[JayArndt]

I haven't bought any geckos yet. I'm doing as much research as I can first to try and achieve instant success. I will be purchasing geckos and beginning my endeavor for purposes of breeding. I have a couple questions;

I think I read somewhere that there is about 60 species of gecko, can I breed any of them together, or are there some that just won't mix? If anyone has a great resource for which species breed well together for new morphs, it would be appreciated. I know part of the fun is experimenting, but knowing what's been tried and tested is a good place to start. I assume habitats play a role in which species can be bred?

If I'm committed to a long term project can I eventually develop rare and sought after geckos from your traditional low priced pet store geckos?

[Aerio]

Interbreeding species is very much looked down upon you will dilute the gene pools that way. Just breed different morphs of the same species.

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[Aerio]

Not to mention interbreeding can create many deformed sick and weak geckos that probably wouldn't live to see 3 months.

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[Debbie7054]

I wouldn't jump straight into breeding anything if you've never had any gecko's before. I'd find a species you're interested in and spend a year understanding its needs and personality first. You also need to research the care and incubation of hatchlings. Leopard geckos for example lay eggs in ones or two and they can keep laying a number of clutches over a few months. These all need to be housed separately so you need to think about where you can keep them. All those hatchlings are going to want to eat - so you need to think about either breeding your own feeders or finding a cheap supplier of bulk feeders. You'll also need an incubator and the time and space to do all this. Producing good morphs is something else again. Most pet stores will only sell a limited range of morphs so the chances are you won't make a black pearl or an emerine out of them. The top breeders spend years of planning and looking at their breeding stock to create new top morphs but as well as that they also have good reputations which can't be built up over night. I don't want to put a downer on your get rich quick plan but you aren't going to produce some amazing morph over night. I breed my gecko's occassionally but I put their health and well being first. Repeatedly breeding female geckos over and over and over considerably reduces their life span so I would never do it. If I were you I'd take a look at a top breeders website Ron Tremper's for example it might give you an idea about what you're getting into. Also take a look through some of the posts on this forum about breeding and taking care of geckos. There are loads of care sheets and questions and answers on a wide range of topics. If you're still determined to do it remember all the gecko's you get to breed will need feeding, housing, heat and the right suppliments to keep them fit and healthy. I have 19 Leopard geckos and 3 bearded dragons so I know how much they eat and the time it takes to feed and clean them out and to remove stuck shed and to weigh them every week to ensure they're thriving. In addition to that you also need to quarantine new geckos, there are horrible diseases out there which could wipe out all your geckos which leads me to my final expense - the vet. You'd need to find a good reptile vet in case your geckos get ill and they can be expensive ask anybody on this forum. Some things you can treat yourself and there are plenty of people on this forum that can give good advice as they've had years of experience of taking care of their own geckos. Sorry if this has sounded like a long lecture but there's more to think about than which morph/ gecko will make me the most money.

[Elizabeth Freer]

Hi Jay ~

First off a hearty welcome to Geckos Unlimited!

The topic of interbreeding is a can of worms. Weaker, genetically impoverished geckos are definitely one result. Why impact the gene pool when there are geckos out there who are just beautiful as they are?

Find genuses you like and concentrate on them.

[JayArndt]

Thanks for your replies and advise.

That is good to know about the cross-breeding species I was wondering why I haven't seen any crown / leapard hybrids online anywhere. Now I know. Like I said, I'm completely new to the hobby/industry so it was just a question. If its unethical and looked down on, then its not something I would do.

Also, definitely not get rich quick, I know that for sure. Right now I'm just gathering as much info as possible to ensure I don't harm my first geckos I purchase. And I will just be buying some common leapard morphs at the pet store to get me started to get some experience taking care of them and to ensure that I enjoy the hobby.

And then I'll go from there. The reason I had the question on breeding is because that is really what has attracted me to this hobby, to be able to play a role in genetically engineering a new gorgeous morph I think is quite amazing.

Again, thank you for your responses.

[acpart]

Reading what's already been written on a lot of these forums is a good idea and will tell you a lot. In addition, I"ve tried to write articles for Gecko Time (www.geckotime.com)about things like this that people want to know. If you go to the site and click on the archives button at the top of the page, you will find articles that may be helpful including: Breeding Leopard Geckos on a Small Scale (and a . . revisited article from just a few weeks ago), How to Sell Your Geckos, and a monthly series called "Chronicles of a New Breeder" that came out today.

Aliza

[stellarawesome]

Originally Posted by JayArndt

I'm doing as much research as I can first to try and achieve instant success.

It depends on what you'll consider 'success' to determine if what you want to do is!

The first thing to do is not try to create hybrids. If this will be your first go around with geckos, you would first and for most need to know how to appropriately care for each single gecko species you're interested in before diving into breeding.

I think you may be confusing Morphs with Hybrids. One does not get gecko morphs from breeding say, a Leopard Gecko with a Crested Gecko (which isn't even possible). Morphs are variants among a species.

Another thing you'll learn is that many, many people dislike hybrids. So hoping to breed and reproduce hybrid species may give you a limited market.

If the success you're looking for is to breed and then produce a profit, with animals its something that most likely won't happen on your first go around, you'll really want to get down care and husbandry first.

That's all the advice I can think of or offer off the top of my head!

[lauraleellbp]

One of the main reason that hybridization is so frowned upon is that many of the species of geckos we keep and breed in the hobby are actually endangered in the wild.

[getgeckos]

After deciding what species of gecko you would like to work with, I recommend purchasing from a reptile show instead of a pet store. There you will get a higher quality animal than you would at a pet store for the same price, and if you need to purchase supplies you will also find everything you need there much cheaper. I don't know where you are located but you can google or ask here and you find a reptile show or expo close to you. And besides pricing, you will get to know the genetics of your gecko, which is important if you are going to be breeding them.