I have recently got a pair of crested geckos. They are approx 20 months old but during the time their previous onwer had them, they never actually had any successful mating sessions. The female has never laid eggs yet she is definitely a female.

As far as I know, they have not been separated by him at any point and on their only mating session that he saw, the male ended up losing his tail!!

I would love for them to mate successfully but I am unsure as to the best way to encourage breeding.

I am planning on separating them for a cooling off period but is there anything else I can do to maybe help them along!

I appreciate any help as this will be my first even breeding attempt and I have been told that they are one of the easiest to start with !!

Thanks in advance

The ones at work I didnt have to do anythign with they mated as soon as the female would lay more eggs...Maybe just try giving the a coolign off period..that shoud do it

Beside a bottle of wine and some slow dance oldies? Nothing much really =)

I'm not very familiar with crestie breeding but from what I know I would:
- separate them for the time being;
- during that time check them out for parasites and other disorders (you don't want to breed unhealthy animals);
- make sure the female has enough Ca reserves (tapping the nose or side of her mouth works with some geckos);
- weight them (don't try to breed them under 45g);
- crestie love can be rough, like the male already knows, but for better results they should be of similar size;
- give them some time apart, let them settle down and cool them off;
- when you get them back together, give them some time also. Some are shy and like to take their time =) And don't also forget that they have just been re-homed so they need time to adapt;
- increasing the overall temps will possibly help;

Good luck! =)

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Wish list: Blue Tongue Skinks and Uruplatus =)

I second Ricardo's post. How is everything setup as far as temps, humidity, and overall setup? They slow down when it is cold and dry but other than that I really couldn't ever stop mine except for seperation.

Thanks guys - all of there set up is spot on - I am a stickler for double checking them all the itme - I have decided that due tot he fact they have never been apart, a nice cooling period seems my best option - so I am gonna build ANOTHER tank for the male to move into for now until I feel ready to house them together again - that way, I will be prepared for splitting them after they have done the deed.

Oh - and they are both going to the vets too for a general health check which should point out any possible problems although, thir previous owner was pretty meticulous about their health so would have had them seen to should they have been ill

Thanks for the advice and I shall let you know how I get on

I was reading a caresheet and found something very plausible that hadn't crossed my mind before: day length.

According to the author, they "may cease breeding and laying eggs if they are given less than 12 hours of light". And it makes a lot of sense. Summer days are longer and winter days are shorter. Breeding occurs when conditions are right and if they feel it's winter time, then there's no reason to breed and lay eggs, is it?

So, setting 12h of light as minimum (probably 14h would be a safer bet) will increase your chances of successful breeding.

__________________
Wish list: Blue Tongue Skinks and Uruplatus =)

Thank Ricardo - timer has been changed accordinlgy - they were on for 11 hours as it is still pretty dreary here and we don't have a lot of daylight just yet - will sort them out somehow

You're welcome! That caresheet recommended 10h for cooling period.

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Wish list: Blue Tongue Skinks and Uruplatus =)