2 adult leos in a 20 gal?

[cjam]

Ok so i have a 3 1/2 year old female and I found a male that I am interested in getting. I have my female in a 20 gal. I want to breed her and the male is a year so he should be big enough. Could I get him and keep him in the same tank with her all the time? Would it be to stressful for her?

 

[Lady_Kiya]

I guess you could keep him in there all the time if you wanted to.
It's preference really.

As for mating, it would all depend on his weight and I am not sure what the right weight for the male is, so wait for another post.

 

[cjam]

Well I heard that for female the reccomended size is 55g. or more and Im pretty sure mera is big enough, im going to be getting a gram scale soon to find out. I dont know about male size either I need to find that out...
Im just wondering if he might stress her out since shes been housed by herself until now pretty much her whole life.

 

[Gregg M]

Well I heard that for female the reccomended size is 55g. or more and Im pretty sure mera is big enough, im going to be getting a gram scale soon to find out. I dont know about male size either I need to find that out...
Im just wondering if he might stress her out since shes been housed by herself until now pretty much her whole life.

The condition of you leo is more important than weight or age... Generally, an animal in good breeding condition can be 40 grams and up for females and males can be in that range as well... Age wise I would not breed any males under 10 months and females should be at a year old... This is my own opinion though...
Anyway, most reptiles always do better in smaller cages so bigger is not really better... The only room they need is enough to thermoregulate... This can be done just perfectly in a 10 gallon... In my opinion, 10 gallons per adult leopard gecko is plenty... You can even keep 3 leos in a 20 gallon without a problem... With this being said, I do feel that it is better to house leos individually for these reasons...

1- it is easier to keep track of food intake.

2- it is easier to see who might be having any health issues.

3- it will avoid any fighting.

4- individually house leos are USUALLY less stressed...

 

[jakemyster44]

Well first off, you will need to quarentine your new male. If I get them from a breeder I trust I sually dont go the full 60 days, but just wait untill they start eating, and make sure they deficate well. If anything is up, the quarentine continues, untill either a vet visit, or they make a turn around. So just be sure that the male is healthy before putting him in with your female, it's never good to put a new gecko STRAIGHT in with an exsisting gecko/colony.
Some people have succesfully kept pairs in the same tank, I did at first (about three years ago when I had very little knowledge on the subject). The female lost weight after putting the male in with her, and the male didnt gaing any weight. I seperated them, and they both NEARLY DOUBLED in size. THAT was proof enough for me that, atleast in this case, the two should continue to be housed individual. That is just my experience however.
If you do decide to house them together, I suggest you really keep tabs on their weights, and make sure they are eating. Hope this helps with your decision.

Im just wondering if he might stress her out since shes been housed by herself until now pretty much her whole life.

I think what might really stress her would be the male constantly trying to breed with her.

 

[acpart]

I keep my females in groups and my males individually when it's not breeding season. I keep males with females during breeding season in groups of 3-4. I have one male who is not used for breeding but seems to do better with another gecko. Last season I had a female who doesn't breed well in with him and except for a period at the height of breeding season where he was harassing her (and during which time I separated her) they were fine. In general, I think it depends on the gecko. Mine have all done well. Just be sure, if you put the male in with the female that you are prepared for breeding: proper conditioning/feeding, incubator, housing and plans for babies.

Aliza

 

[catvettech]

The condition of you leo is more important than weight or age... Generally, an animal in good breeding condition can be 40 grams and up for females and males can be in that range as well... Age wise I would not breed any males under 10 months and females should be at a year old... This is my own opinion though...
Anyway, most reptiles always do better in smaller cages so bigger is not really better... The only room they need is enough to thermoregulate... This can be done just perfectly in a 10 gallon... In my opinion, 10 gallons per adult leopard gecko is plenty... You can even keep 3 leos in a 20 gallon without a problem... With this being said, I do feel that it is better to house leos individually for these reasons...

1- it is easier to keep track of food intake.

2- it is easier to see who might be having any health issues.

3- it will avoid any fighting.

4- individually house leos are USUALLY less stressed...

Hey Madden, what if the female doesn't like the male? She wants to be alone.......