large colonies???

for those that have experience with this, I need some help determining what kind of colony to put it my new super-cool 45 gal vivarium. Could I put a colony of five girls in there, and take them out to breed with seperate males? Scent wise, is this likely to cause squabbling? Does it matter if I introduce the females 2 at a time, or is it better to just put all 5 in a once. (two are already good friends) Is this something I could do between clutches of eggs? Do I need to wait until they are one alying? Can I move the ones not yet bred this year, and add the others later? OMG! I need some help here!

I am a little confused to what you are saying but I will try. I keep my females 4 to a male and I move some of the males to other containers about once a week. I have introduced animals that have been kept seperate until they were of breeding weight then I have put them all together without any problems. Just make sure there are things to hide under so they feel comfortable. If you plan on taking one female at a time out to put with the male I think that should work. I have never tryed it but make sure that you leave the female in the tank with the male for at least a day at a time to ensure breeding. I keep my males with my females all year long and have not had any problems with that. So if you only have one male to breed just put him in with all the females. Since it is a 45gallon maybe you could section it off if you have 2 or more males to breed with the females. And if you don't care with one breeds with which you can cycle the males in between sections to ensure they are motivated to breed (every week is good). Hope this helps.


Chris Embick

That helps a bit. I actually have 3 males, each breeding with two females each. my main question is, can I keep 4 females together if I'm breeding them with2 diff males (kepp in their own cages). I didn't know if there would be scent-based issues when re-introducing a female after one of her "conjugal visits". Thank you for the reply, it seems not many people keep large colonies, so thank you for the help.

I also wanted some advice about timing this move. Some of the females have started laying this year, some have not been bred yet, and I was wondering about the stress levels. Can I move them and introduce them to new females in between clutches? or do I have to wait until after summer?

I think that there should be no problem introducing males to females that have never bred if they are of breedable size. Some people say at least 35grams but I like to keep them until they are about 45grams.

This breeding season I mixed proven breeders with "new" females that I produced last year. I started to introduce them a little while before breeding season to allow them to get used to the new container and living in a group . I have also intriduced females that have grown large enough in my care into an already breeding group with little complications. The only thing that I have had happen is that one may eat less, so just be aware of their sizes. When they breed they may lose a lot of weight to due cost of egg production. In this case remove the smaller female and let her "beef" up in a seperate container with some waxworms and whatever else you feed here.

As far as using different males I don't know if there will be a scent problem but I have cycled males in between colonies to ensure breeding and I have never had a problem. All leos are different so the first few times watch what happens.

Hope this helps,
Chris Embick

thank you. so you think I should not introduce new females to the ones that have started laying this season?

No I don't think it will be a problem to introduce them to an already breeding group. I have done this before with little complication. Just watch them as when introducing any new gecko to a colony.

Chris