The following guidelines explain exactly how we breed our Rhacodactylus
geckos.
Are Your Geckos Ready?
•
The female should be a minimum of 12 months old (older is better)
•
The male should be at least 10 months old (older is better)
•
Both geckos should be eating a
proper diet very well.
•
Weight for the male should be at least 30 grams, and 40g for the
female.
•
If your female is under 30 grams, do not breed her regardless
of age
Breeding Conditions
We keep temperatures at 74-79 during breeding season with night time
drops as low as 69. We increase our automated misting to twice daily
(1 minute/ea). Humidity is kept around 70-85% to ensure the eggs won't
dry out if they aren't found right away. We usually keep 1:1 or 1:2
ratio of male to female geckos per cage, alternating females if necessary.
Breeding pairs are kept in 29 gallon vertical cages and larger. We've been told it's extremely overkill - but I'm happy to say all of
our breeders still have tails! We're very anal about making sure geckos keep
their tails as long as possible. (Forever!) If you are
planning on breeding in groups, be sure to have a very large, very tall cage.
(Remember 10 gallons per gecko as a bare minimum rule)
Introduction
Casually place a gecko in the cage housing the other. When it's
placed inside - try and put it in a place that's as far as possible from the
other cage mate. That way they can approach each other when they are
ready. The first few hours after the geckos have been
introduced can tell you a lot about how the relationship will go. If
the male is overly aggressive, you probably don't want to leave her in as a
24/7 365 companion. We've seen that happen only once, but it does
happen.
At this point the male should start approaching the female, and they'll use
body language, squeaks, and other noises to communicate with each other.
It is normal for a male to gently bite up and down the female's sides, neck,
and tail before mating. Do not interfere unless either gecko's
wellbeing is in question. Mating can last anywhere from a few seconds
to a few minutes.
Egg Laying
We offer tupperware containers full of slightly moist
coconut fiber &
reptibark for lay boxes. Soil should
be at least 4" deep to keep the female happy. During breeding season
we check the boxes for eggs daily, but keeping an eye on the female's size
can help make this a quick job. They usually noticeably lose a little
belly weight after dropping eggs. Females will drop 2 eggs about once
per month. Eggs should look white to milky white in color, and should
be a smooth oval shape. Yellowish & misformed eggs are usually
infertile, but it never hurts to incubate the eggs just in case!
Egg Incubation
We use
Repashy Superhatch exclusively for our
incubation media. Once we switched to Superhatch, our hatch rate
jumped just over 10%! (We were using vermiculite) We incubate at
exactly 75F, but anything between 70-80 should work. Our incubator
stays at just about 80% humidity all the time. We fill
16oz deli cups about 2/3 of the way up with
media, and add the eggs settled into the media about 1/2 way up the egg's
sides. We don't pop holes in the lids, but we do
open them about once per week to keep the air from becoming too stagnant.
Be careful using cheap-o "hovabator" incubators. The mechanical
thermostats are known to have wild fluctuations in temperature.
Eggs
should begin hatching in 55-65 days.
Hatchling Care
Baby geckos are sensitive and require more attention than their adult
counterparts. Hatchlings should be left in the incubator until they've had
their first shed. (Typically within 12-24 hours of hatching. We keep ours in small (not mini)
Herp Havens using paper towel substrate
until they are about 3 months old. The small home to start with keeps
things easier to clean, makes food for the baby easier to find, and doesn't
allow for any "big falls" at a young age. Each hatchling should be
kept separately to avoid tail loss. (Especially Gargoyles!) Cage furniture
should be solid, easy to climb, and most importantly not something they can
accidentally ingest! They should be misted at least once every night
to ensure shedding occurs without issue. Stuck shed on a baby crested
gecko can cause serious problems. If you notice some stuck shed
(commonly around the legs & feet) mist around the affected area, and gently
coax the skin off. They are tiny, so be very gentle! Once the gecko is
over 3 months old, it can be moved into a larger terrarium or sold.
Geckos usually hatch out weighing between 2.1 to 3.5 grams.
Other Tips
• Mark the deli cups with lay dates & breeding pair info. It can
be helpful in the future when you'll want to estimate when your eggs will
hatch.
•
The first clutch of every season has the worst chance of survival.
Don't panic if it doesn't pan out as planned. Chances are you aren't
doing anything wrong.
•
Females with no male can still lay (infertile) eggs. If this
happens - consider a male. It is more difficult for a female to
produce an
infertile egg than a fertile one.
•
Try checking the calcium sacs on Crested females at the back of her
mouth at least after every clutch is laid. This is the only time
you'll ever get bit by a Crested gecko! :)
•
Give hatchlings a few weeks to settle into life outside the egg
before handling them.
•
Never house hatchlings (or younger geckos) with their parents. They
can become food!
• BE PREPARED. Have your incubation media, cups, incubator, and
lay boxes all straightened away before you introduce your males & females.
Hopefully this article helped you understand how to properly breed
Crested or Gargoyle geckos. As always if you have any questions at all we're happy to help! Email us at meikmail@gmail.com
Two Of Our Breeding Racks
^ Our First Breeding Rack ^
^ Our Incubator & Weigh Station ^
^ Gargoyles Hatching Out ^
^ Hatchling in it's new home ^
Gargoyle &
Crested Gecko Breeding Caresheet
Rhacodactylus Auriculatus & Rhacodactylus Ciliatus
This care sheet is downloadable for easy printing!
Click to download.
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