Breeding Gargoyle Geckos: Tips for Success
Gargoyle geckos, scientifically known as Rhacodactylus Auriculatus, are amazing animals known for their unique appearance, intense colors, and docile nature. Breeding them can be a rewarding experience for reptile enthusiasts, but it requires careful planning, attention to detail, and proper husbandry practices in order to be as successful as possible. Here are a few tips to help you succeed
Have A Plan for Their Babies: Are you going to keep them? Are you going to sell them? How will you sell them? Are you comfortable shipping a live animal? Do you have enough resources and money to care of and house extra mouths? Do you have the time to do so?
Select Healthy Animals: Choose breeding pairs carefully, ensuring they are healthy, genetically diverse, and free from any underlying health issues. Look for gargoyle geckos with robust body structures. This means avoiding any underbites, overbites, or any other structural issues like their spines.
Get Your Animals To Breeding Weight And Age: I like to get my males to 40 grams and 2 years old and my females to 50 grams and 2.5 years old OR 50 grams and she lays duds (whichever comes first). Also when it comes time to pair, try to keep the weight between the male and female as close as possible or else you may run into aggression problems. I prefer them to be within 10g of eachother.
Provide Adequate Enclosure Setup: Creating the ideal habitat is crucial for the health and breeding success of gargoyle geckos. Set up spacious enclosures with plenty of vertical space for climbing and hiding spots for privacy incase they need to get away from eachother. I like using 15x16x18 enclosures. Things like these fake plants are a great way to break up the enclosure and provide areas where they can be away from eachother
Track Everything: Make sure to record when you pair, when you separate (if you do), and when the female lays. This will help you recognize trends and also helps you successfully collect fertile eggs. Tip: the female typically has the same amount of time in between clutches. So if you measure 45 days between the 1st and 2nd clutch, she will likely lay the 3rd in 45 days.
Monitor Their Health: Make sure they are both looking good. It is normal for the female to lose some weight when she starts laying but if she is looking emaciated then separate them. The same goes for the male. It is also normal for there to be signs of aggression like bite mark on or around their heads. What isn’t normal is any serious wounds or cuts. If that happens then just make sure to separate them.
Collect And Incubate The Eggs: Have an incubation method in place BEFORE they start laying. Notice for signs of digging from the female and start checking the lay box when that happens. Collect the eggs as soon as possible or you risk the chance of them drying out. Once you collect the eggs, use a sharpie to mark the orientation of the eggs. I just draw a line on the top of them. Candle the eggs and look for signs of fertility. A fertile egg will have a nice firm white shell and a red ring on the inside. Infertile eggs will likely be a yellowish color, soft shell, and be clear/yellow on the inside with no red ring.
I hope this helps. Ready to add a gargoyle gecko into your life? Check out my available animals HERE