Leo Project Starter Strategies... Input please.

[SoCaliSon]

Hey All!

I have been toying with the idea of getting into breeding leos as I am very fascinated by all the genetic possiblities involved. This weekend I am planning on starting to build a nice rack to keep a group.

At this point I want to start thinking about what kind of group I will start with. I am hoping to find some start off breeders that are fairly inexpensive, but that have the potential to produce some nice gentic lines in a couple generations. How would you guys recommend investing to get this going? I am not so interested in buyng $300 morphs to breed off the bat... but instead breeding my way into these morphs. Any tips, and advice from your experience would be appreciated. I breed Chameleons but their genetics are not nearly as diverse as you find in these little guys.

I also appreciate any good reading you could recommend before getting my feet wet with this.

Thanks everyone in advance!

~Joe

[shimmer]

Giants are a good morph to start with but they are very expensive! I have a pair and the female was $500 and the male $200. Phantoms, Diablo Blancos, and Enigmas are very popular right now but they are expensive. Start with Giants, tangerines, albino strains, and mack snows. They will move and are worth some money.

[Okee Reps]

I'd say get a Co-dom male that is het for two or more recessive traits and then a few homozygous females. For instance:

1.0 Snow het albino and patternless
0.1 Snow
0.1 patternless
0.1 albino
0.1 Snow het albino

You get the point, the list can go on and on forever. You can do it with all the other Co-doms as well. Just have fun with the combinations.

[nwheat]

James' idea is a good one. Try to find animals het for more than one trait - better yet, homozygous for one trait and het for one or two more. Pick whichever morphs you like the best and go from there!

Leopard geckos are great to work with - have fun!!