of november. Then I will breed her late in the season so she will definitely be big enough. I might wait till next season though before I breed. Leopard geckos, just to clarify.

[SpOoKy]

Everyone thinks you're breeding beardies because of your name, "beardeds4life"

Yup that's what happened...sorry, my bad :)

[beardeds4life]

No problem, a few other people did that to but they send a pm instead.

[SpOoKy]

Well I am going to say the same thing about Gecko's too. Unless you have some really disireable morph's or you plan on keeping all the babies, I think you are going to have trouble getting rid of them.

I don't mean to rain on you parade I am just thinking about the welfare of the babies. Leo's are cheap and can be found everywhere so I don't feel there is a need to put more out into circulation.

[beardeds4life]

I have very very nice tangerines (couple hundred dollar ones) and i know from experience that leos are always in high demand or at least here in the u.s. in california i have backup places for all the babies even though here they are in very high demand around me

[lady_bug87]

agreed^^^

the last expo I went had hundreds of leopard geckos and a lot of them didn't sell. To be honest, breed what you love because you may have to keep them a while before they sell which means feeding, housing, and vet bills (if the occasion should arise)

[beardeds4life]

yes shtctb and sunglows are my favorite and usually always fetch very high prices and are not on the market long and even baby sunglows sell for a few hundred very fast so those are highly desirable morphs

[beardeds4life]

I have decided to wait till next year and I will pick up babies this year while there still cheap :D

[BarelyBreathing]

I agree with Spooky. Often times over bred geckos end up in dying in some young child's bedroom because they were an impulse buy, or they end up as feeders. If you're okay with that, go for it. As a rule, I ONLY breed my leopard geckos when I already have reservations for new homes, or I plan on keeping the offspring.

[BarelyBreathing]

Also, even nice tangerines are less than $100... usually around $20

[beardeds4life]

as babies or adults? im talking about adults and im talking about top of the line super hypo tangerine carrot tail baldies with like 75% carrot tail

[BarelyBreathing]

I have a SHTCT carrot tail baldy that I bought for $40 as an adult.

[BarelyBreathing]

And please don't take this the wrong way. I just want to give you a heads up as to what actually happens with unwanted geckos. Breed if you want, it won't bother me. In fact, depending on what part of the country you're in, I might buy. I just think it's wise to be sure you have homes for any animal before you breed it.

[KORBIN5895]

I have decided to wait till next year and I will pick up babies this year while there still cheap :D

Shouldn't geckos be around 3 years old before you breed them?

[beardeds4life]

Shouldn't geckos be around 3 years old before you breed them?

no they dont 8 months of age and 55 grams

[BarelyBreathing]

I don't breed anything under two.

[beardeds4life]

Are you breeding turkmanicus?

[KORBIN5895]

I did some research today and found two camps of though. First was between 7--9 months as long as she was up to WEIGHT. the second camp was no earlier than 18 months because it would not be mature . Both were con concerned about the female becoming egg bound earlier than 18 months. Also as I mentioned in another post I have a few price list from reptile breeders that wholesale to pet stores. Even considering that Canadian pet stores DO pay more for everything the most expensive leopard morphs are all well under 100 dollars. Just don't sink too much capital into a project that sounds this risky. I would hate to see you lose any female especially when the return could be less than 500 dollars.

[beardeds4life]

Ok thanks for the advice and may I ask where are your sources? Ron Tremper breeds whenever as long a they are 50 grams and has never ever had one get egg bound and all of his are less than a year old and he is the biggest breeder of leopard geckos in the U.S. and one of the biggest in the world. He sells hundreds upon hundreds of geckos on his site and also sells a ton wholesale.

[KORBIN5895]

My sources as in what I read? Try Googling "at what age I can breed my leopard gecko". One that sticks out was" leopard geckos for dummies. " As far as pricing goes that is something I got from my local pet store.

[beardeds4life]

I have read many books on reptiles that are "for dummies" and all of them have been mainly incorrect so I would not ever follow what they say in there.