New Crested Gecko Breeder

[LSeelt]

Hi There!

I'm Laura, and I've just acquired some geckos that will start as part of my breeding project this upcoming season and next season! I'm super excited to start my Crested Gecko breeding project. I haven't yet decided if I will sell any babies I get, or keep them, or both! We'll have to see what comes.

As a family we have:
-- me and my husband
-- 2 Midland Painted Turtles
-- 2 (soon to be 3) Diamondback Terrapins
-- 1 Mississippi Map Turtle
-- 4 (soon to be 5) Eyelash Crested Geckos
-- 3 children under 5 years
-- 1 Giant Great Dane Dog

So far, only two of my Cresties will be breeding this season, since the others are too young. I have a beautiful adult female partial pinstripe called Firestorm, and I'm acquiring a male adult to match her next week, and they will breed this upcoming season (hopefully!!!)

I have 2 juvy/babies called Sunstorm and Snowstorm, who are adorable, and are always together. They really like each other and will likely be a breeding pair. I suspect one of them to be female (Snowstorm), and almost certain that the other is male (Sunstorm).

And finally I have my juvenile that was my first Crested Gecko, a female dalmation called Sandstorm. She fires up a nice copper and sand colour, and has some great black and green dalmation spots that are only getting bigger.

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

Hi Laura ~

A hearty welcome to Geckos Unlimited! Good to hear about you, your family, and all. You sound quite busy.

Sunstorm, Snowstorm, Sandstorm, AND Firestorm -- really like those names ! I mean if you call 'Storm they might all come running .

Any chance you might share some photos in the Crestie forum here?

 

[LSeelt]

I'll go post some soon, probably later tonight. I have some pretty great photos except of Sandstorm. She's a shy one and I think she's not happy about how much she's been shuffled around lately. Once she settles again I'll take some shots of her too.

 

[Aimless]

welcome to GU!

I would, however, like to voice a caution:

if you're keeping unsexed juvies together and they breed early, are you prepared for the potential negative health impact on your female? it's really best to keep them in their own enclosures.

 

[LSeelt]

My juvy is in her own enclosure, it's only the 2 babies that are in the same enclosure, and they'll be separated in the next couple of months. Based on their size I would be absolutely dumbfounded if they tried to mate at this point. They aren't little brand new hatchlings, but I'd still classify them as too young to mate. Neither of them have pores visible with a lupe(sp?). Could they mate without having developed pores and hemipene?

My juvy is a nervous gal as it is, so I don't even know if she'll end up breeding unless she really settles in well over the next year or two.

I know a lot of people house multiple cresties together because of their small size, but I feel they deserve as much separation as possible. Even the ones I'm planning to breed (which are both 3-4 years old) will have separate enclosures in off season.

I also feel like it's important even when two or three are housed together for breeding for each of them to have their own "back up" enclosure. I mean, what if one (or all) of them get sick, injured, they fight, etc. You never really know what could happen. If I need to I have six 10 gallon tanks (and bigger, but they'd be too big) and a 12x12x12 exo that I could switch any of them to if there were ever an issue. They aren't ideal like the setups they're currently in, but they would work.

Hope that clarifies any confusion. I guess my original post made it sound like I have 5 cresties together and a bathtub full of turtles, LOL! ;-)

 

[Aimless]

it's all good, hope I didn't come off like a jerk. that mistake is made SO commonly...

 

[LSeelt]

No, I just wanted to clarify. I've seen dozens of cresties housed together, and I was thinking about it before I got them. But I did A LOT of reading and research first and decided that while it would be EASIER for me, it wasn't best for the gecko.