Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,

I'm new to this forum. I've been keeping reptiles for many years now, but never bred leopard geckos before. I have a question. I have a very large and healthy female Leo that is about five years old. A few weeks ago, I bought a beautiful tangerine male. He's about a year and a half old according to the breeder. I decided to put him in with my female "just to see what happens". She was a little aggressive for a moment at first, but ever since that they seem to be inseparable. They sit next to each other, follow each other around, and really seem to be enjoying each other's company. So, I've just left them together. They've been together for almost a month now. I haven't actually observed any copulation. My question is this...are a five year old female and a young male likely to breed? Is a five year old female that has nver been around other geckos likely to breed? I think it would be fun to go through the process, so I am studying and preparing for eggs just in case. Anything I should do to increase the likelihood of breeding?

Anyone have any thoughts on such a pair?

Thanks,

Hayseed!

It's great they are getting along. Mine also snuggle all day long. As for them breeding their age shouldn't matter as long as both are fertile. You problably will miss them breeding as it is very quick. If you see your male cleaning his private areas that is a sign that they bred. Just give them time as it is just the beginning of breeding season. Good Luck

Age is a big deal. At 5yo your female is old enough but make sure she is healthy and fat enough to. You geckos should not be bred. I don't remember the rule of thumb now so hopefully someone will chime in with numbers but yours should both be old and if taken care of properly big enough to breed. As for them being housed together that is not a good idea, for breeding its ok but the male may over breed and stress her out and we all know that stress in reptiles can very easily lead to death. I keep a very large cage with a divider, currently I only have one female who has run of the whole enclosure but when I get a male I will be putting the divider in to keep them apart.
Foot Hill Reptiles

What did you mean by his should not be bred? Most breeders say the male needs to be at least 10 months old but one year is better, for females at least a year and 50grams (i wait till she weighs 60 personally)

If you go to most professional breeders' websites they keep their leos in harem colonies (one male with up to 5 females)the whole year with no problems.

I personally house my male and female together and have done so for several years with no problems, now i will say that sometimes there are a few aggressive male leos that will pester and aggravate the females but i think it just depends on the leos.
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coheed196
1.1 raptor leos (dorito, sunshine)
0.1 beardie (scarlet)
1.1 veiled chameleon (cricket,penny)
1.1 panther chameleon (apollo, athena)
0.1 albino burmese (peaches)
1.0 pit bull (ajax)
0.1 pyrenees mix

I think he meant "young geckos" not mine particularly....looked like a typo.

Anyway. Thanks everyone for replying. I really appreciate the advice. This is a great forum.

So this is early on the breeding season? When exactly is breeding season and how long does it last?

And here's another question. What actually induces ovulation and egg production in a female gecko? Is it the actual copulation that causes that?

Here's one more. Everything I read says the females will look plump if they are gravid. Is this usually very obvious? Easy to see? I'll be keeping my eyes out for it.

Thanks!

Hayseed

When I stated age don't matter I guess I should have clarified that they both needed to be of breeding age and size. I was talking about the age difference. As long as the male is mature enough it won't matter if the female is older or younger.

oh ok, sorry i wasnt trying to jump your case or anything, and yes it is very obvious when a female is gravid, you should be able to see the eggs through her skin. Breeding season usually starts around early to mid march and goes through the summer but leos will breed off season. Most people suggest a cool down period but with leos its not neccessary at all, just give the female time to regain her weight and recover from the last breeding.

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coheed196
1.1 raptor leos (dorito, sunshine)
0.1 beardie (scarlet)
1.1 veiled chameleon (cricket,penny)
1.1 panther chameleon (apollo, athena)
0.1 albino burmese (peaches)
1.0 pit bull (ajax)
0.1 pyrenees mix

Age isnt a big deal with that pairing as long as they are both big. 5year olds that havnt been bred really crank em out too. Its my belief that only geckos that are of a compatible nature should be kept together and if thats the case than they should be kept together year round. A good way to introduce a pair without worrying about any established territorial issues is to clean the cage and contents and get some fresh bedding and put them both into the "new" cage at the same time. hope this helps

Hey everyone,

Thanks for all the advice. I read everything in this forum and have learned a lot. This is a great place to learn!

I'm not certain yet, but I think my female might actually be gravid. She's looking surprisingly "plump" in her belly just above her back legs. I'm keeping my eyes on it and going to set up a hide box with damp moss.

I'll post an update if anything exciting happens.

I have a genetics question, but I'll post that separately.

Thanks again!

Hayseed