Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have one male normal leopard gecko right now, in a 70 gallon enclosure (36"x18"x25", and I was thinking about the possibility of getting him a female cagemate. Of course I would like them to breed and produce offspring, but I was wondering if it is actually okay with leopard geckos to keep a male and female together all year round. I know with some species there is concern with doing this.

Also, what should I know if I want to breed leopard geckos? In the end, I would like to have all of the reptiles I keep breeding (which by the time that happens, will probably be leopard geckos, russian tortoises, uromastyx, and ball pythons...all of which I own now, just not in pairs). The goal isn't to turn a profit. I would actually just like to be able to use the money to pay for the expenses. Kind of like owning reptiles for free. But mostly I kind of want my reptiles to go through their natural life cycles.

The things I am most confused about with all of this are, how do I sell the babies? Since I would rather only breed in pairs and not trios, I shouldn't have too many to deal with, but where exactly do I find buyers for baby reptiles? Actually...that's the main question I had.

Thanks in advance.

I am experienced with reptiles. Right now I own one of each: leopard gecko, bearded dragon, mali uromastyx, russian tortoise, ball python. The bearded dragon is getting old and I'm hoping I've still got a while with him, but I don't think I'll be getting another bearded dragon after this. Just not really my thing. The uromastyx is also extremely old (it sucks when you have multiple pets reaching old age at around the same time...the dragon is presumably 7 years old, and the uromastyx is at least 10...more than likely around 20-30 though). So I don't plan on breeding either of them, because right now they're just supposed to enjoy their stay at their nice retirement home

The ball python, the russian tortoise, and the leopard gecko I plan on finding mates for and breeding sometime over the next few years, and in the future I would like to get a pair of ornate uromastyx.

So I'm not just some young kid that wants to pick up extra cash from my geckos. I love all of my reptiles, and I would love to have them reproduce.

Also, I know all about quaranteens and such. I'm not going to go get a reptile and put it directly in with a healthy reptile. 90 days of solitary confinement first

I don't know where you live, but I live in MD and they have monthly reptile shows about an hour away. It is like $45 to rent a table, and then you sell. Most people there are totally into reptiles so you know they should be a good home. That is what my goal is to sell geckos, and chameleons. Also they have a big reptile show the Mid Atlantic Reptile Show in September. It is huge. In 2005 Mark O' Shea was there. I didn't get to go . But that is an idea depending on where you live. Also you can pay to put an ad in the classifieds here on Kingsnake. Most large breeders seem to do that.

I live around Rochester NY, so the closest reptile show is quite a ways away, but if in a few years I actually get to the point where I'm breeding a few different species successfully, it would probably be worth the trip. There's also the western New York herpetological society and I guess they run a very small local show usually a few times a year.

I don't really mind if I don't make any profit. Of course it would be nice to be able to have some spare change doing what you love, but I don't plan on turning into a full-time breeder of reptiles just yet. I think it would be hard to have to depend on your reptiles breeding. I just want to do it as an extension of owning the reptiles. So really, the only reason I want to know how to sell them, is because I can't keep all of the reptiles I would produce

I suppose a good quality website would help too. First thing's first though... Selling is kind of the last part of breeding reptiles, and probably the one I will have the hardest time dealing with.

I think I should start pursuing my dreams more though. When I see people like Bob Clark and the other big reptile breeders, it makes me wonder why I don't give breeding a shot. It would bring more excitement into my life.

is there any problem, of keeping two leo geckos(male & female) in the same space?

-besides the fact that they must have the same size

Yes, there is a problem with a 1.1 count. The male will stress the female out too much trying to breed, 1.2 is better 1.3 is best.
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www.LeopardGeckoBreeder.com

www.LeopardGeckoArt.com

6.16.1 Leos
1.0 Peach Fronted Conure
0.0.2 Red Ear Sliders
1.0 Pembroke Corgi
0.2 Cats
8 fish

So basically it's a strange case where more is better?

So would you suggest that (hopefully this summer) when I go to get my leo a girlfriend, I actually should kind of put together a leo brothel for him?

I was thinking it might be cool to get some interesting leo females...like a leucistic and an albino or something like that.

More females obviously means more eggs, which means more babies to find homes for. Do you think this will become a problem, or should it be relatively easy to find homes for 30-60 baby leopard geckos?

Also, what if the male seems interested mostly in just one of the female geckos? Will he naturally want to impregnate all of them and not focus on just one?

i never had a problem with any of my boys only liking one girl. i have 3 babies and 8 more eggs on the way. i have no idea what the heck im gonna do with the babies. they arnt designer or anything just het for patternless. the only place i can think of selling them is at my boyfriends carwash, but i dont want them to go to stupid little kids who will just end up killing them. i know thats what happened when i was a lot younger to my first leos. poor things. so anyways they are about two months now and i still have them. i suppose i could post an add on kingsnake but i know when i see normals i dont even look.... so im stuck for now. just thought i would warn you. oh i dont know if i mentioned it but i have 8 more eggs incubating and more im sure will come.

Yeah, I am worried I might not be able to sell all the babies right away. That's why I figured I would try it for one year, and if it didn't work out (if I couldn't find enough homes for the babies), I would seperate the male leo from the females. I have been trying to come up with good ways to sell the babies though. I figure I could do the classifieds here, as well as classifieds in the local paper, and hit all the reptile/pet shops to see if they want any. that, and putting ads up at vet offices or other places.

The only thing I'll have a tough time with is selling them to people that I don't know...how would I know if they are going to be good gecko parents?

I think it would be awesome to make my dreams a reality except that I would probably be happier as Mark O' Shea considering I wouldn't want to sell anything!!! I was almost finished with my college classes majoring in Bio!! Only my associates, and would have started on my bachelors asap but I had my daughter!! That is my first successful breeding project !! So I stay home with her, and wouldn't change it to be Bill Gates, or Donald Trump!!!

I think Bob Clark is kind of like the superstar of the reptile world. He's the guy that gets to spend all day everyday working with his reptiles, and he makes his money from their propagation. I think that's the best life I could possibly ask for.

Yet I plan on attending college for 7 years to get a master's degree in music education. Probably a dumb move, since I don't really want to be a music teacher when I get out of college. I plan on doing more of what I'm doing now (teaching drums/percussion and piano privately), continuing my part-time professional drumming career, plus working a day job somewhere, and working on breeding some reptiles. I guess as far as 'day jobs' go, being a music teacher wouldn't be bad (great hours, lots of vacation ), but for every opening in that field, there's usually around 100-1000 applicants. Substitute teaching might be decent though.

Anyways, good luck with everything! The great thing about having to stay at home is that you get to hang with your reptiles too all day

I actually think I might bypass breeding leopard geckos. The thing is, I don't feel confident that I could sell all the babies they would produce, since so many people are breeding fancy geckos these days. I think I'll probably just end up leaving Speckles as he is now...a cherished family pet who graces us with his presence in the morning and evening (he's the only reptile in the house that is located in the family room, instead of my bedroom).

Plus, I love my leopard gecko, and I really like leopard geckos, but they aren't really the kind of reptiles I eat sleep and breathe. I'm assuming at least some of you will understand what I mean by this.

I'd like to do something in the future with breeding ball pythons. I know a ton of people are doing this already, but I would like to find a mate for my young BP in a couple of years, and eventually also get an albino mate with the intentions of eventually producing some albinos (because I like albinos, not because of the money involved). I would also like to breed some russian tortoises in the future, and eventually some uromastyx. These are the reptiles that I have enough interest in that goes beyond just a pet/owner relationship to justify wanting to breed them.

That's just a few thoughts. I appreciate all of the advice given on breeding leopard geckos!