Another leo?

[Makatak123]

Hey, I got my leopard gecko 2 days ago and want to get another before he/she gets to comfortable. I don't know if my leo is a boy or girl yet. The store said he is approximately 6 months old. If I get one the same size would it be ok? I am scared that if my leo is a male and I get a male they will fight. If he is a male and I get a female (or other way around) would it be ok? I know females together are ok. Please someone help me out!

Thanks!

 

[rebecky45]

You would for sure need to quarantine them for a while to make sure they are both healthy and don't get each other sick. You'd need to put them in separate tanks for quarantine anyway, so if you do end up with two males, you'll know before you tried to put them together. You should post some pics of your new one! Congrats!

 

[Makatak123]

To quarantine them, do you think I have to get another UTH? Or can I jest put a cardboard piece dividing the 20l?

 

[Arizona Leos]

Use the cardboard or get a cheap plastic reptile enclosure for $10 and quarantine it in that

 

[rebecky45]

I would get another whole setup...even just small tank with a separate UTH. If you end up with two males, you'll need another setup anyway. I always like to have a backup tank, too. I've never tried the whole cardboard thing, but I'm not sure I'd trust it...leos always amaze me with their strength...even the little ones! Quarantine is at least 4-5 weeks, so you can't really skimp on a setup just because it's not "permanent".

 

[Arizona Leos]

Yeah i mean those 10 gallon breeder plastic cages that can easily hold one little leo and they can be put on a heat mat but you gotta be careful! and rebecky45 is right on the cardboard thing leos can fit through tiny spaces and move stuff around! Plus if you do end up with a male you can put him in the breeder cage as a permanent home as well

 

[Arizona Leos]

Unless you wanna spend a little more a better quality cage like i do im about to get a rack system though for all my reptiles though ahaha You can get the plastic ones at petco and petsmart but the special breeder ones you can only get at petsmart

 

[Arizona Leos]

Petco i mean you can only get the special breeders at petco

 

[rebecky45]

I would just go ahead and get another 10 gallon glass tank. Petco usually has $1 per gallon sales every so often, or you could check craigslist. (Thats where I get a lot of my tanks). I have yet to switch to racks, but I can see that day coming pretty soon.

If you do go the plastic route, you need to be careful with UTHs...really monitor the temps on the hot side...they can easily get too hot without a dimmer or thermostat.

 

[Dimidiata]

You will need a separate set up. New UTH, hides, EVERYTHING. QT should be for a few months until you can tell the gender of the 2. Of course, there is nothing wrong with just having 2 leos in 2 separate tanks. MUCH safer. And No, 2 females is not automatically Ok, many times, they fight too. Unless you can afford a vet bill right now, avoid it.

2 leos also means at least a 20gal long tank to house them once they are both through the QT periode, both check out female and are both deemed compatible. Then you need the new heat matt and supplies for the 20gal.\


There is no reason for you to have the 2 animals together, they dont need it. They dont want it, and theres a chance harm will come from it.

 

[Russellm0704]

Housing 2 females is possible but also holds Many risks. Like many others have said. If you want to house 2 females together, have a backup setup for when one bullies the other

 

[Jordycakes]

I wouldnt do it myself just the hole if one gets ill then the other will, the possible fighting wouldnt be nice to deal with.
overall there's alot more con's to deal with than there are pro's.

 

[mango+cola]

Like everybody has said, you need to quarantine the new gecko. And I always heard the quarantine period was 3 months, so Im not sure where the 4-5 weeks came from. Quarantine doesn't just mean you keep them in seperate tanks, you need to be very careful not to transfer anything between the geckos, so constant hand washing, don't move things between their two tanks and so on.

If your gecko is 6 months old you should probably be able to tell if it is male or female by now I would think. If you have a male, then just keep it alone, male and male will probably result in fighting and male and female will clearly lead to eggs.

As for female and female, as long as they don't fight, I don't see anything wrong with it. My two female geckos are together, they have been for a while and they thrive when they are together. There are 5 hides in the tank that they share, but they will always sleep together, even though there is definately enough room for them to sleep seperately (2 warm hides, 2 cold hides, 1 moist hide).

So first quarantine! Then, if you have a female and a female, introduce them and see how they get along before you consider housing them together.

 

[Makatak123]

ok then, I dont think I will be getting one for now. I will just wait till I get some more money to buy a new set up. I just wanted to get another because I got only 1 in a 20l and there is a sale at my reptile store.

 

[katie_]

I quarantine my new geckos for 90 days.

 

[Jordycakes]

You shouldnt really get one just because there's a sale on, maybe you wanted one i dont know but still get one because you want one