When we first step in to gecko ownership and decide to breed the excitement is insane. We want to have ALLLLLL the geckos right away! We want to get ALLLLL the pairings and all the colors and to pair all the pairs and get alllllllll the eggs. My word of wisdom is SLOOOOOW DOOOWWWWN!
Don't get me wrong, I started out buying geckos knowing I'd be breeding. I went from 1 to 14 in about 90 days and then continued from there. I paired up my first pairing within about 7 months of owning them. I jumped in with both feet....but I still proceeded from there slowly.
Since then though I have watched and seen quite a few people who jumped in not with both feet....but with dozens of feet. In some cases buying up a bunch of ready to breed geckos right from the beginning having never owned a crested gecko before.... And then they quickly burned out or found themselves overwhelmed enough to “down size” or sell out completely. I've heard that some complained about all the hatchlings they lost and they couldn't figure out why... Or, they found themselves needing to sell off sub-par animals because they didn't think through their purchases. Or they chose pairings badly b/c they didn't know what they were doing. Or they made a bunch of babies and now have no avenue to sell them because they rushed into things...
My advice is, slow down. Take a look at what is out there. Make notes of who has what. Pay attention to what you see that you want to work toward producing. Learn about their care first hand. Grow up a few babies. Calculate your pairings taking into account that a single female can lay up to 12 clutches in about a year's time...even if that is not typical, it can happen. Find a reliable and experienced exotics vet nearby. Figure out what you will do if the need for euthanasia arises. Consider putting money aside for a veterinary fund in case it's needed. Is there anything you need to have on hand like liquid calcium or specific vitamins? Make connections with people who have owned and bred them longer than you have and who have learned from people who have bred longer than THEY have. Learn from those people. Ask them what advice they wish someone had given them. Be careful that you're not taking all the advice from people who have learned everything they know from google....or speak like they're experts but have owned 1or 2 geckos for 6 months... Make sure you're not trying to “correct” a long term breeder with what you learned from google...or better yet, their website...Yes. I've seen that happen. Ask questions. Pay attention to the answers. Ask for clarification if needed. Figure out your goals. What do you want to produce? Figure out, realistically, what space you can commit to them. Make goals. Figure out a plan to make those goals a reality. Buy your geckos CAREFULLY. Know that it really should be quality over quantity because crested geckos are progressing fast in their quality.... Did you know that you shouldn't breed a lily white to a lily white? If you didn't know that, you have more research to do. Figure out how and where you will sell your hatchlings. Will you sell them when they're still tiny or watch them grow a while first. Can you afford to house and feed all the babies/geckos you have for a long period of time before selling them? How will you ship? Start building a following by showing off your geckos. Be teachable and don't present yourself as someone who has it all figured out when you don't... I've seen people who own a couple of geckos putting themselves out there on you tube...with how to or advice videos on crested geckos. Don't be that person...
In other words: Slow down. You'll thank me for it later.
Also, if you have questions, feel free to ask me. I'm happy to help.
Disclaimer: People's choices will vary a great deal and not everyone will take exactly the same path. I'm just suggesting that you think through the path well before rushing down it.

**Photo of the very first crested gecko I hatched for attention**
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