It's that time again....

[Landen]

Got a couple successful pairings already for 2012!

Giant Rev Stripe Raptor x Giant Raptor

Giant Snow Tremper Stripe X Bold Stripe/Bandit
*2nd pic is low light pic from my phone*

 

[Josh2]

cue up the barry white music!
congrats on the copulating Landen!

 

[Geckomaster743]

Pretty cool!

 

[LeoLover1]

bow chika wow wow!

 

[Apocalypse910]

I seem to remember breeding season coming later last year, for some reason I thought they started up in the spring - My female has been bruminating this year and just got a bit of a sudden and rude awakening by our male. I don't think he'll make that mistake again.

Feel like we need a leopard gecko verson of the "no means no" PSA-
Facebites means Facebites!

 

[Gopherhockey03]

Dang that's cool... Keep us updated Landen!!!

 

[LeoLover1]

I've aleady heard one of my males doing the "tail vibration of love". It does seem early yet here in the norhtheastern US.

 

[Sammerz1990]

so i bought a zoo med heating cord... has anyone used this ? i dont know how to properly put it in and the instructions are no help.

 

[SusieLou]

Ok, so I'm new to this life. So this is what happens? They just find a mate and they get all lovey dovey. I mean I don't need the birds and the bees story. But this is how it goes? They look like their snuggling. So very cute. I'm excited for you!

 

[Sammerz1990]

awe how cute ! so is this why my geckos are chirping at each other ? is it because its mating season ?

 

[SusieLou]

It's going to be interesting to see what sex mine end up being. Right now, I was told that they're too little to tell. Hm hm hm.

 

[Apocalypse910]

Ok, so I'm new to this life. So this is what happens? They just find a mate and they get all lovey dovey. I mean I don't need the birds and the bees story. But this is how it goes? They look like their snuggling. So very cute. I'm excited for you!

At least from what I've witnessed it generally is a less than cuddly process. The male will basically try to bite the female repeatedly until he is able to hold her down. If she isn't in the mood she'll bite him back. It generally looks like they are trying to kill each other. I think we broke up a few "fights" before we knew what was going on.

 

[Sammerz1990]

so since it is mating time could that b a possibility as to why my geckos have been chirping at each other ?

 

[Apocalypse910]

so since it is mating time could that b a possibility as to why my geckos have been chirping at each other ?

Are they leopard geckos?
I've only heard my geckos chirp or grumble when they are upset and panicky about being held. Haven't heard of that as a mating cue in leos. There does seem to be a decent variation in how and when leos vocalize though so I could be wrong.

The only audible clues I've seen is the male buzzing by vibrating his tail rapidly. Mine hasn't been doing that as much lately as she's sleeping most of the time and he's been attempting stealth mode.

 

[Sammerz1990]

well they were in their hide one morning and they were chittering or chirping at each other and when i peeked in at them they just ran to their food bowl.... assuming i was going to feed them.

 

[Sammerz1990]

and yes they are leopard geckos

 

[Gopherhockey03]

Chirping... Crazy... I've heard hissing from a pissed off gecko at the reptile store. Do they sound like birds?

 

[Landen]

"Breeding Season" isn't really any specific time of the year. I have some that breed as early as Oct-Dec and some that don't ovulate until as late as April. Being that I'm in Texas and our winters are pretty mellow, mine tend to start early. There's also speculation that females that are born late in the year tend to ovulate late in the year and vice versa. I usually have females breeding & laying 7-8 months out of the year.

Breeding is not all "lovey dovey", males are pretty aggressive and will nibble or bite starting at the tail and moving up to the females neck. IF the female is receptive it's usually a pretty simple deal, but if you have a female that likes to play hard to get it can become a bit of a fight. If the female is biting back she's not ready and the male should be removed and try it again later. Injuries can and will happen when breeding so I usually don't leave male and females together unattended, if they don't breed within 10 minutes or so after being introduced they likely won't so no need to leave them together to stress the female out. Also males can become stuck in breeding mode and can cause them to have no desire to eat which can present some issues too.

And yes they do chirp! Males seem to be able to sense when females are ovulating so I keep my males in a seperate rack across the room.

 

[Leporard Geko Keeper]

Ive heard them when they are ticked off about something lol

 

[Sammerz1990]

hmmm so could that be why they were chirping i havent sexed them yet because i thought they were too young but i cant remember when i got them... i may take a look today. I know they are supposed to be at least 4 months to sex right ?