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Breeding Leopard Geckos For More Leopard Geckos
when preparing to breed geckos you need at least one healthy male eight months or older that weighs at least 45 grams and at least one healthy female about one year old that weighs at least 50 grams. You can increase the number of females to males to get more offspring produced quicker if you like. When you increase the number of geckos that you have together, you want to make sure that you don't have an overly aggressive gecko that is going to cause harm to any of the others. During the first month of breeding season to help condition a female gecko you should provide her with extra calcium powder. They will also need a nesting box so they can dig and lay their eggs. The nesting box should be a large plastic container, about eight inches in length, with a removable top. You will need to cut a smooth, square-shaped opening on one side of the container, just big enough for the gecko to easily pass through. The box should be filled to about 40-50% to capacity with moistened vermiculite. The actual process for a gecko breeder is as easy as just placing the male and female geckos within the same enclosure. They may mate right away or it could take some time. The best thing to do is to expect them to take at least a couple of hours or at the most a couple of days. Once they are placed together, the male will become aggressive toward the female. You may most likely see him biting her and if she is not receptive to mating she will bite him back. Even though it might look as if they are fighting, it is actually normal behavior for courting leopard geckos. The male will also shake the tip of his tail back and forth very quickly which might be loud at times. If for some reason, the pair still have not mated after a couple of days that they are together, then you should separate them and try again in a few days. When it comes to leopard geckos, it is easy to tell which ones are male and which ones are female. Turn the gecko over and look at the under side. Male geckos will have two pronounced hemipenal bulges behind the vent on the tail side. You can also tell if it is a male because it will also have pre-anal pores that will be in a "V" shape just above the vent between the hind legs. Females will not have the hemipenal bulges behind the vent but they may have pre-anal pits rather than enlarged pores. Be careful when sexing a female that is obese she may appear to have bulges but it's just fat. The sex of leopard gecko babies depends on the temperature that the eggs are incubated at. If the eggs are incubated at a lower temperature, about 80 degrees, the clutch will be female. When the temperature in the incubator is a little higher, around 90 degrees, the clutch will be male. Incubating leopard gecko eggs at around 85 degrees will result in a clutch that is a mix of both sexes. Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com Debbie Miller is a pet lover and Leopard Gecko Expert. For more Great information on Breeding Leopard Gecko and Expert Advice on buying, keeping and breeding beautiful, healthy Leopard Geckos visit her website and get your Free 10 part Mini-Course at www.leopardgeckoscenter.com. |
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