07/11/2024
Important 🦎 read: Ethics in breeding
This gecko in the first two slides won’t be leaving here & will be a “pet only”—a gecko that won’t contribute to more babies in the future. Why? On the last slide, you can see her clutchmate. If you didn’t notice it right away, look again—notice their tails. Things like this are important to be aware of, especially when we’re trying to put our best foot forward. Smaller tails, eyes, short faces, small size, loose skin, etc these are all forms of genetic structure loss for some reason or another. It happens. When it does, it’s important to understand why—if possible, but even more important to not replicate these things in potential offspring.
Leopard geckos are so resilient & relatively easy to breed. A friend was joking around yesterday about geckos being able to hatch from backyard dirt compared to his tree monitor eggs he just got and had to set up for incubation with so much care. That’s a testament to the leopard gecko though, and shouldn’t be written off as less important when they’re still animals we choose to keep for ourselves & have a responsibility to meet their needs. As individuals who raise these geckos up, pair them up, and hatch babies—again to repeat this cycle, we have to have a set of standards. My grandfather told me to always leave things better off than I found them, never to take away from something—build upon it—people, places, things. I took that to heart. Although I can’t be a keeper for you, I can share my experiences that have given me “success” or the best results. After all, you reap what you sow. Treat the animals with respect, set standards for size, proper structure, sound mind (neurological issues can arise from inbreeding), and set standards for your care. Though minimalistic keeping may save you a few dollars, it won’t set you up for longevity.
I’m always here to help, and I won’t be going anywhere—neither will our pets that are part of our family here @ the Emporium.
