Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Okay, I've been breeding Tokay Geckos for a bit now, and was wondering something.

I've heard of people trying to breed AFT (African Fat Tails) with Leopard Geckos, though it's not possible because of the different Genus. Leopard Gecko is Eublepharis, and AFT is Hemitheconyx.

But what about Geckos with the same Genus?

For example, If I housed a Male Tokay Gecko, with a Female Skunk Gecko, and a Female Golden Gecko... Will they breed?

They have the same Genus, so you would think it would be possible.

Tokay Gecko - Gekko Gecko.
Golden Gecko - Gekko Ulikovski.
Skunk Gecko - Gekko Vittatus.

I would like some input on this before trying anything.

What do you all think? Is this possible? Have any of you cross different gecko species, or different reptile species in general?

You must keep in mind that the genus is just something that has been given to the animal. It really is only one insight as to whether or not breeding is possible. I think a good example to show this would be trying to breed a corn snake, Elaphe guttata, to a king rat, Elaphe carinata. I don't think it has been done, though one might think they are closely related. Fast forward to the present, and you now have the corn snake changed to Pantherophis guttata. It's still a corn snake, but evidence suggests that we were wrong to put it in the same genus as the asian rat snakes. Taxonomy is always a work in progress.

Nevertheless, other things affect the production of hybrids. Even if two animals are closely related, if they are unattracted to each other (would you have sex with a chimpanzee?), then you'll have problems making the hybrid. Of course some persistent keepers have successfully tried "bait and switch" techniques, or other methods to trick their charges.
Further, some animals are physically incompatable. Hemipenile shape is a large part towards successfull copulation. This can vary greatly among species.

I'm pretty certain that most potential hybrid mixes have not been produced simply because it's more work than it's worth. Why have a mutt when the real deal is so readily available?

Ian