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RE: Pet store?

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Posted by: John_Yezbak at Sun May 16 05:46:08 2010  [ Report Abuse ] [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by John_Yezbak ]  
   

Those are all good questions. I'll try to offer some advice based on my experience.
First, purchasing future breeders from a pet store can be a gamble, in my biased opinion. Not knowing whether they are siblings is just one of the many unknowns involved. You won't know their genetic history, parentage, sex (if they are hatchlings), age or feeding status.
Some of these are more important than others. If you are buying an albino for example you may not know for sure which of the three types of albino you are getting. Knowing the age is also important because many pet store geckos are older than they appear. They may have changed hands several times and might not have received the best care or established good feeding habits. Undernourished geckos will not be very good breeders. Even after being fattened up and recuperated many females that did not have high levels of care from a young age fail to breed well.
The point is; they MAY be perfect and healthy but you just don't know for sure. If you can find a small local pet store that breeds their own geckos or gets them from a local breeder you will be much better off. Or buy from a reputable breeder.
Make sure they are appropriately sized for their age, ask what the parents were, make sure they are an unrelated sexed pair and find out what they are eating. You will be much better of in the long run.
Next, 12 months old and min. 50 grams for breeding is a good idea. You will need a gram scale to determine this. Most of my geckos reach 50 grams by 7-8 months of age or even less and many females will begin ovulating BEFORE they reach 50 grams so I would suggest keeping the sexes seperated until you are sure that the female is large enough and old enough to SAFELY breed.

I hope that helps you a bit. This is all my opinion and somebody may disagree or have had success with geckos from the 'Big Box' pet stores but to me knowing the history and being able to directly question the breeder is important.

John Yezbak
North Coast Geckos


   

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