question about breeding

[razerwire]

1.is it more efficient to house all Leos in there own little set ups and introduce the male ever so often for a few day at a time to breed them...or is it better to just set up colony's of say 1.3-5.0 and let them do there thing?

i currently house 1 male with 3 females in 1 container and i have been led to think this is the best way to breed Leos just let them do there thing but my Leos only produced 5 eggs this season 2 duds and 3 great little hatchlings.from 3 different Leos... but i have recently came across some information saying that it would be better to house them all separately and and rotate the male in and out of the females for 3 days at a time then

repeat again about a week after a female has laid her clutch.....

2. my question is i thought a male only had to breed with a female one time during a breeding season for the female TO produce many clutches during a breeding season or is it more of a female COULD lay many clutches but rebreeding the male back to her after she has layed a clutch will guarantee she will keep producing clutches....what way would you suggest

sry left some info out yes they are all above breeding weight 45+grams and at least a year old yes they get plenty of Calcium yes they have there moist humid hides i have read many books on the subject i think its part of the fun is getting all the knowledge possible even though i suck at spelling sry

3. what is the best box "name size LxWxH" for a single Leo rack system and what is the best box "name size LxWxH" for a colony set up rack system

right now i have 4 breeding colony's really 3 no females in the fourth one and i keep all my hatchling to sub adults in 6-12 qt boxes my temps are good 86f +,- 5f for A/C kicking on and off

Thanks for the help all
RaZeRWiRe Reptiles

8.12.2 leopard geckos
2.1.1 crested geckos
2.5.0 Tokay geckos "2" in the incubator yea me
0.1.0 ball python

[tmfleo]

Have you tried searching in the Eublepharis discussion forum I beleave this topic has been discussed already .

http://www.forums.repashy.com/forumdisplay.php?f=135

And also check out this.http://www.forums.repashy.com/forumdisplay.php?f=52

[razerwire]

Hi thanks for the reply Yes i have searched high and low for this information but where my problem is, is that alot of the information contradicts other inforamtion it just depends on who writes it I am hopeing to get information from the prople out there who are doing this them selfs weather be for fun and love of the hobby or just trying to make a lining off of the reptiles they breed. I love all my ****s and i have quite a few of them and i make sure i know as much information possible to give them every thing they need first and formost

Thanks for the help all
RaZeRWiRe Reptiles

8.12.2 leopard geckos
2.1.1 crested geckos
2.5.0 Tokay geckos "2" in the incubator yea me
0.1.0 ball python

[razerwire]

Ummm why did B--A--B--Ys get ****

[Andrew Gilpin]

Ummm why did B--A--B--Ys get ****

http://www.forums.repashy.com/showthread.php?p=36818#post36818

[razerwire]

LOL thats funny but implying that i was refering to age when i was refering to the way i feel about them but what ever still funny though thank for the reply

Thanks for the help all
RaZeRWiRe Reptiles

8.12.2 leopard geckos
2.1.1 crested geckos
2.5.0 Tokay geckos "2" in the incubator yea me
0.1.0 ball python

[tmfleo]

Well I've bred them in pairs and groups 1 male to 3 to 4 females I prefer pairs over groups. For a pair I use shoe box size rubbermaid container aprox 12"L x 6" W x 4" H with groups need something larger which I used 10 gallon fish tanks. you can customize a shelf unit (rack) or buy a premade one to suit your needs.

[razerwire]

Yesh that pretty much the way i have them know in 3 breeding group 1 is 1.4.0 ....2 is 1.3.0... 3 is 1.2.0 but they just did not produce very well for me last season and the only group to produce was my Tremper albino group and at the end of the season i changed the male out for a Tremper Ablino Giant because i did not see the point in breeding the normal albino so hmmmm. after doing some more research i am finding in this fourm and other alot of breeders out there are going the 1 loe per house and rotate the male in and out of the females and rebreeding them as well so now i think i am just looking for a nice sweater box so i can start planing my rack system thank for the reply

Thanks for the help all
RaZeRWiRe Reptiles

8.12.2 leopard geckos
2.1.1 crested geckos
2.5.0 Tokay geckos "2" in the incubator yea me
0.1.0 ball python

[ominously]

You always run into the problem of complacence when you leave your males in with your females all the time - it seems that sooner or later they're just like "so what" and don't really get with the program. Instead of rotating them in and out like you were saying you could try simply removing them for awhile and reintroducing, of swapping males out of your colinies with others for awhile - the scenting of another rooster in the henhouse sometimes spurs breeding acitvity.

[Gecko Ranch]

First, I will recommend the Tremper et al book The Herpetoculture of Leopard Geckos:Twenty-Seven Generations of Living Art which is now the present leo bible. Anyone serious about breeding leopard geckos should own this book. The conflicting information you have found is a problem with using the internet as a sole source of information for breeding techniques. Good books like the one above not only are written by folks who have much data and experience to back it up, they are edited by reptile professionals and non-professionals alike so the presentation is readily understandible to all who care to read it. Folks seem to forget the value of texts in this internet age.

When you do come across internet info yes, it may be useful, however, it is only as good as the source. How long have they been breeding leopards? What size of an operation do they run? How long have their techniques worked? Time is the true test of almost anything in life, gecko breeding is no exception.

Second, back to one of your questions - I have found the greatest success with leopard breeding with 1.2s. In the "Leopard Gecko Manual" by Tremper, Viets and de Vosjoli, Dr. Brian Viets tried many different combos of breeding set-ups in his research and found the 1.2s the best for production. I tried it based on those findings and indeed, they held their weight better and therefore produced better. Since leopards, not unlike most geckos, are dominance hierachy creatures, there was always a smaller female at the 1.3 or more female level I was having to rehab back to breeding weight.

As far as rack systems, I have Freedom Breeder racks, different sizes for young and breeders. These are pricey but very high quality, a necessary thing for someone who breeds in the figure of hundreds of leopards each year. Buy the biggest size drawer set-ups you can afford.

About keeping males with females it is not necessary after week or so as the females retain enough sperm after mating for the whole season. Most of my males are kept with females, some are "surfed" around a few different breeding females. I have never had the experience except for once or twice with about 120 breeders in 13+ years that a male did not do the job in a few days. It is probably better the males be kept separately if you have the space so you can keep another female in his place in the set-up (increase production) and reduce stress on the females as the male will want to keep breeding.

[razerwire]

Wow thanks for the reply. I should start with My first place for information is in my books among the names are, "Leopard Geckos-A complete guide to Eublepharine Gecko, The leopard Gecko in Captivity, The Leopard Gecko Manual, Geckos-A Complete Pet Owner's Manual, and many other books on Tokays, Cresteds, Bearded Dragons, Ball Pythons". I am currently working on finding a store to Buy The Herpetoculture of Leopard Geckos but i am haveing no luck finding any one who can even order the book? And as far as the internet goes I always use alot of caution/research when i find anything new. After a good bit of research i think i have come to a choice of building a rack system that will be 12 levels high by 2-3 slots wide and will hold the iris boot box for my adults and i think i am going to do a hatchling rack the same way but with the iris shoe box or the mens shoe box. Now on the the rebreeding question could anyone answer or take a guess as to why the 3 females that did lay a clutch only laid 1 clutch each instead of laying a few? and Man you are lucky lol FB rack "jaw drop" i wish i want the model with the windows on the front of the box that rack system looks sweet but i dont have a few grand laying around.......or at least a wife that would be willing to drop that much on a rack lol. Thanks again for the input

Razerwire

[Gecko Ranch]

Wow thanks for the reply. I should start with My first place for information is in my books among the names are, "Leopard Geckos-A complete guide to Eublepharine Gecko, The leopard Gecko in Captivity, The Leopard Gecko Manual, Geckos-A Complete Pet Owner's Manual, and many other books on Tokays, Cresteds, Bearded Dragons, Ball Pythons". I am currently working on finding a store to Buy The Herpetoculture of Leopard Geckos but i am haveing no luck finding any one who can even order the book? And as far as the internet goes I always use alot of caution/research when i find anything new. After a good bit of research i think i have come to a choice of building a rack system that will be 12 levels high by 2-3 slots wide and will hold the iris boot box for my adults and i think i am going to do a hatchling rack the same way but with the iris shoe box or the mens shoe box. Now on the the rebreeding question could anyone answer or take a guess as to why the 3 females that did lay a clutch only laid 1 clutch each instead of laying a few? and Man you are lucky lol FB rack "jaw drop" i wish i want the model with the windows on the front of the box that rack system looks sweet but i dont have a few grand laying around.......or at least a wife that would be willing to drop that much on a rack lol. Thanks again for the input

Razerwire

I've got all the good books including this one in stock. :)

About the females laying one clutch - if they are young (1-2yrs) or if it is their first breeding season then that is on the low side but probably normal. What your job is to do is to keep their diet as nutritous as possible and in the right amount for them during the different seasons of the year.

Right now my breeder leos are in winter rest until about April when they start laying. This is not induced - this is determined by following natural light and seasonal temp drops. I feed them mostly superworms, occasionally mealworms and at least once a month wax worms. All insect food is gutloaded with Allen Repashy's Insect Gutload at least 24 hours to feeding and supplemented with Allen's Calcium Plus. Insects are also given leafy greens (crickets, supers) or carrots (mealworms, mini-mealworms). Feeding is an art, your job is to feed them until there are maybe one or two food items left then stop. The goal is to not overwhelm them with too many food items that they won't eat. In the winter they are fed twice weekly.

Best of luck with your program!

[razerwire]

Wow Gecko Ranch just replyed to my thread lol Thanks alot its really cool to know there are some Big Timers out there that dont mind the pet project people and are even willing to give advice I tried sending an email to a few of them but have yet get get any kind of reply Thanks and i reallly mean it.And yes my Females are just over a year old

Thanksfor the intrest
Razerwire

[razerwire]

Opps almost forgot jsut checked your site and see that you do have many books i will deff be ordering from you to get the Leo bible lol just noticed you have a new possibly old not sure have not seen it before in my area but does your new book have much on Tokays i am trying to find a really in depth book for the Tokay and also could you recomend a really good crested gecko book i have quite a few for crested as well the ones i have seem to be lacking the real in depth information i am looking for they are a more quick read type of book
Thanks again

[Gecko Ranch]

Thanks for checking out the site. I do answer all e-mail I get. My mentor Sean McKeown instilled in me the responsibility to share knowledge with the sincere.
I do have good Tokay info in my book, it is take from Sean's Tokay book mostly. The Crested gecko section is from Philippe de Vosjoli. Most of the book is my own knowledge and some stuff from some choice gecko folks. :) If you are serious about Cresteds you should get the Repashy et al Rhac book. Very, very in depth!