Adding a gecko to another geckos terrarium?

jthompson · Nov 6, 2007

I have had these 2 leopard geckos for about 5 years now, but they have always been in seperate tanks because I thought one of them was a male. Well, I looked at "him" again today and I am pretty sure he is a female. Can I put them both in the same tank without problems? Will they fight and hurt each other or what?

Thanks.

Stitch · Nov 7, 2007

I see no reason for you to put them together, well atleast you didn't state a reason on why you would need to. By placing them together you run the chance of something happening, like territorial bullying or one eating all the food. Most people feel that they are solitaire creature in the wild (I feel the same way). So there would be no reason to place them together unless you are trying to breed them.

One of my favorite quotes: "If it isn't broke then don't fix it." That's really the best advice I can give you.

acpart · Nov 7, 2007

On the other hand, I mix and match my geckos twice a year --once when the males go in with the females and once when they come out. I've never had a problem. This year I put a female in with a male that hasn't been with another gecko since I got him over 3 years ago (she's retiring as a breeder since she doesn't produce much so whatever she comes up with with him is OK) and they're also doing fine. He's not even bugging her to mate. I think it's worth a try as long as you monitor them closely for a few weeks (weights and checking for signs of being bitten or scratched).

Aliza

TWC · Nov 7, 2007

i have several that live together, and no problems. when i do find a problem like bullying, i separate them.

jthompson · Nov 7, 2007

The reasons I want to put them together are because it would be a lot easier for me to have one tank that they are both in, instead of having 2 seperate tanks. Also, althought you said that they are soliatry animals in the wild, I kind of feel like they are lonely and it would be nice for them to be together.

Stitch · Nov 8, 2007

jthompson said:
The reasons I want to put them together are because it would be a lot easier for me to have one tank that they are both in, instead of having 2 seperate tanks. Also, althought you said that they are soliatry animals in the wild, I kind of feel like they are lonely and it would be nice for them to be together.

I don't think dropping from 2 tanks to 1 is going to make cleaning and caring that much easier. I have 8 adult geckos and 11 baby geckos all in their own cage or bin. So that's a total of 19 cages/bins to clean. Trust me when I tell you that your gecko does not feel alone.

They are your geckos and you can do what you want with them. If you put them together I hope all works out well for you and them. But again I will say, "If it's not broke then don't fix it." That is how I feel. I'm not trying to tell you what to do or sound mean. I just don't see the point in placing them together. If you do decide to put them in one cage make sure you do it when you can be around to supervise for the first few hours. Keep the other cage too just in case it doesn't work out.

jthompson · Nov 8, 2007

I guess for some reason, I thought they would do better if they were together, but you say that they do not need to be around other geckos, so maybe I will just leave them in their own tanks.

dragonflyreptiles · Nov 8, 2007

Ive kept adult leos in pairs or groups for as long as Ive had them, weird thing is that many people or I should say most people believe that they prefer to be solitary animals as mentioned but I always found them all in the same hide.

I would have 3 leos in one tank with 9 hides (3 humid, 3 cool dry, 3 warm dry) and they would all pile up in one hide, does this mean they prefer to be together or disprove they are solitary, no, its just my expericnce from the 8 years or so.

If you want to put them together just follow the above info, make sure to watch them for especially the first few hours, like staying in the same room. Then keep an eye on them for a few days to a week. Provide multiple hides of humid, dry hot and cool. 2 food dishes and 2 water dishes will also help with any food problems.

If you see a problem, seperate them, if you notice a weight loss, it could mean a problem with food issues that you are not seeing, seperate them.

I personally see no reason to keep them apart unless you put them together and you have a problem.

Golden Gate Geckos · Nov 8, 2007

I kept my breeding groups together year-round for many years, but it was not without problems. Even females will squabble over food and territory, and one will always become the 'alpha' female and dominate the less assertive ones. I honestly think they do better individually.

If you do decide to house them together, I would recommend starting from scratch on their enclosure by completely disinfecting it and all its furniture, and maybe even rearranging it. The reason being, that the geckos who's hide it's been may become defensive and territorial over 'her' domain. If you start out with unfamiliar territory for both of them it may help prevent this.

The other scenario would be to switch geckos into each other's enclosures for awhile. This will allow each gecko to become familiar with the other's scent before introducing them to each other, and also eliminate the tendency for them to feel like the environment is their own.

Watch closely for signs of serious aggression. It would be natural for them to 'peck' at each other a little bit until the pecking order is established, but there is always a possibility that the more dominant one could inflict serious injury on the lesser one. Feed them separately for awhile at first, and make sure there is more than one hide as an escape.

Good luck!

elphani · Nov 10, 2007

Golden Gate Geckos said:
If you do decide to house them together, I would recommend starting from scratch on their enclosure by completely disinfecting it and all its furniture, and maybe even rearranging it. The reason being, that the geckos who's hide it's been may become defensive and territorial over 'her' domain. If you start out with unfamiliar territory for both of them it may help prevent this.

I would recommed to do it this way! I have some groups and sometimes animals will bi integrated in this groups and I always do it this way. It's really very important to rearrange the Terrarium because they are territorial! When I integrate a new gecko to a group I usually take everyone out of the Terrarium and rearrange everything. And of course I put some more hides in. Then the new gecko is the first that I put in the Terrarium. I wait a while so she can have a look at her new home and then I put the others in. I watch them for some hours to be sure everythings o.k..
The next days and weeks I will also have an ''special'' eye on this group and when I feed them I observe them very careful. I never had problems with this Method. Of course each group has a ''hierarchy''. At the first Moment there can be some small fights to determin the hierarchy but after that there shouldn't be fights anymore.
When you can't see fights or bites and everyone eats good, you can be pretty sure that they are o.k.
BTW I never observed real fights! Mostly its just ''licking'' to ''smell'' the other and then they are fine!

Good luck

!

Golden Gate Geckos · Nov 10, 2007

When I integrate a new gecko to a group I usually take everyone out of the Terrarium and rearrange everything. And of course I put some more hides in. Then the new gecko is the first that I put in the Terrarium. I wait a while so she can have a look at her new home and then I put the others in.

I have done this as well, and it is a very good plan.

paulnattress · Dec 23, 2007

Here's my plan for introducing our geckos.

We have one gecko (Shazzrah) in a 4 foot by 18 inch vivarium and we've had her a year now. We've had two younger geckos for 3 months now in a smaller 2 foot by 18 inch vivarium (Vashj and Thespia). We plan to move Vashj and Thespia into Shazzrah's vivarium when they're the same size as her.

I also want to redo Shzzrah's vivarium and get creative with making a nice fake rock wall with hides and ramps so I'm planning on making this up first then cleaning out Shazzrah's vivarium completely and installing it, plus some more hides and the introduce Vashj and Thespia. Once they've explored their new home I'll bring Shazzrah into it and watch them for a weekend to check on them then check them as much as possible during the following week.

It was always our intention to have one vivarium with all the geckos in but we wanted to quarantine the young girls until we were sure they were free from infection and were the same size as Shazz.

jthompson · Dec 23, 2007

I actually decided to not put them together yet because I am trying to get them off waxworms, so they haven't even eaten in like a month.

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