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Leopard geckos

B

beccarasue

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Hi. I am new to breeding leopard geckos. Or any lizard for that matter! I have one male and 3 females. Can anyone give me suggestions on a homemade incubator. I don't have the money right now to buy one but I have heard that you can make one using tupperware. I just need to know how to and what are different things that you can use. Any information on breeding them will be useful. Thanks a bunch!
 
if you can't afford an incubator then I would wait on breeding. It takes money and equipment to have the proper set up for successfully hatching the eggs and caring for the babies. I would separate the male, save my money, and start doing your research before actually breeding. It will be worth it in the end. Here are a few websites to get you started.
http://www.thegeckospot.com/leobreeding.html
http://www.vmsherp.com/LCBreedingLeopards.htm
 
Stephies_Leos said:
if you can't afford an incubator then I would wait on breeding. It takes money and equipment to have the proper set up for successfully hatching the eggs and caring for the babies. I would separate the male, save my money, and start doing your research before actually breeding. It will be worth it in the end. Here are a few websites to get you started.
http://www.thegeckospot.com/leobreeding.html
http://www.vmsherp.com/LCBreedingLeopards.htm
Click to expand...
Beat me to it... :)

I agree 100% with what Stephies_Leos said.
 
The incubator is the cheap part, you can get a hovabator for like $50, but as everyone else stated, you need to be able to house all the geckos you hatch, with 3 females you could end up with more than 30 hatchlings, are you sure you are able to handle that?
 
Well I thought I could get some help here but I guess not. I am not trying to be rude. I know that I need the incubator but I just wanted to know what to do incase they lay eggs before I get it. I wanted to know how to make it using the hatchrite or vermiculite as a temporary solution. I have done research and the reason I am trying to breed them is to make some money. I know that they are of age, they are healthy and a good weight. I just thought that I could learn some more off this site since everyone here is experienced in them. Thanks
 
I have plenty of cages.. I bought the geckos for cheap and then I had some unexpected bills before I could get the incubator. So it will be another month before I can get it. I just wanted to know how to do it without the incubator in case they lay eggs before I get it. I still plan on getting it just wanted to be prepared so that if they lay any I can care for them until I get the incubator. I know that one has been mated by my male. The others I don't know about. I just wanted to be prepared so that I don't lose any babies. Thanks for the response
 
Either way, with our without an incubator, you will have to use vermiculite or perlite (hatchrite hasn't had that rave of reviews), so I don't understand that part of your post. You will have to have a heating element, for one. You will have to have a container that is insulated (Styrofoam, old refrigerator unit). You will need a way to control the heating element (thermostate/rheostat/dimmer). You will need a thermometer to make sure you're maintaining proper temperatures. Most incubators need to be set up a week or so in advanced to make sure that your temperatures are stable.

You could, hypothetically, incubate at room temperature. However, low temperatures can kill eggs as easily as high temperatures.

So, in summation, you should have waited until you had the incubator to breed the geckos. Breeding geckos isn't a way to make "easy money". It requires time, patience, space, supplies (cages/racks/incubators/vitamins/calcium) and most important of all money.
 
Oh yeah! There's no reason to get an attitude with people due to them giving you suggestions on what you need to do. Instead, take their advice.
 
You could always use an igloo cooler and put together a simple incubator. Then when you're done, just replace everything with some beer!
 
I was not trying to beat your idea down on shue you away, I just wanted to make sure that you realize that you could possibly end up with over 30 hatchlings just from those 3 females. The incubator is pretty important, if your room temp is over 75 and is constant, you could incubate them in the room if you didn't receive your incubator yet, but its still risky. Since you already have the geckos, im guessing that you have already read up on normal care for them, care for breeders is pretty much the same. You want to make sure you are suplimenting them, it is important. I use hatchrite for incubation medium, i havent seen any problems with them yet. I have never used anything else though. Im assuming you know how to check for ovulation and eggs? If a female has eggs, you need to give her a moiste hide to lay them in. I use eco earth in a sandwitch container with the entrance hole cut in the top.
 
Please don't anyone take me the wrong way. I am not trying to be rude or anything. I have read alot about them and how to care for them. I have books on them. I just knew that people on here have bred them and know what to do. I am getting an incubator. It just won't be here for a couple of weeks. I read how to check if they are ovulating and forming eggs before breeding that they can have there eggs sooner. One of them fit the bill. She has been bred now and I just wanted to know what to do if she laid some before the incubator gets here. I appreciate all the responses and help that I can get. I have read a lot about them but it is better to talk one on one with people who have been where I am at before. I just want to give the best that I can right now. I am sorry if anyone thought that I was getting an attitude. That is not what I meant. I appreciate all help. I just can't change it now that she has been bred that is why I needed answers on a temporary fix. Thanks so much for the help!
 
Im glad to hear that you did do the research before hand :) Your right it does help to ask people who have been there already even after reading up on things, its hard to cover everything, so if you have any specific questions feel free to ask, im only a phone call/email away
 
Thanks for the help. I love these lizards. They are awesome. I know that one has been bred and I think that one was pregnant when I got her but her abdomen slowly changed and she never laid her eggs. Is that possible? She seems to be fine though. She has shed recently and is eating well still. I haven't read much about a situation like that. Thanks again!!
 
If a gecko is gravid (pregnant) it is noticible. Sometimes you have to slightly bend her back to see the eggs real clearly, but they are visible. A good side note on this, eggs and fat pockets are 2 different things. they look alike at times, but fat pockets are side by side, eggs are side by side, but always staggered(1 higher than the other) Here is a good pic Felicia has on her site of both ovulation and eggs

http://www.leopardgeckobreeder.com/ovulation.html
 
Hopefully it was just her fat pockets then. I know that it looked like the pic but I don't know if it was exactly like you described.. As long as she is ok that is good. I really appreciate your help.
 
beccarasue said:
Well I thought I could get some help here but I guess not. I am not trying to be rude. I know that I need the incubator but I just wanted to know what to do incase they lay eggs before I get it. I wanted to know how to make it using the hatchrite or vermiculite as a temporary solution. I have done research and the reason I am trying to breed them is to make some money. I know that they are of age, they are healthy and a good weight. I just thought that I could learn some more off this site since everyone here is experienced in them. Thanks
Click to expand...

Good luck. A cheap incubator can be built with a styrofoam cooler, flexwatt, a thermostat, and a thermometer. As far as making money, if you are breeding some nice morphs you can make a few bucks, but most morphs will only bring the joy of raising a hatchling and a financial deficit. Unless you raise them in mass and compromise their health. Then you may make a very small amount on the positive side.
 
Technically I am not raising them soley for money. I bought them from my local pet store and he said that he would buy all the babies. I love lizards so I thought that I would raise them so that I could get the best of both worlds. I can do something that I enjoy and make a few bucks. I want to save the money and buy some of the better morphs too. I was going to raise the crested geckos too but I only have one juvie so far. I figured I would wait on them until I get some experience with the others. I don't go to work so I have a lot of time to spend caring for them. They are just a cool hobby. Thanks for the info!
 
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