The leopard geckos or the Eublepharus Macularius, do make intriguing and fascinating pets. Apart from their interesting appearance, these lizards are among the breeds that most lizard lovers prefers for the fact that they are easy to care for. Many of the first-time handlers have easily shifted to become expert leopard gecko breeders in no time.

But before we go any further, there are several things that potential gecko breeders must take into consideration: the sex of your leopard gecko and sexual maturity.

In determining the sex of your leopard gecko, the first thing that breeders need to know is when to try and figure that out. It is very tricky since male leopard geckos appear as females not until they have reached the right age. Right age would mean breeders will have to wait at least six months to accurately identify the lizard’s sex. To do this, you must position your gecko upside down and holding it by the base of tail, male lizards tend to have a v-shaped pore formation and two pronounced bulges on both side of its tail while female lizards tend to lack both characteristics.

The breeds’ sexual maturity is generally attained at eight months for males who usually weighs at least 45g while female geckos reach sexually maturity in a year for females and weighs at around 50g.

Breeding leopard geckos is as not as tricky as dog breeding where you need a shooter to get it done. However, you need to make sure that your leopard geckos are ready to breed. Leopard geckos must be healthy and sexually matured. This is especially true among female leopard geckos. Female leopard geckos that are bred at a very young age have the tendency to monopolize calcium production for her eggs at her own expense.

Breeders’ job is simple; they have just to place the male and female lizards in one tank for a period of two days. One will notice the male gecko will begin to "pick-on" or engage with the female gecko. If the female chose to be unconcerned, she will tend to be aggressive and fight back. If after the two-day holding period, nothing transpires, take the pair and place them in different tanks and try again in a few days. If breeding is still unsuccessful, maybe you can introduce another female with the male gecko. In successful mating, you will tend to find two eggs in about four weeks. By that time, you should make sure that you already have a laying box. A small plastic container like a tub of margarine is ideal, place sand and water in the container with a ratio of 1:1.

You should laid eggs to a shoebox and incubate them. Make sure that you observe and monitor temperature as this would be the main determinant of the sex of your hatchlings. You have to incubate or keep them warm at around 80 degrees Fahrenheit if you wish to have female hatchlings, while 90 degrees will yield male hatchlings. But if you wish to have mixed genders, it is recommended to incubate your eggs at 85 degrees.

Breeding leopard geckos may be overwhelming at first, but it is really easily as it sounds. The best way to start is just to give it a go, who knows you might enjoy it.