“You have to spend money to make money,” said Vicky Rodriguez, owner of Tip O’ Texas Geckos. What started off as hobby four years ago to keep her calm has evolved into a business that breeds and sells crested geckos, a popular terrarium pet originally from New Caledonia. “I learned more about crested gecko colors and that the market fluctuates depending on lineage, which wasn’t important 20 years ago.”

The jump into business ownership required an investment — tall, eight-gallon, clear plastic tubs for each of her 48 breeding geckos; smaller homes for the 50-plus offspring; activity perches and greenery; specialized feed; nest boxes; and an incubator for over 50 eggs.   “It is totally worth it. I budgeted so I don’t owe any money. I can relax and focus on my work.” Rodriguez used payment plans for 95% of her purchases of supplies and brood stock.

“Business-wise, this is my inventory year, so I’m trying to build it up as much as I can by acquiring breeders and breed their best offspring,” said Rodriguez, who has become versed in gecko genetics, colors and patterns.  “Breeders look for wide, kite-shaped heads.  It gets pretty intense. People are going to want to buy the flashy, colorful ones. If you get a gecko with less than ideal head structure, that means it’s pet quality versus breeder quality.”  Golden skins along with red spots and patterns are prized.  In fact, geckos with abundant attractive spots are called Dalmatians.

Don’t expect to play with a crested gecko, Rodriguez said. “They are more for show.  Some of them tolerate being touched more than others.  But don’t be upset if they jump away.  Crested geckos are known for taking ‘leaps of faith.’”

While the geckos from the South Pacific are easy to take care of, they do require natural light and a diet of live crickets, certain roaches and a specially formulated dry mix.  “People think they can just feed them any bugs,” she said, noting she has a rescue gecko, which was dying of malnutrition. Feeding, cleaning habitat, misting and weighing them are all part of keeping the geckos healthy. “If you’re in this business, you  need a vet,” added Rodriguez, who has found a willing partner in Altas Palmas Animal Clinic.

Crested geckos, which are relatively new to the pet trade, can’t cohabit except when mating because they are aggressive. Rodriguez said the species was on the verge of extinction at one point, but commercial breeding is contributing to the survival of species.

“I like social interaction and meeting new people who know what I’m talking about with selective breeding.”  Her regularly updated Facebook  page, Tip O’Texas Geckos, connects her to the segment of society that is intrigued by the reptiles.  Numerous pictures of breeding adults and geckos for sale, as well as an album of just-hatched babies shots, share Facebook space with in-depth explanations of gecko care and breeding. Out-of-state visitors have been drawn to her facility because of her combination of enthusiasm and expertise.

Rodriguez has an elaborate breeding setup. During the nine-month season, nesting boxes have a substrate of sphagnum moss, so the two eggs a female lays in a month don’t dehydrate. The breeder removes the eggs and candles them with the light from her cell phone to confirm they are fertilized.  Then they go into an temperature-regulated incubator on a vermiculite substrate for 80 to 120 days.  Just like humans, offspring from the same parents can be quite different,” Rodriguez said, who recently began breeding spear-point geckos. “Babies are so rewarding, you get to see them grow.  Some colors pop out later, and their patterns change and  enlarge.”

Rodriguez sells young geckos after they have stabilized and reached at least four grams in weight. She ships them by overnight express, via the Reptiles2you service, to points around the country.

Tip of Texas Geckos’ clientele has grown to the point that Rodriguez has a terrarium-giveaway drawing running until July 13 for those who like and share her Facebook page.  “It’s to say thank you for enabling me to continue my work,” she said.

For more information see Tip O’Texas Geckos on Facebook. 

This story by Eileen Mattei appears in the July 2016 edition of Valley Business Report