Observations on the Reproductive Cycle of my Leopard Gecko

[Neon Aurora]

I just wanted to start this thread as a sort of discussion on the reproductive habits of leopard geckos. This being my second season, I now have one season under my belt to notice things that are different this time around.

For example, I found this interesting. I have one female that I bred last year. She didn't start ovulating last year until late March, and I had a lot of trouble telling if she even was. The only way I could tell was she had stopped eating. So when she stopped eating, I paired her and she was receptive. It then took close to 7 weeks for her first clutch to develop, and 3-4 for every clutch after that. She also stopped eating the entire time she was gravid and only ate for a few days after laying each clutch. This year, she started ovulating early February and it was crazy obvious. After feeding her one evening, I picked her up for a quick look and there was this glaringly bright pink spot on her belly. Incredibly clear. So I went ahead and paired her and she was receptive. That was 17 days ago (I know this is about the right timeframe, but last year is was not this way) and I can already see the eggs very clearly. Last season the eggs were not visible through her skin at all even a day before laying. And oddly enough, she didn't stop eating when she began ovulating and she still hasn't stopped eating even though she is pretty heavily gravid (not that I'm complaining =P).

And then there is my other female I intend to breed this season. She wasn't bred last season because I just felt she was too small (she was over 50 grams, but she just didn't look fully grown to me). So this season, I am monitoring her carefully to see when she starts ovulating. She is the opposite of my first female. She has stopped eating, but I can't see an ovulation spot (I've never been very good at seeing them, but I definitely saw one on my other female) and she violently rejects the male if I put her with him. I suspect she is ovulating because she has always been a good eater, but I don't want to leave her with the male because she tries to rip his face off.

So has anyone else observed these types of differences? Are there trends? Like perhaps older/more experienced females show more strongly and develop eggs faster? What do you think causes one female to have a bright pink spot and another to be barely visible?

I wanted to start a discussion thread. =)

 

[acpart]

I don't keep strict data, but have also noticed variations: for example, a female who lays 20 eggs, all hatching with no problem one year and then lays just a few eggs most of which don't hatch the next year. I had one female ovulate for 2 cycles or so and lay eggs and then stop for more than 6 weeks before starting up again, but that didn't happen the next season. When I look back to see who ovulated first, there's no pattern. I have my first pair of fertile leopard gecko eggs about a week and a half ago from a gecko that took until halfway through the season last year to get going.

Aliza