Crested gecko breeding is actually surprisingly easy. If you haven’t bred reptiles before, crested geckos are the perfect way to start and you will be having baby lizards crawling around your house in no time!
We all love crested geckos. They are fascinating to watch and make great pets! But what if we want to breed them?
Crested Gecko Breeding Background
Before you start the breeding process, it is important to know the facts, such as when the crested gecko breeding season is and how many babies crested geckos have. We need to be prepared too, and make sure our geckos are healthy and ready for procreation.
Are my Crested Geckos ready to breed?
When you are wanting to start crested gecko breeding, you must ensure your lizards are mature and ready! This normally happens when they are about two years old. Before the age of two, it is not uncommon for your crested gecko to show no interest in the opposite sex.
Your geckos must be of the right weight to start breeding, and this is around 40 grams. Being at this weight is important for female geckos as they will be carrying eggs, which is hard work for a little gecko! Male geckos can weigh a little less and could be perfect for breeding at as little as 35 grams.
When is Crested Gecko breeding season?
Crested Gecko breeding season is quite long. They naturally start breeding in springtime and ending at some point during the fall. As their breeding season lasts about nine months, you have a lot of time to breed Crested Geckos!
How many babies do Crested Geckos have?
During the breeding season, a female crested gecko can lay two eggs every month or so. If your male and female are in the same enclosure for the entirety of the breeding season, this means that you might have as many as 16 babies a season. Because of this, you must be prepared for that number of babies if you are going to breed your Crested Geckos throughout the season.
When it comes to breeding lizards, it is important to know how many babies they will have! This means that you can prepare yourself for the correct number of lizards.
What do I need to breed Crested Geckos?
The main thing you will need is a male and female crested gecko, but I think that’s obvious! You should get a gram scale, which can be picked up pretty cheaply. This will allow you to make sure your geckos are ready to breed and also track the baby’s health and growth when they hatch.
You need to ensure you have enough room for the potential babies, and two large enclosures for both the male and female if they need separating. You’ll need one enclosure for each baby crestie because these lizards have been known to fight. The male crested geckos are territorial animals, and when your babies grow up, they might be aggressive with each other.
Happy crested geckos are the most important thing when it comes to breeding!
You will also need a lay box for your female. This is normally a little plastic container with the substrate in. Coco fibre or moss is ideal. It must be a few inches deep for the gecko to dig down in, and it’s important to keep the substrate moist at all times. The substrate provides your female gecko with a place to lay her eggs, and also means you can keep track of them!
Finally, you’ll need an incubation box and a substrate for hatching the eggs. You should buy substrates specifically for hatching , such as perlite or Superhatch. This gives your babies the best chance of being strong and healthy.
How to Breed Crested Geckos – Step by Step
You have everything you need, it’s Crested Gecko breeding season, you are ready and raring to go! Let’s go over each step of the process to ensure your geckos are safe, secure, and happy.
Step 1 – Introduce your cresties
If your geckos are healthy and the season has started, put your female and male geckos in the same enclosure. Make sure it is roomy enough that they both get occasional alone time if they want!
Of course, you can keep the male and female together all year round, unless the male starts being aggressive to his mate.
Step 2 – Wait for them to breed
Now they are in the same enclosure, it is time for you to step back and let them get to know each other. Allow them the alone time they need!
Males often start the courting process by chirping to their mate, bopping their head about to show that they are ready. Male Crested Geckos can be aggressive toward the female during mating, and it is not unusual to see him bite the female. This is normal, but keep an eye out.
If the female is trying to run away from the male and seems frightened or is fighting back, you might want to separate them. This doesn’t mean that they will never breed in the future, and you can try again in a week or so.
You might see your geckos copulating and don’t be worried if it doesn’t take that long! Sometimes they are only locked together for a minute or so. Sometimes it takes longer. Once the fun is over you might want to put the male gecko back in a separate enclosure. If they are happy together it’s fine to leave him in there.
Step 3 – Egg time!
After insemination, it’s about a month until your gecko lays her eggs. During this time make sure the female is getting all the nutrients she needs, eating well and taking care of herself. She is making babies and this is a big job!
When it’s nearing a month since the breeding of the pair, keep your eye out in the lay box for the eggs. Make sure the lay box is kept moist and warm and has privacy from the rest of the tank.
You might notice the female gecko digging around in the lay box. She might make holes in the soil, lay her eggs, then pack the soil down over the eggs.
Step 4 – Incubation
When the eggs are laid, it is important to put them into incubation straight away. For the incubation box, any plastic container is perfect. Fill it up a few inches with the hatching substrate and soak the substrate in water. After five minutes, drain any excess water and add a few holes in for ventilation. Now it is time to add the eggs!
Be really careful when moving the eggs and bury them about halfway into the substrate. When it comes to incubating crested geckos, you don’t need to worry too much about the heat. Room temperature, around 70℉ to 80℉, is a great temperature to allow your eggs to grow. As long as the temperature isn’t too extreme either way, your crested geckos will hatch. Make sure the substrate stays moist and that there isn’t any mould.
Keep an eye out, your eggs will hatch in 70 to 100 days!
Step 5 – Baby Crested Geckos!
Your hard work has paid off and your geckos have hatched!
When the babies are properly free from their shell, it is advised to wait until their first shed before moving them to a new enclosure. This will happen within a day. Then, move each one to a new enclosure, remembering to keep them separate.
To create the best environment for baby Crested Geckos, line a small box with paper towels or substrate. When they are really small, paper towels are advisable. Don’t put them in an enclosure too large, and don’t overwhelm them with decor! One or two plants, something to hide in, food and water is enough for your little geckos.
Mist them twice a day and keep them fed. Crested gecko babies don’t have any special requirements and are cared for in much the same way as adult ones. Hatchlings sometimes don’t need to eat until after a week out of their shell as they still have nutrients and energy in them. So, don’t worry too much if your babies don’t seem to be eating. Make sure they do have access to food, though. You can handle them but just like the adults, they are jumpy, wily, and quick!
Make sure they are provided with everything they need and watch your babies grow!
Conclusion:
Crested geckos are probably the cutest lizards! Easy to breed, friendly, and fun, now is the time to start your journey into crested gecko breeding!
What will you name your baby Crested Gecko?
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