Why are Geckos so expensive ?

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The real answer is a bit of a herpetological secret... Gecko's poop gold, so they fetch a high price as the returns are beyond what you pay for them. There are two types of course, the ones that poop gold and the ones that poop Haighs chocolate...
 
just do what my boys do and catch em around the house lol they have a couple they caught weeks ago now in a tank in their room that look super cute, they eat moths (also caught by my boys) lol and they didnt cost a cent! in saying that though they are just normal ol geckos ..... nothing fancy :lol:
 
just do what my boys do and catch em around the house lol they have a couple they caught weeks ago now in a tank in their room that look super cute, they eat moths (also caught by my boys) lol and they didnt cost a cent! in saying that though they are just normal ol geckos ..... nothing fancy :lol:

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1 female gecko might give you 4 or 5 clutches per year , normally around 8 eggs if your lucky , so $1000.00 or $750.00 if I sell them in lots of 2 like I normally do.
I spend about $400.00 a year on food , I spent a few $1000 on racks , heating might be $100 or so a year , sand bags twice a year cost me $40.00 , vermiculite and perlite $20.00 , incubator running costs might be another $100 a year , I spend at least an hour or two most days cleaning or feeding etc so $125.00 for one of my very nice little geckos is pretty cheap IMO ;)

I thought you were in it for the love of it.Who cares if you lose money breeding them as long as people can get them for next to nothing that's the main thing.
 
Geckos are popular with girls,

Out on the town 'hey wanna come home and see my geckos'

Invest $100 on a Levi's mate and you'll be like Hugh Hefner hahaha
 
Geckos are popular with girls,

Out on the town 'hey wanna come home and see my geckos'

Invest $100 on a Levi's mate and you'll be like Hugh Hefner hahaha

Sounds a lot better than "Hey wanna come home and see my snakes?"
 
Define expensive? I think most reptiles are not that expensive anymore even a 16 year old at macas could save enough to buy a green python or albino darwin. And most geckos go for well under that.

lol if the 16 year old lived at home, didnt have to pay board, phone bill or save for a car and pay for the petrol in that car..

i get $800 a fortnight and itd take me a year to save $1000 !!!
 
Geckos are popular with girls,

Out on the town 'hey wanna come home and see my geckos'

Invest $100 on a Levi's mate and you'll be like Hugh Hefner hahaha


Sounds a lot better than "Hey wanna come home and see my snakes?"


If any of these things where said to me while out i'd probably get booted from this site for explaining what would happen next, all i usually get is weird looks for owning reps
 
They aren't that expensive IMO. A levis costs $100, for a reptile thats cheap. They just seem expensive because they're small, and $100 for a small lizard seems expensive. When you take into consideration their setups, geckoes are the cheapest reptiles in the hobby!
 
And that's why I have geckos.

I have money, I'm just cheap :lol:

They aren't that expensive IMO. A levis costs $100, for a reptile thats cheap. They just seem expensive because they're small, and $100 for a small lizard seems expensive. When you take into consideration their setups, geckoes are the cheapest reptiles in the hobby!
 
When it comes to the cost of a reptile it is more than just purchasing price.
As has been mentioned there is the cost of enclosures and ongoing food and energy cost.
Your cheap beardy needs a big enclosure with UV globes and a basking spot. That will require a lot more power than a gecko in a 30Litre tub sitting on a 7watt heat mat.
Not to mention your beardy's weekly cricket intake would last a gecko like a knob tail over a month.
 
When it comes to the cost of a reptile it is more than just purchasing price.
As has been mentioned there is the cost of enclosures and ongoing food and energy cost.
Your cheap beardy needs a big enclosure with UV globes and a basking spot. That will require a lot more power than a gecko in a 30Litre tub sitting on a 7watt heat mat.
Not to mention your beardy's weekly cricket intake would last a gecko like a knob tail over a month.

Jeez hold up there you're making geckos sound expensive. ;) 30L is more than ample, you don't need heat for thickies, and more like a beardies daily intake would last a knobby a month, or two. Hell you could breed and raise more crickets for the nobby from the daily intake of a beardy before it ate them all. :p
 
Nuh but honestly For you single guys, Levi's are crazy chick magnets, they all love them.

I prefer my leafys way more but got the one smooth knobbie haha
 
To the OP - when I first started looking around at gex a few years back I was amazed that such a pretty little ethereal creature could have a price that is more than I've ever paid for a horse, my first car was a $500 Datsun 120Y that cost far less than some of the newer morphs, or a cow in calf and one at foot, a dog, or a snake. :)
I think this is what you were saying when asking about prices?
We always compare back to what we have paid for other things?
Most probably the geckoes you really liked are the latest fruit of many hard years of guesswork, dedication, and love. :)

My first reaction (soon after you could buy them on licence) was that there were other people who would do a FAR better job than me at learning the ropes, breeding for certain colour traits, taking the punt, and learning on the go with these seemingly fragile little ones. Now that all the hard work has been done - there are some immaculate little ones becoming available for sale that are amazing - both in vigour and colour.
I have two wheeleri now - and am LOVING it.
I still fire off the occasional email to the breeder as things occur to me - and get an answer back within the day.
They are really quite easy to keep - and as I'm happy to leave the breeding up to the experts - I just get a HUGE bloody kick out of them - they stalk and hone in on one of their woodies, tails wiggling, then smash them. :)
Work out what you can afford - then approach a couple of breeders.
You won't regret it. :)
 
Just picked up 12 marbled gex and an exo terra enclosure for $150 today cant get any cheaper than that.
 
lol if the 16 year old lived at home, didnt have to pay board, phone bill or save for a car and pay for the petrol in that car..

i get $800 a fortnight and itd take me a year to save $1000 !!!

@ $800 a fortnight I would be looking for better job!!!
 
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