Leopard Gecko Breeding (Eublepharis macularius)

Author: Richard Brooks

Introduction to Breeding

Leopard geckos are an abundant species within the pet trade industry. This is mainly due to the ease involved with breeding these spectacular reptiles.

The novice keeper that tries their hand at breeding may find himself or herself shocked at the outcome. I have outlined some information on breeding that will help those interested get started on the right foot.

The first thing that anyone should do before they begin any type of breeding project is to be prepared for the outcome. Any successful breeding project is going to require some extra time and money. This is mainly for housing, feeding, and general care of the new offspring.

In order to successfully breed leopard geckos, you will need a small breeding colony consisting of one male and at least four females. (Breeding will occur with smaller colonies but will be VERY stressful on the females)

Sexing Leopard Geckos

Leopard geckos cannot be positively sexed until they are 6 months to 1 year old. Males have larger heads than females and more pronounced pores. The pores can be located above the vent behind the rear legs on the underside of the leopard gecko.

Males also have "bulges" that protrude below the vent. This is where the hemipene can be found.

Females also have femoral pores in the same location. They are much less pronounced than the males and far less visible.

Trying to sex a gecko while its young can be misinterpreting so I suggest that you wait until they are older.

In most cases, simply placing the male in the females enclosure will result in them copulating. In some cases, you will need to induce a breeding response by supplying a cooling period.

Breeding Weight

Breeding geckos is normally done by weight and not age. I personally will not breed a gecko that is not at least 55 grams. This goes for both my males and females. To monitor their weights, I purchased an Acculab GSI-200. It is accurate up to .1 grams. It allows for tarring which is convenient when you are using a container to place the gecko in while they are being weighed. You first place the container on the scale, and then hit "tare". This will zero out the scale so that the only weight shown is the gecko. Not the combination of the two. This eliminates any math on your part and the possibility for human error.

Cooling Period

Cooling any reptile needs to be monitored carefully. If at any time you notice a dramatic change in your geckos behavior, stop the cooling process and return them to their normal heat and feeding schedule.

The cooling process begins by slowly decreasing the amount of feedings that the gecko receives. It will also require some strict monitoring of the geckos enclosures temperatures. You will need to cycle their enclosure temperatures down ten degrees over a period of 3 weeks. During this time, the gecko is to be removed from any feeding schedule. The decrease in temperature will disrupt their digestive system. They will survive off the fat storage in their tail during this time frame.

Once you have brought there day and night temperatures down 10 degrees, they should stay at this temperature for 2 weeks. Then you will need to reverse the process and slowly raise the temperatures over a 3-week period. During this time, feeding should begin again with an increase in fatty foods such as wax worms. This will help the geckos to replace the fat storage in their tails and to put on the added weight for breeding season. A females calcium intake should increase if you are planning to breed her. A lot of calcium will be used in the developing of the eggs.

During the cooling period, water should remain in the enclosure as well as a shallow dish of calcium powder.

Breeding

Place a single male within your female colony for a period of 2-3 weeks. During this time, you may see the male chasing the females around and biting them. This is a normal practice for breeding geckos. The male has to show his dominance before he subdues the female for copulation.

When a male copulates with a female, he aligns his body beside hers and bites the neck of the female. This keeps her still while copulation is taking place. He will raise his tail so that the hemipene can extract itself from the vent and enter the female.

Female geckos can harbor sperm for long periods. They will use the sperm as needed and will begin to lay eggs every 4-6 weeks. They normally lay eggs in pairs but it is not uncommon for an older gecko or a first time breeder to lay a single egg. The male can be removed after 2-3 weeks because by this time, he has already bred with each female a few times and the sperm supply should be plentiful.

Egg Collecting

Gathering the eggs is extremely important so that they do not dry out. If the eggs dry out, they will begin to dent and the embryo will die. After the male has been removed from the enclosure, check the moist hide daily. This will be the place where the females will deposit their eggs. Though the eggs themselves may not be visible, there should be some sign in the moist hide that eggs are present. Normally the female will cover the eggs in the rear of the container and the medium will be piled up on top of them. In some cases, you may even see the gecko digging in the moist hide preparing to lay her eggs. Do not disrupt her until she has left the moist hide and a visible mound of medium is present.

Egg removal should be done carefully. The way the eggs are deposited is crucial to their survival so they should be marked. Once you have removed enough of the medium to visibly see the eggs, use a sharpie pen and draw a small line on it. This will allow you to know that the line is the top of the egg. If the eggs are placed in the incubator upside down, they can drown.

Incubating

You will either have to purchase or build an incubator to hatch the eggs successfully. I use a hovabator to incubate my eggs. I also use vermiculite as my incubation medium. You can search online for various techniques for creating an incubator or for online stores that sell them.

Incubating Tray

You will need to create an incubating tray to place the eggs in. Decide upon which medium you want to use and line a Tupperware container or deli cup with the medium. It should have the same consistency as the medium in the moist hide.

Placing the Eggs

Remove the eggs from the moist hide carefully and place them in the container that you have prepared to incubate the eggs in. Be sure that the line you made is facing up. Cover them so that only half of the egg is visible.

Incubation Temperatures

Leopard gecko eggs can be incubated for sex if you have a preference as to female or male offspring. Below are the temperatures that the eggs should be incubated at in order for you to attempt to incubate for a specific sex:

78-82 degrees will produce females

83-88 degrees will produce a mixture of both males and females

89-92 degrees will result in males

This method is not fool proof but does carry some degree of accuracy. I have been following these temperatures and have been successful. Eggs will take anywhere from 45-70 days to hatch.

Humidity

It is crucial that the humidity in the incubator remain 80% or higher. If the humidity drops, the eggs may dry out. By leaving a dish of water in the incubator, you will help to increase the humidity. Avoid getting water directly on the eggs. They could mold and die.

Reprint Permission Courtesy Of The Reptile Information Database.

The original article can be found here: Leopard Gecko Caresheet Index