How long do leopard geckos mate?

Question

and wats the gestation period?

Answer 1

Leopard geckos are relatively easy to breed and when in prime condition the females can produce many clutches of eggs during one breeding season. Most leopard gecko owners will at some point consider breeding their leopard geckos. Incubating and hatching baby leopard geckos is very rewarding and exciting, however, before you decide to breed your leopard geckos you should carefully consider, and be able to answer yes to, all of the following questions.



are the male and female(s) healthy and of the appropriate age and condition (see box opposite)

are you confident enough with the behaviour and character of your leopard geckos that should breeding cause any problems you would be able to spot any behaviour/symptoms that are indicative of problems

are you able to provide the requirements (extra housing, food, etc) for the hatchlings (see hatchling caresheet- to be added soon)

are you able to devote additional time to caring for the hatchlings

do you have an appropriate incubator

are you able to find homes for all the babies (in top condition, one female could produce up to 20 eggs in one season)

  PREBREEDING CONDITION

Breeding takes more of a toll on the female, therefore prior to breeding her you should ensure that she:

is 100% healthy

is a minimum age of 1 year

is a minimum weight of 50g*

has a nice plump tail

Males can breed from around 9 months. They should obviously be in perfect health, to avoid passing disease to the female.







*Although I have recommended 50g as a minimum weight for the female to be before breeding, this is just a guide. In my opinion it is a better idea to wait until they have reached their full adult length. Some females get quite large, 9 inches and 80+g, and it is probably not a good idea to breed such a female when she's only 50g, that's only half her adult size. The best method is to weigh/measure your leos monthly or more, and once you're sure your leo is reaching its adult size/weight (i.e. when the weight and length gain starts to significantly slow) then you can consider breeding her.





Obviously before you breed your leopard geckos you will have established that you do have a pair of leopard geckos. Below are photos of a male and a female with a description of the characteristics of each.

Answer 2

They usually mate Feb. through May.

Mating only takes about 30 seconds and is repeated.

It takes around 20 days for the eggs to develope.

It takes 45 to 70 days for the eggs to hatch depending on incubation temperature.  Temperatures below 82 deg Fahrenheit tends to produce females, temps between 83 and 88 tends to produce males.

Answer 3

Why are you asking this question twice?