# your opinion



## mandyT (Aug 23, 2007)

i dont know what to do this leopard gecko season. With just one month to go its soon closing in. 

I want your opinion of what to do. to incubate for mixed sex or for just females ?


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## nuttybabez (Jul 21, 2007)

I would say female - if you incubate for mixed sex, it is much harder to work out what sex the offspring are and you will probably end up keeping them for much longer to figure out what they are before you can sell them - most people would like to buy a female or a male, not a leo who could be either


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## Big Red One (Oct 17, 2007)

mandyT said:


> I want your opinion of what to do.


Well there's a surprise............


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## mandyT (Aug 23, 2007)

Big Red One said:


> Well there's a surprise............


What was meant by that ?


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## mandyT (Aug 23, 2007)

nuttybabez said:


> I would say female - if you incubate for mixed sex, it is much harder to work out what sex the offspring are and you will probably end up keeping them for much longer to figure out what they are before you can sell them - most people would like to buy a female or a male, not a leo who could be either


 
okay thanks nutty - should females would be alot easier, thanks


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## pigglywiggly (Jul 19, 2008)

with females you have the option of keeping a couple in a rub together.
and a lot of pet people want 2 to live in a viv together.


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## ccrew (Mar 11, 2009)

mandyT said:


> i dont know what to do this leopard gecko season. With just one month to go its soon closing in.
> 
> I want your opinion of what to do. to incubate for mixed sex or for just females ?


i tend to setup more than 1 incubator so that if i need a few males myself to keep to the collection then i use the 2nd incubator for just males and the first as just females if you have the space id use a second incubator even if its just for 1 male i still use the spare one just a thought tho


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## mandyT (Aug 23, 2007)

okay thanks - i have two incubators anyways - 

how do i know which ones to do and how many males etc ?


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## Ssthisto (Aug 31, 2006)

mandyT said:


> okay thanks - i have two incubators anyways -
> 
> how do i know which ones to do and how many males etc ?


You wouldn't know which ones to do as male and which to do as female, since they don't come with labels as to what they contain 

Given that males do not live well communally, I would personally (if I were breeding leopard geckos) only incubate-for-male one or two eggs from pairings I MYSELF wanted to keep a male offspring from. Sure, it runs the risk of "the gecko in this egg isn't what I wanted" but on the other hand, one or two males that weren't target is a lot easier to sell on than a dozen or more.


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## mandyT (Aug 23, 2007)

so your saying go for all females, and only incubate the ones i want male as male in a other incubator ?


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## Ssthisto (Aug 31, 2006)

Yup, pretty much. 

I think people should breed what they want for themselves first and foremost, and that breeding surplus should be exactly that - animals that are surplus to the breeder's requirement.

I take it further - if a pairing doesn't have the potential to make something you want to keep, don't make the pairing (don't breed if you don't have ANY intent to keep any of the results that could occur from that pairing); if you only want females of a specific combination, don't incubate for male.


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## mandyT (Aug 23, 2007)

RFUK is playing up again


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## pigglywiggly (Jul 19, 2008)

yep, its probly the best idea.

its isnt 100% accurate anyway, i incubated for girls and got 9 males.............. but thats mack snows for you.


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## mandyT (Aug 23, 2007)

well im gunna incubate for all female as i dont wish to have anymore males. 

and i will do the whole "hold back" thing on any i like the eye on  

Could always group the females together in a viv and get a new male


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## tonydavo (Mar 10, 2008)

Mandy, from what I have been reading in this post I think you should be thinking long and hard about breeding next season (which is not 1 month away !)
I am not saying for 1 minute that you should not breed your Leopard Gecko's, more make sure you are doing it for the right reasons, ie whats best for the babies you may produce.
Can you house them all ?
Will there be a market for the morphs you produce ?
Can you give them the time required to clean them out every day and feed them, change the water, check the weight, record everything etc etc, do you have the space/enclosures for them all.
Can you look after them when they reach adult when you are not able to sell them on ?
I will hold my hands up and say I produced more babies this year than I should have (my first year and was so excited at the thought of breeding) I was lucky that I was able to find good homes for mine but it was hard.
so please take some good advice from someone who has been there and made the mistakes.
Unless your 100% sure what you are doing and how to do it RIGHT then I would say dont.
There are loads of great people on this forum who will back me up on what I have posted (and a few others who will say do whatever you want) Good luck in whatever you choose to do just dont be in a position next year were people say "you were warned"


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## Big Red One (Oct 17, 2007)

tonydavo said:


> Mandy, from what I have been reading in this post I think you should be thinking long and hard about breeding next season (which is not 1 month away !)
> I am not saying for 1 minute that you should not breed your Leopard Gecko's, more make sure you are doing it for the right reasons, ie whats best for the babies you may produce.
> Can you house them all ?
> Will there be a market for the morphs you produce ?
> ...


:whistling2::notworthy::2thumb:

Well said that man!


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## tonkaz0 (Apr 25, 2008)

tonydavo said:


> Mandy, from what I have been reading in this post I think you should be thinking long and hard about breeding next season (which is not 1 month away !)
> I am not saying for 1 minute that you should not breed your Leopard Gecko's, more make sure you are doing it for the right reasons, ie whats best for the babies you may produce.
> Can you house them all ?
> Will there be a market for the morphs you produce ?
> ...


 

My thoughts to Mandy sorry! but I didnt want to be the one to say it to you!, 
there is a glut of Leos at the moment and I can see it going on for a long time! I will not be breeding quite a few of my girls this coming season for that very reason, and the fact you are asking so many questions about the why and wherefores about the wellfare and breeding, incubation of them says that you are not prepared and all clued up on them at the moment and that could lead to all sorts of problems! there is a young lad on here who ignores all that he is told and he gets all sorts of stick because of his ignorance but he still goes ahead and breeds them and then most of the time his leos suffer ill health! please dont be like that dope!.


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## mandyT (Aug 23, 2007)

tonydavo said:


> Mandy, from what I have been reading in this post I think you should be thinking long and hard about breeding next season (which is not 1 month away !)
> I am not saying for 1 minute that you should not breed your Leopard Gecko's, more make sure you are doing it for the right reasons, ie whats best for the babies you may produce.
> Can you house them all ?
> Will there be a market for the morphs you produce ?
> ...


it is about one month away - the start is around jan. Yes i can house them all, and im doing it not for a profite or because its some money in my pocket but purely because i enjoy it its a hobby to me and not a bussiness. Well the market demanage is always changing, and to be honest im not selling and gaining my geckos when that changes. ive got a group of different morphs ranging from the normals (for people that dont want to spend alot) to trempers mack snows etc, which dont mind spending a little bit more. I have time on my hands to do everything thats listed and as stated before i have the space and enclousers to house them all. Yes im able two. i have a spare 4ft so will make a new group and get a new male for them or keep them intill they did sell - i would make up my mind on what i would do when the time comes. I know what im doing, its not my first year of breeding.

to be honest i like the fact that just because i ask a couple of questions reguarding breeding or incubation all hell breaks lose and you all think ive never done it before. i have links outside this forum for selling them.


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## mandyT (Aug 23, 2007)

tonkaz0 said:


> My thoughts to Mandy sorry! but I didnt want to be the one to say it to you!,
> there is a glut of Leos at the moment and I can see it going on for a long time! I will not be breeding quite a few of my girls this coming season for that very reason, and the fact you are asking so many questions about the why and wherefores about the wellfare and breeding, incubation of them says that you are not prepared and all clued up on them at the moment and that could lead to all sorts of problems! there is a young lad on here who ignores all that he is told and he gets all sorts of stick because of his ignorance but he still goes ahead and breeds them and then most of the time his leos suffer ill health! please dont be like that dope!.




I asked weather to do females or mix because i was wondering which one be best. People have explained females generaly are easier to sell. I asked about the air holes in the tubs becasue i have had mixed views - i didnt bother last year, but ive hearded you need them.i asked about how to house the male - because last year he was in there all year round. Isnt it best to refreash your memory and change things that are needed to help your geckos out rather then them being with a male all year round and probs getting harsseled ? All my leos are healthy, and i can assure you the hatchlins will be too. i would never breed my females underweight or anything like that. and if any feel ill due to what ever reason they would be taken to the vets straight away.


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## mandyT (Aug 23, 2007)

Sorry its Feb to Aug not Jan to Aug  I do correct myself


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## tonkaz0 (Apr 25, 2008)

mandyT said:


> I asked weather to do females or mix because i was wondering which one be best. People have explained females generaly are easier to sell. I asked about the air holes in the tubs becasue i have had mixed views - i didnt bother last year, but ive hearded you need them.i asked about how to house the male - because last year he was in there all year round. Isnt it best to refreash your memory and change things that are needed to help your geckos out rather then them being with a male all year round and probs getting harsseled ? All my leos are healthy, and i can assure you the hatchlins will be too. i would never breed my females underweight or anything like that. and if any feel ill due to what ever reason they would be taken to the vets straight away.


 

Im not having a go at you Mandy but the questions you are asking about is the sort of things that should be fixed in your head and shouldnt need refreshing! if you have bred before and raised the young ok then theres no problem, the airhole thing is not a big problem as it works just as well both ways you just have to monitor things, and like you say you have to keep males apart, but the thing that you said now about a 4ft viv to keep them all in until you sell them is worrying to as babies will strike out and bite at anything when their very young! this is how you get missing toes and tails! and as they grow the ones you think are girls could well be males and if they are kept in with a mix of sexes there will be scraping and biting! this why you should they really should be kept on their own until they calm down, or did you mean the 4ft viv was for a new breeding group?
like I say not having a go at you just making you aware of the things that happen when you breed quite a few, believe me I still have about 50 plus of this years babes left! some nearly adult size! from run of the mill ones to high end ones, all the young and vunerable (skittish or slow eaters) ones are kept singly and the 100% sexed females are kept in pairs or trios depending on rub size! all males are on their own,
anyway the best of luck for the future.


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## mandyT (Aug 23, 2007)

no i worded it wrong, intill they was about a year old or able to be correctly sex and everything they would be kept in their own rubs intill then. i know that hatchlins can be aggressive and lash out at everything due to last year being bitten many a time by them, so this is why they wouldnt be kept together till a good age and intill i was sure they were all females so two males wasnt together or a male with females werent together. i know things change all the time and i know i might not be able to sell them as quickly as people would like them to. but at the end of the day its a hobby to me and i dont mind keeper them for a extra month or sometimes longer as long as i know they are going to the right people then to find out they was sold quickly and are now dead coz they didnt give them the right stuff.. 

I have put alot of thought into this and i know what im doing. I the heat mats ready, just gotta get the tubs but i have a place that stocks them. I have the incubators ready, just gotta plug them in first of feb  also i need to give the hides, but got food and water bowls ready. Its cost over £200.00 but i know its what makes me happy and not the amount that is gunna come back in.


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## Big Red One (Oct 17, 2007)

mandyT said:


> Sorry its Feb to Aug not Jan to Aug  I do correct myself


It's actually when they are ready and willing.....



mandyT said:


> no i worded it wrong, intill they was about a year old or able to be correctly sex and everything they would be kept in their own rubs intill then. i know that hatchlins can be aggressive and lash out at everything due to last year being bitten many a time by them, so this is why they wouldnt be kept together till a good age and intill i was sure they were all females so two males wasnt together or a male with females werent together. i know things change all the time and i know i might not be able to sell them as quickly as people would like them to. but at the end of the day its a hobby to me and i dont mind keeper them for a extra month or sometimes longer as long as i know they are going to the right people then to find out they was sold quickly and are now dead coz they didnt give them the right stuff..
> 
> I have put alot of thought into this and i know what im doing. I the heat mats ready, just gotta get the tubs but i have a place that stocks them. I have the incubators ready, just gotta plug them in first of feb  also i need to give the hides, but got food and water bowls ready. Its cost over £200.00 but i know its what makes me happy and not the amount that is gunna come back in.


Ready to go first of Feb eh? Hope your Leo's have calendars


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## mandyT (Aug 23, 2007)

I know its when they are ready but they wont start to ovulate in till Feb + 

What I meant is - I will start to introduce them at Feb


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## kirsten (Jan 13, 2008)

my females weren't interested or ovulating untill well into april. I was all eager and set-up ready to go, like you, at the begining of the year, and found myself waiting for a long time before i got any eggs.

all power to you, but you come across as very novice in your posts, I don't mean to upset you, but it's how you come across.

and as said before, the market is worse than flooded, you menioned normals and the mack trempers, they're about as valuable as normals. Tonkaz breeds high end, awesome quality animals and even he can't find homes for what he's bred. I daresay he wont be pairing as many animals again this coming season.

I know i'm no longer breeding much, just one female crestie and my female royal to prove her genetics, after that i shant breed her again. but i think you're mind is made up and you wont be swayed, so I hope you do well and things work out for the best for the animals.

Kay.


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## mandyT (Aug 23, 2007)

i know its the way i come across - but im not so newbie as you might think. yes i need to learn on certain things and there are other things i know off by heart. its just something for me - a hobby a thing to do and something to look forward to rather then making a profit... I know for a fact a normal/high yellow will make no profit and some other morphs will make slight profit... 

I know they start to come into season at Feb - but it all depends on the female due to some coming into season early or late i do understand this. 

its not that i have made up my mind and that im not taking anyones views into though - i am its just its a hobby and i enjoy doing it because i do and not for the money size of things.

I do have people showing interest in them already so i have my outlets - and i have had a decent price said to me by a local pet shop - which will be a last resort


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## tonkaz0 (Apr 25, 2008)

kirsten said:


> Tonkaz breeds high end, awesome quality animals and even he can't find homes for what he's bred. I daresay he wont be pairing as many animals again this coming season.
> 
> Kay.


 
Thank you very much for that first part Kay! and your certainly right there!!
and after seeing Novas up for £70 :bash: I think I might just pack it all up now or sell off a load! still it can only get better :whistling2:.


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## kirsten (Jan 13, 2008)

mandyT said:


> i know its the way i come across - but im not so newbie as you might think. yes i need to learn on certain things and there are other things i know off by heart. its just something for me - a hobby a thing to do and something to look forward to rather then making a profit... I know for a fact a normal/high yellow will make no profit and some other morphs will make slight profit...
> 
> I know they start to come into season at Feb - but it all depends on the female due to some coming into season early or late i do understand this.
> 
> ...


i'm not saying that you're doing it for the money, what we're trying to say is, have you considered you're adding to an already over loaded population, is that a sensible thing to do? how many times do you see posts about neglected leo's, leo's being bought and sold on 5 mins later, turned into breeding machines etc. would you want that for one of your babies? they don't ask to be born, it's your choice which brings them to this world, think long and hard about it first. if you find the process fun and an interesting "hobby", then breed one or two best pairings, so you only get a few eggs, and keep most of the babies yourself.


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## Lozza.Bella (Apr 24, 2010)

I personally have 2 projects for 2011, they will however combine in 2012, so I will be breeding for specific babies in 2011, to take me through to 2012, anything surplus to requirement will be offered to good responsible homes.Therefore as previously mentioned I will be incubating for my preferred sex, and keeping my babies, that is why I have resigned myself to two-three breeding pairs in 2011


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