Small scale breeders

I'm interested in hearing from people in my situation --limited by time and space to a smaller number of geckos (in my case probably a maximum of about 12 adults) but still interested in breeding projects. Right now I have 3.3 breedable geckos (one of the males is a normal and isn't currently being used for breeding), 0.1 holdback for 2007 and 0.2 babies which will hopefully be going to new homes next week. I incubate only for females so I can sell more than one gecko to someone and not worry about whether they can stay together. I try to pick geckos which can go together in a variety of ways to give me more options. Right now I have Tr. albinos and tangs including a red stripe cross. This year I'll breed the tangs to the albinos to get hets and then will breed them back to the albino male next year. I've been considering "upgrading" my hypo-tang male to a red stripe male next summer but my kids are giving me a hard time about selling the male. It's hard when the geckos are also pets as well as gene-pools. Now I'm trying to figure out if I can accomodate yet another male in his own cage during the off-season . . .

Just to give you alittle insite, I bred 12 females this passed season and I had 130 hatchlings to not include a dozen plus eggs which didn't hatch. Its nothing short of having a daily part time job.
Xavier

That's exactly why I'm not going where you are. I already have too many daily part-time jobs.

I have 24 adults, only 15 females going this season and at the low end 100 hatchlings and at the higher end 200...sooo you may only want to breed a couple females just to get your feet wet. Caring for hatchlings is a full time job, not really a part time

Originally Posted by acpart

That's exactly why I'm not going where you are. I already have too many daily part-time jobs.

You said you wanted to breed 12 leos, how many females did you have in mind cause they will produce alot for you, you can expect 4-12 clutches per female. I very much enjoy it but its time consuming as already stated I'd do only 3-4 females if I was you the first year.

This will be my second year breeding. Last year I bred 2 females and got 10 hatchlings from one and only 3 from the other (she got a slow start on fertile eggs). This season I will breed 3 females. One is a young first-timer so I don't expect much. When I said "12 leos" I meant the males and the females. I don't expect to breed more than 5-7 females ever and my estimates of how many hatchlings to expect are in line with what you're reporting. I have figured out how to house 16-18 clutches (pairs) of babies at a time this coming year so I think I'll be OK and then I'll re-evaluate for 2007.

Happy New Year (I can't believe I'm still up)

i have 48 females going this year, 30 of them are already gravid..plus i have 6 fishtanks with fish that require 50% water changes and gravel vacs every 3 days.

so it really is like a part time job

and like xavier said, 12 females will give you a good amount of eggs, not every egg with hatch, but you will still have many more than you thought


i first started out with 6 females in 03, and bred 4 of them in 04, got about 32 eggs, with 18 hatchlings

I dont know if I agree with it being a part time job...seems more like a full time job to me and i consider myself small scale. But what makes it not a "job" is that we all enjoy it.....and do it by choice...unlike the dread of rolling out of bed everyday at a certain time and going to a place where you are underpaid and overworked and not appreciated!!!
Leos appreciate you!
Try to budget your time or set up a schedule...I have three sets of different racks. Each nite I do one set....keeps me from spending hours in the reptile room....To try and do it all in one night is crazy. Of course once the babies start hatching it is a bit harder to "Schedule" your time...

Aliza,

If you can find the room to house another male, then I say "why not"? I think that having variety in unrelated pairs is always a good thing. Plus, you don't necessarily have to breed them all at once.. if you have a project in mind, you can always plan it out for the following year. I have a number of geckos that I just HAD to have, but then I waited 1+ years to find their 'perfect mate'. Makes the wait all the more worth the while. And in regards to the boys.. I know what you mean. My best friend, Tricia, has 2 boys (6 & 9) that have given her the same arguments. Tricia always heads the argument with "I'm the person who ultimately takes care of them and buys their food". The boys get sad at first, but then find something else to preoccupy their thoughts.

Good luck in whatever you decide to do! If you do buy another male and decide that for some reason he's not right for you, you could always find him a new home. I personally think that you would have a lot of fun with the 'new' project. On the other hand... If you end up breeding your female to a tremper.... I will hopefully have some awesome (unrelated) colored stripes/reverse stripes het tremper in 2006. Could make for a fun red stripe x tremper project in 2007.

Take care,
Hailey
www.IDGecko.com


PS... And I hope you had a great trip!

I have a lot of "pet Leos"
I have plans for one pairing so far this year-still thinking on who else I might want to pair up
I just find them so irresistible to keep and care for with each one having their individual looks and personalities
My first hatching ever was this year and fittingly it is a normal-which is where I started with this whole addiction many years ago-LOL
I just really love these little guys

Sandy