Reptile & Amphibian Forums

We found a female to breed with our 2 year old male. I just have some questions.

First, she isn't ready to breed yet, she will be a year in October. We were thinking of waiting until this coming spring before putting them together. In the meantime, I don't have a second tall setup. I was looking into purchasing a 10 gallon aquarium and setting it on its side somehow. I was wondering if anyone had any comments good/bad about that? I could get another large 20 gallon one, but it was costly and since its not permanent I'd almost rather not.

Second, what is an ideal diet for a female crestie if I want to get her in optimal breeding condition? Our male right now takes about 5 crickets weekly and baby food almost everyday. We also add Sticky Tongue Farms Miner-all, which contains his calcium, about once a week. Would my female need additional calcium?

Third, once she is ready to breed, I planned on housing them together. How often will she lay live eggs?

I appreciate the help. Thanks, Jamie

if you are looking for affordable temporary housing, you should look at purchasing a 66qt Sterilite/Rubbermaid tub. these are available at walmart/target or home depot/lowes and usually retail right around $7. i take a utility knife and cut an 8" wide circle in one end of the lide and tape window screen material to the inside. this provides some fresh air and helps maintain humidity.

as far as diet, try alternating food on an EOD frequency. alternate between crickets and babyfood. you can probably give 3-4 crickets 2x's per week and babyfood on the non-cricket feeding days. definitely dust your crickets with calcium powder and if you can, gut-load them first. as for the babyfood, you could try mixing some of the CGD (crested gecko diet) available at most chain petstores (petco/petsmart).

when you introduce them, don't be discouraged if there is some delay in her laying eggs. seems a lot of first time breeders take a few months to lay their first clutch. after that, egg laying occurs usually every 21-35 days. just be certain she is getting sufficient calcium when breeding.

I like the tub idea. I will definitely check into that.
This little female is 2 inches long not including her tail, so she is a tiny thing. I probably won't need a very big tub.
Also how do you weigh your geckos? I've read that they should be at least 35 grams before breeding, but what type of scale do you use?

Thanks for the responses! Jamie

just go to ebay
type in digital gram scale
you should be able to find something that is accurate within .1gram for well under 30 dollars including shipping.

Jamie,

i don't know what part of the country you are in or what your local laws are like, but here in Atlanta we have quite a few "smoke shops" or "head shops" or "adult novelty stores." the first two will definitely have what you need, though you may pay more. the "adult novelty stores" may or may not have a scale. a lot of the ones here also carry "tobacco" accessories.

also, if you have a 'scientific supply' company, they would also be a good source for a scale.

if you want something very basic, you can find a digi scale in the kitchen section at walmart, but they are not usually designed for smaller gradations - the one i picked up only measures in 2g increments.