Another way to see if an egg is fertile is to place a bright light behind an egg (called candling the eggs).If you are not sure if an egg is fertile, keep it for a week or two. The higher the temperature selected, the quicker the eggs will hatch.There is one important aspect of egg incubation that requires further discussion: the temperature at which you’ll incubate the eggs.Leopard geckos exhibit a phenomenon known as temperature-dependent sex determination (TDSD). As long as you start with healthy animals and follow the tips discussed below, you should have no trouble joining the growing ranks of leopard gecko breeders.Obviously, the first thing you’ll need to breed leopard geckos is at least one mixed-sex pair. Her diet must be rich in calcium and you must gut-load all insects (or buy gut-loaded insects) and dust them with calcium supplement daily (and every other day with calcium + vitamin D3) when she becomes gravid.Offer multivitamins once a week. Subscribe!
And, keep them on paper towel substrate – never use loose substrate until leopard geckos turn at least 5-6 months old.If you are housing two hatchlings together, make sure they are both eating and drinking and have enough space to hide and bask. We will also discuss introduction of geckos to each other, incubation temperatures, their effects and answer many other questions!You must not breed your leopard geckos until they reach minimum 10-12 months old. The shell will become thinner before hatching. To breed leopard geckos, start by putting 1 male and 1 female in a long tank that’s at least 20 gallons. You’ll also want to be sure you’ve provided enough supplemental calcium for the female during this time.But before you begin this part of the process, have your veterinarian examine your intended breeders and screen them for illnesses or parasites. However, they are all broadly similar and feature a relatively spartan habitat, with only a paper towel substrate, a shallow water dish, and a few hiding spots. When you start seeing little geckos emerging from their eggs, it is time to set up a “nursery” habitat for their first week or so of life. They’ll usually repeat this process throughout the breeding season, to ensure all clutches deposited by the female are fertile.Other breeders simply leave their lizards in the same enclosure for the duration of the breeding season. Intermediate temperatures will produce a (statistical) mix of male and female lizards.If you don’t care which sex emerges, you can simply incubate your leopard gecko eggs between 80- and 90-degrees Fahrenheit. Any information on Reptile Advisor should not be used in place of proper medical care. Incubation temperatures of about 87 degrees will usually produce a mix of both sexes.Note that these temperatures are not 100% guaranteed to produce the desired sex, but they usually do. If you are sure that hatchling can’t get out – make a slight slit on top of an egg.Once leopard geckos hatch, you need to place them in separate containers. Place the probe inside the incubator and take readings once or twice a day to confirm the temperature & humidity are optimal.But if you don’t want to buy an incubator, you can make one of your own. Include a shallow dish with calcium and vitamin D powder for the female, which will replace the calcium she’ll use to make eggs. Female species reach up to 7 – 10 inches length. You should also make sure she has water and calcium-dusted insects, since she needs her strength to produce babies. Dry substrate will cause drying of the eggs – an embryo needs moisture from surroundings to grow.But don’t make substrate too wet, because it will promote fungal growth. She’ll continue to produce a new clutch once every two to three weeks, for the duration of the breeding season.It is a good idea to pay special attention to the female following each clutch. The mating itself usually happens at night, so it is rarely observed. You can do so in a variety of different ways. Alternatively, you can place your lizard in a clear-bottomed container and then raising the container over your head.In either case, look for the presence of two things, which indicate that the lizard in question is male:It is always easier to learn how to determine the sex of any species by examining a large number of individuals. Fertile eggs are firm, taut, and have a small amount of weight to them. This is because some hatchlings that are bigger can bully smaller geckos, stressing them and not letting them eat and grow.Hatchlings will not eat for 3-6 days, and will be feeding on egg yolk supplies.
And, keep them on paper towel substrate – never use loose substrate until leopard geckos turn at least 5-6 months old.If you are housing two hatchlings together, make sure they are both eating and drinking and have enough space to hide and bask. We will also discuss introduction of geckos to each other, incubation temperatures, their effects and answer many other questions!You must not breed your leopard geckos until they reach minimum 10-12 months old. The shell will become thinner before hatching. To breed leopard geckos, start by putting 1 male and 1 female in a long tank that’s at least 20 gallons. You’ll also want to be sure you’ve provided enough supplemental calcium for the female during this time.But before you begin this part of the process, have your veterinarian examine your intended breeders and screen them for illnesses or parasites. However, they are all broadly similar and feature a relatively spartan habitat, with only a paper towel substrate, a shallow water dish, and a few hiding spots. When you start seeing little geckos emerging from their eggs, it is time to set up a “nursery” habitat for their first week or so of life. They’ll usually repeat this process throughout the breeding season, to ensure all clutches deposited by the female are fertile.Other breeders simply leave their lizards in the same enclosure for the duration of the breeding season. Intermediate temperatures will produce a (statistical) mix of male and female lizards.If you don’t care which sex emerges, you can simply incubate your leopard gecko eggs between 80- and 90-degrees Fahrenheit. Any information on Reptile Advisor should not be used in place of proper medical care. Incubation temperatures of about 87 degrees will usually produce a mix of both sexes.Note that these temperatures are not 100% guaranteed to produce the desired sex, but they usually do. If you are sure that hatchling can’t get out – make a slight slit on top of an egg.Once leopard geckos hatch, you need to place them in separate containers. Place the probe inside the incubator and take readings once or twice a day to confirm the temperature & humidity are optimal.But if you don’t want to buy an incubator, you can make one of your own. Include a shallow dish with calcium and vitamin D powder for the female, which will replace the calcium she’ll use to make eggs. Female species reach up to 7 – 10 inches length. You should also make sure she has water and calcium-dusted insects, since she needs her strength to produce babies. Dry substrate will cause drying of the eggs – an embryo needs moisture from surroundings to grow.But don’t make substrate too wet, because it will promote fungal growth. She’ll continue to produce a new clutch once every two to three weeks, for the duration of the breeding season.It is a good idea to pay special attention to the female following each clutch. The mating itself usually happens at night, so it is rarely observed. You can do so in a variety of different ways. Alternatively, you can place your lizard in a clear-bottomed container and then raising the container over your head.In either case, look for the presence of two things, which indicate that the lizard in question is male:It is always easier to learn how to determine the sex of any species by examining a large number of individuals. Fertile eggs are firm, taut, and have a small amount of weight to them. This is because some hatchlings that are bigger can bully smaller geckos, stressing them and not letting them eat and grow.Hatchlings will not eat for 3-6 days, and will be feeding on egg yolk supplies.