# Advise for Crested Gecko breeding?



## M1chelle (May 20, 2020)

I'm looking to breed some of my Crested Geckos this year.

There is misleading information out there and so I'm hoping for some clarification as I don't want to get anything wrong.

Should the female be 40 grams (with tail)?
I cannot find information as to whether the male should also be of a similar weight? Both geckos would be 2 years +.

Should I move the male to the female or both into a new enclosure? Should they stay together all the time or a few days? And how many days?

They will have a cooling off period in the winter months but any ideas on how many months this should be? I was thinking Oct to Feb?

Any help would be great...I love my geckos and yes I want them to breed but the Geckos health and happiness are more important!


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## elishacoombes9 (Sep 5, 2017)

M1chelle said:


> I'm looking to breed some of my Crested Geckos this year.
> 
> There is misleading information out there and so I'm hoping for some clarification as I don't want to get anything wrong.
> 
> ...


Females should be 45+ grams. With or without tail. That’s best and healthy weight for them to breed and I only breed mine when that weight. 
Male doesn’t matter in all honesty, he’s 2 so he’ll be ready. 
Add the female in. I usually add the female in then take her out after they’ve done the dead, then add in again next week. Then maybe again in a few months add her in, But keep in mind females can hold sperm for up to 3 years, so a couple times may do the trick for the rest of the year! My girl here Big Mama held sperm from Kaneki for over 3 years! 
They stop producing eggs ‘usually’ from October/november. They start spring, end fall. So they usually start from March then stop laying around October/November. 
Hope I covered it all! X


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## M1chelle (May 20, 2020)

Thanks, my girl is 35 grams so I will wait till she is ready, shouldn't be long now 🤞

Just to make sure I read it the right way, move the female to the male?

Silly question.... Some of the enclosures have several hiding places (dependant on the gecko and it's needs). Should I remove some or keep lots of hiding places? Or does it not really matter?


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## elishacoombes9 (Sep 5, 2017)

M1chelle said:


> Thanks, my girl is 35 grams so I will wait till she is ready, shouldn't be long now
> 
> Just to make sure I read it the right way, move the female to the male?
> 
> Silly question.... Some of the enclosures have several hiding places (dependant on the gecko and it's needs). Should I remove some or keep lots of hiding places? Or does it not really matter?


Yeah I move female in with male. 
To be honest it shouldn’t matter as soon as he clocks her he should only have one thing in mind! 


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## Shellsfeathers&fur (Jan 18, 2009)

I always thought that when breeding was being planned, whatever animal, the male was always put to the female, ie in this instance he would be put into her enclosure?


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## M1chelle (May 20, 2020)

I thought that too I suppose everyone does things a little different. Hopefully some others will be able to help


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## elishacoombes9 (Sep 5, 2017)

Shellsfeathers&fur said:


> I always thought that when breeding was being planned, whatever animal, the male was always put to the female, ie in this instance he would be put into her enclosure?


You can do either I’m sure. But with adding the smell of a female to his enclosure, certainly I’ve found the male is straight to it. 
I’ve tried adding the other way around before and some of my males do nothing, but adding into theirs does the job. 
Plus the smell of the male staying in a females viv may cause them not to eat which is why you shouldn’t leave them in as females may drop weight quicker and go off food I have found. 
Plus all my males have their own vivs and the females live in trios in big vivs. 


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## elishacoombes9 (Sep 5, 2017)

M1chelle said:


> I thought that too I suppose everyone does things a little different. Hopefully some others will be able to help


As said above^ the scent of a male in with the female staying there may cause them not to eat as much. It’s been nearly 4 years of breeding for me and I found if I added the male in then the scent of him stays and the female wouldn’t eat as much again after. But adding the females in with the males they don’t care as much as they get what they want if that makes sense! Plus all my females by doing it this way have stayed 45+ even with laying eggs. So I have found for me it’s better for my females to have a ‘quickie’ in the males viv and back to their own again and it’s like nothing happened and they still eat like pigs. 


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## M1chelle (May 20, 2020)

Seems fair enough. I will definitely consider it. Roughly what size enclosure do you use for your males? I only ask as some of my males have done better in smaller enclosures and I'm worried about upgrading them too much!


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## elishacoombes9 (Sep 5, 2017)

M1chelle said:


> Seems fair enough. I will definitely consider it. Roughly what size enclosure do you use for your males? I only ask as some of my males have done better in smaller enclosures and I'm worried about upgrading them too much!


All are in Exo tetras. 45x45x60, that is the minimum size for a Crestie so that’s what we use for them all. 
They will be fine moved up, Cresties don’t usually stress much with enclosure size but find the bigger the better! Kaneki my first when I got him and his brother at 5G (both unsexed so didn’t know were both males) were put in a viv that was 100x100x50! Now looking back it was massive for the tiny boy he was but he thrived and did amazingly in it and was all bio. 
So basically yes I would upgrade them to 45x45x60 size which is best for them to have a long healthy life with you, they’ll be fine, they’ll probably enjoy having the extra room to roam at night! X


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## M1chelle (May 20, 2020)

elishacoombes9 said:


> All are in Exo tetras. 45x45x60, that is the minimum size for a Crestie so that’s what we use for them all.
> They will be fine moved up, Cresties don’t usually stress much with enclosure size but find the bigger the better! Kaneki my first when I got him and his brother at 5G (both unsexed so didn’t know were both males) were put in a viv that was 100x100x50! Now looking back it was massive for the tiny boy he was but he thrived and did amazingly in it and was all bio.
> So basically yes I would upgrade them to 45x45x60 size which is best for them to have a long healthy life with you, they’ll be fine, they’ll probably enjoy having the extra room to roam at night! X
> 
> ...


Great thanks, the Geckos I'm thinking of are still young and not ready for breeding! I'm in the middle of upgrading the males, I'm just getting my rack sorted! I did the same with a few babies a few years back, they were tiny in 45 X 45 X 60 enclosure... They looked lost but did well. I have just had a few awkward geckos lol I'm pretty sure it's me overthinking things lol


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## alanbf (Sep 23, 2016)

Was just reading through this and I have a similar situation with my leopard gecko if I add the male in with the female she stops eating for a few days where if I put her in with the male and take her out once they have done there thing and put her back in her enclosure shes fine and will eat that very same night


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## alanbf (Sep 23, 2016)

Not got cresties yet am looking into them though what do you use for your bio substrate as in donyou just put coco coir in or do you use clay balls and mesh and then substrate as you would darts?


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## M1chelle (May 20, 2020)

alanbf said:


> Not got cresties yet am looking into them though what do you use for your bio substrate as in donyou just put coco coir in or do you use clay balls and mesh and then substrate as you would darts?


Bio-active enclosures include several different elements, below is a list of what my Cresties bio-active enclosures are made up of:

Hydroballs
Hydro Fleece Drainage Layer
Coco fibre
Bark chips
Sphagnum moss
Activated charcoal
Leaf litter
Clean up crew - we mostly use Springtails
Logs / Branches / Cork Bark
Plants
Natural or UV light (dependent on plant)

Alternatively if you haven't got the time or space to make your own soil mix I have used already mixed reptile specific substrate such as ProRep Bio Life FOREST.


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## alanbf (Sep 23, 2016)

Thanks alot for that something I'm gunna look into and have set up ready before I get them


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