Geckos form a large
family of Lizard best known for their nocturnal way of life and the ease
with which some species run up walls. The typical gecko has a flattened
head and a body with soft skin, containing many minute scales. Most
are nocturnal animals and have enormous eyes, each with a permanently
closed transparent eyelid. Many have "friction pads" of specialized
scales under the toes, which enable them to climb easily up vertical surfaces
and even to walk upside down, on a ceiling for instance.
Leopard Geckos are one of the
easiest and most rewarding Lizards to breed. Well fed female Leopard
Geckos will generally reach sexual maturity at around 9 months of age
(Usually January-April). At this time the male will begin showing
interest in the female, and if you see small bite marks on the female
this is a good sign that breeding has been taking place. We often house
of males separately from groups of females, and every few weeks
beginning in January we introduce the male to the females for a period
of a few days. This allows us to keep better track of when breeding is
taking place. Female Leopard Geckos only need to breed with a males a
couple of times to be able to lay eggs all summer.
Our Leopard Geckos generally begin breeding in Mid January with egg
laying starting in February.
The females if well fed will continue to
lay eggs well into the summer and early fall. Females most often lay
pairs of eggs. Occasionally at the beginning or end of the egg laying
season females will lay single eggs. We have had females lay from as
few as 6 eggs to as many as 25 eggs in a season. Larger older females
tend to lay more and larger eggs.
We provide the females with a nesting box. This is a lidded plastic
container with an entrance hole cut in the lid. Inside the box is
either damp soil, or damp cypress mulch. The females will bury their
eggs in the medium, from which they can be removed for artificial
incubation.
