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Looking into breeding geckos...but which type is better?

FosterHerpetological

FosterHerpetological

FosterHerpetological
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Hi, I have bred snakes many times, but have always been more interested in the geckos by far. The leos, cresteds, and fat tails to be exact. I am getting rid of all of my snakes and getting a colony of geckos together to breed, not for the money, but for the hobby aspect.
But, I was curious on your guys thoughts. Which is easier to breed?:confused: Which in your opinion is more fun to work with? Also to take care of etc.
Thanks alot, and any input would be appreciated!:D
Stephen
:?party:
 
I don't know about breeding, cause I haven't even tried yet. But as far as fun to keep, my vote goes with the crested gecko. I find them easier to keep than the leopard to be honest. And they're color morphs and patterns are so interesting. But again, that's just my opinion.
 
Ive heard that they are more fun to keep, and that they are way easier to keep due to their diet and no needing of heat.
But Ive also heard that their different morphs are hard to determine. A female can throw a bunch of different morphs at any given time?
Is this true?
Thanks alot
Stephen
 
I honestly am not sure about that. But yes they are easier to keep. Diet is simple and if your house is a decent temp you don't need an additional heat source. I do believe they can throw different morphs but I'm not sure.
 
Leopard geckos are IMO easier to keep. Leos do require heat, however Rhacodactylus require daily or ever other day misting. They also are messier (the poop on the sides of the enclosure etc), and the enclosures themselves need to be cleaned more often, rather than just changing the paper towel substrate each week. I've been breeding leopard geckos on a medium scale (100-200 breeders) for many years, and bred my first cresteds in 2000. I've kept large collections of both for several years and did finally sell off my Rhac collection, because they took up so much more time than the leos.

Of course, the above is just my opinion based on my experiences. My passion for leopard geckos is something that I will always have, so I might be a tad biased. ;-)

Good luck with whatever you decide. Both leopards and cresteds are simple to breed and in the beginner category when it comes to keeping, so you can't go wrong either way!
 
Thanks alot for the input, but I was alos wondering one more thing. In your guys opinion what would you do? Get a whole group of either and focus on either leopards or cresteds? Or get a small group of them both and try them both out?
Stephen
 
leaveittoweaver said:
Personally I'd start with one species. It'd be a lot less complicated to keep track of things.
Click to expand...

I agree. Start with one and really focus on getting the best you can afford. Quality over Quantity! If you have a successful season with them then you can decide if you want to expand your collection a bit. :thumbsup:
 
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Cresties are much easier to raise and breed.

1-They require no special heating or lighting conditions. If you're comfortable with the temps, so are they.

2-They do not require insects as food. They eat Repashy Crested Gecko Diet, but can be fed insects occasionally, as a treat.

3-The eggs hatch at room temperature.

BUT-even if you only plan to breed for the fun of it, they are VERY prolific. Two eggs every 30 to 45 days, and the females retain sperm, so even if you only wanted two babies, the eggs would keep coming until the sperm supply is used up.

What will you do with the eggs/babies when you've gotten all the babies you want??

That's a BIG consideration.

Here's a link to a long discussion on another forum which discusses several points to breeding/selling/etc. A lot of it wouldn't pertain to you unless you plan to sell, but it's worth the read just so you realize what you're getting into.

http://www.pangeareptile.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32241&highlight=supply+demand

It's better to be informed BEFORE you breed...even if you breed a different species. Everyone thinks breeding/hatching is so easy, but that's only the beginning. You have to have plans for the extra offspring, and the market for MOST geckos is saturated at this point.
 
Yes, I know the gecko market basically sucks right now, but I have many people local looking to buy if I do breed, I made sure of that.
The eggs can be incubated at room temp for cresteds?
Stephen
 
Crested eggs do best incubated at 74-76 yes, and no its not exactly true a female will just throw any random morphs. The morphs are not hard to tell once you know what they are, crested morphs are in fact quite simple.
 
Well I was reading up on them on a different forum and they were saying that females throw a bunch of different stuff out there, like sometimes reds, sometimes creams ets. Thats why I was asking ifit was true
Thanks alot,
Stephen
 
probably what people were referring to, is sometimes with reds, people will breed a red and cream Harley with another colored harley, or rarely even 2 reds together, and get a yellow and cream Harley. This happens when the trait for red coloration isn't passed on. This can happen, but you'll never breed a pinstripe girl and have her throw one tiger and one buckskin dalmatian. Not a lot is known about crestie genetics or whats dominate in there traits. but basically when you breed 2, your going to get one's that look like dad, one's that look like mom, and one's that are a varying degree of the two mixed.
 
There is no "het", "dom" or "codom" with cresties.

Go to http://www.forums.repashy.com/search.php and type in genetics. Allen Repashy probably has more experience with Rhacs than anyone else, and if you have a specific question, you'll likely find the answer at his site.

Also check out the Pangeareptile forum's search feature. They have a huge membership and they're glad to help newbies.
 
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One thing we do know, the lower you incubate crested geckos, the better structure they have. So no, crested geckos are not best incubated at 74-76*F, they're actually best incubated around 65-70*F(or lower if you dare, I've incubated at 60*F with no problems and excellent results).

Andrew Gilpin's study on incubation and structure: http://www.forums.repashy.com/rhaco...ion/22449-incubation-temperature-testing.html

I plan on incubating mine around 60-65*F this coming season, and I expect I'll have good results again. :)
 
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