will a male breed a female if she is to young.
Reptile & Amphibian Forums
Welcome to kingsnake.com's message board system. Here you may share and discuss information with others about your favorite reptile and amphibian related topics such as care and feeding, caging requirements, permits and licenses, and more. Launched in 1997, the kingsnake.com message board system is one of the oldest and largest systems on the internet.
female breeding age
crazyjharris
Jan 09, 2007 08:41 PM
Replies (4)
CSHerps
Jan 09, 2007 11:50 PM
The question isn't will he, it's will he hurt her in the process. Alot would also depend on her age/weight and also his age/weight. If you give me that info then I can give you a more accurate opinion.
Personally I don't breed females untill there at least 12 months old and weigh at least 40 grams. Otherwise I'll hold off untill they meet both those specs. When I breed a young female I'll match her up in a group with other females about roughly the same size and a Male no more than 20 grams larger than her.
supremegecko
Jan 11, 2007 09:01 AM
Good advice. As you mentioned, it is more weight than age. I prefer to wait until the females are 50 grams. Breeding and laying eggs takes a lot out of females! I've had a female that stared at 60 grams drop down into the 40s after the laying season.
Good notes on size differences between male and female. Also, as a follow up, make sure you witness the introduction. Some biting and and pushing is natural. If they are really battling it out, you may want to remove one of the animals and wait for another time.
Good luck with your breeding and show some pics of the babies 
-----
http://wkern.msspro.com/supremegecko.html
cottonmouth111
Jan 11, 2007 01:15 PM
Agree, I had one female give unfertile eggs. She was only 40-45 grams. She now has a number of problems due to her lack of weight. That was about 2 years ago, but lesson well learned.
Sam
CSHerps
Jan 11, 2007 01:22 PM
Good follow up. I had a male in one coloney do some domestic violence last year.I Pulled him out within a week and never had the nerve to reintroduce him.
To add, a majortiy of the females I breed are 50 gr and over 2 years old. I would also recommend monitor the females weight through out the breeding season. If any one appears to have any rapid weight loss, remove her from the group ASAP and isolate her so she doesn't have to compete for food.
Monitor males for weight to. Though rare, I've seen rapid weight loss in them to.
I've read some litiature that says you can breed leos at 30 grams. I would't follow this advice.
I'll try and post pic of my 2007 babies thru out the year. I have some interesting projects going on. For now I'll get some pics of last years and some 2005s that I produced up for your veiwing pleasure later.
Thanks
