Sexual maturity

At what age is a female leo sexually mature and ready to be bred? I assume it is a year, but some say it is better to wait until 18mths of age because the process of egg forming and laying puts their bodies under a great deal of stress.



Also, at what age would a male leo be ready to mate? Is is also a year?

I think it depends on the overall health and condition of the animal more than an exact time table. It is commonly said that females should be at least a year and 50 grams before bred. If she is eating well, has been getting all the vitamins she needs and has sufficient fat reserves.....then she could be bred. That being said in my opinion bigger is better and a few extra months to make sure the previously mentioned items are tended to is well worth it. After all your geckos well being comes first!!!



Males, on the other hand, can be bred at a year as they dont have the physical stress that comes along with producing, carrying or laying multiple sets of eggs.



Patrick

Most females reach actual sexual maturity, around 35g, or 6 months ish. This is when they normally being there first ovuation and cycle and will ovulate in all following breeding seasons.

This is just their first ovulation cycle though, and beocming fertile, not the time to breed.
As mentioned above, it should be 50g or a year before they are actually bred for safety reasons.

Ok, thanks guys.



Just a couple more questions for you...Does a female ovulate only once a year and can she produce more than one clutch from being fertilised just once or does the male need to fertilise each clutch?

They will ovulate during the breeding season time.

And they can fertilize more than one clutch just from one succesful mating. However re-introducing a few times increases the fertility chances of the clutches.

Right, got it. I have not decided whether to pair my two leo's for breeding or not but just in case I do, I wanted to gather more info.