The old feed & breed saying is not far from the truth with leos. Although you should only select large healthy females with big, fat tails for breeding. I never breed any female before she is 55 grams and loaded with calcium. Actually, I have calcium available to all of my geckos at all times, but gravid females need extra calcium supplementation. Most Leopard Geckos also require at least a short "cycling" or cooling period of about a month or two before heavy breeding activity will occur. More current research suggests that perhaps the most important pre-season conditioning relates to the photoperiod. A few weeks before I start my geckos breeding season, I increase the amount of "daylight" they receive to about 16 hours. this really seems to get the males fired-up (no pun intended) and ready to go.

 

The males are usually the first to start the breeding behavior. They will start by being more aggressive toward the females. This may include some biting of the tail and neck of the girls. The males will also "rattle" their tail like a rattlesnake and chase the females around the enclosure. This will continue until the female becomes receptive to the males advances. She will then start to entice him by swaying her tail slowly in the air, after which he will mount her, and place the base of his tail under hers so he may insert his hemipenis into her cloacal opening. ( As shown in the picture). After a short period of time he will transfer his sperm and they will separate, upon which time he may clean his still protruding hemipenis. (As shown in the picture). They will likely repeat this daily until the female becomes gravid, when she will be less likely to entice the male. Once gravid, the females will usually lay 2 eggs about every 2-4 weeks.

Egg Laying  

Once you suspect the female is gravid you should provide her with an egg deposit box, for she will be looking for a place to lay them. I use a small tupperware container with a hole cut in it so the females can easily get in and out. The substrate should consist of moist perlite or vermiculite deep enough so the females can bury the eggs. You will notice when she lays the eggs because the two lumps will be gone. After the eggs have been laid, CAREFULLY remove them from the container and place them into their incubation medium without turning them at all. They should be transported in the same position that they were laid. The incubation medium should consist of equal parts by weight of water and perlite or vermiculite in a sealed tupperware container. At this time you should feed your hungry gecko.

THe eggs should be incubated between 80-88 degrees F. Just remember that Leopard Geckos have temperature-dependant (not genetically determined) sex, with lower temps of 80-83 degrees giving mostly females and 87-88 degrees giving mostly males. The ideal temp for a 50/50 mix is 85 degrees. Also, if temps go over 89-90 degrees, the geckos that live will usually be overly aggressive, infertile super-females. The incubation period varies with the incubation temperature, with higher temps being faster, but average about 55 days at 85 degrees.

 

Remember, these are only the basics! I highly reccommend that before trying your hand at breeding Leos, you read books on the topic. Good Luck and Happy Herping!