Just to add a bit of info to this discussion, it's quite possible for geckos to 'clone' themselves, it's common in the animal and plant worlds. I had a small group of Hemidactylus garnoti and Lepidodactylus lugubris, both are 'all female' species. All you need is one to start a breeding project, though 2 works better since a pseudo courtship helps increase fertility. No need to worry about getting runty, inbred offspring either
Quoted from a PDF file at
http://go.hrw.com/gopages/index.html ( Holt, Rinehart and Winston educational online materials)
WEIRD SCIENCE
Cloning by Parthenogenesis
A snake is born to a mother that did not have a mate. Although this may sound
impossible, or like some headline in a tabloid magazine, this can actually occur in nature.
Parthenogenesis (pahr thuh noh JEHN uh sihs) is a type of reproduction in which a new
individual develops from an unfertilized egg. Since there is no male that contributes
genetic material, the offspring is a clone (genetically identical) of the mother. Clones are
usually produced in nature by asexual reproduction. Parthenogenesis, however, is a
special form of cloning.
Why Does Parthenogenesis Occur?
Parthenogenesis in snakes has usually occurred in older females that have lived many
years without male companionship, such as those in a zoo. It is hypothesized that the
mother snake copies her own chromosomes in place of the missing father’s
chromosomes, thereby self-fertilizing her egg. Other scientists think that after a long
absence of males, some unknown signal (such as a hormone) triggers the egg to start
dividing.
Many Different Organisms Undergo Parthenogenesis
Organisms capable of reproducing by parthenogenesis include dandelions, hawkweeds,
and some fishes, lizards, and frogs. Whiptail lizards are all females that lay eggs that
hatch without any male contributions. Honeybees also produce male drones by
parthenogenesis.
Parthenogenesis is not thought to be possible in mammals. Embryos of mammals that
do not have genes from both a female and a male parent do not develop normally. The
only natural mammalian clones known are identical twins, which develop when a
fertilized egg splits and two individuals develop.
