Changes causing problems?

[williamsr815]

So today i went to the local reptile show in search of a friend for my female Leo, Stig. I also picked up some feeders and 2 new plants. The plants are similar to aloe plants but with a more contrasted color scheme. As of right now i have an infrared heat bulb and a neodymium day bulb that run on a timer. They are heating a 55 gal tall tank and are a supplement to the 2 UTH's i have. I have tried to have live plants in the tank before but they kept dying. I asked a guy at the show about my problem and he said i needed a UVB bulb. After some research online, i have found complaints about compact florescents causing eye problems with lizards and am a little worried about this happening with my Leo's.
Now to my bigger problem: compatibility.
I now have 2 females, the new one is a tangerine raptor roughly the same size as Stig. Well i put them together in the tank and after about 5 minutes they had a little scuffle , bit each others tails and went on their way. Over about a 2 hour span, they had about 5 scuffles and i separated them before they got too aggressive. Well the GF and I took them out of the tank and set them on the ground together and they were walking around each other without a problem. They are now back in the tank together and seem to be fine. I turned the lights off to try and help with the stress and im keeping an eye on them. At the moment the new girl is exploring the tank so i believe she is getting comfortable. Im just worried about Stig not accepting her new friend.

Sorry for the wall of words but i wanted to get all of my issues out. Hopefully as the responses come i can organize my thoughts. Here are some pics for reference:
Here is the current setup:

This is the instigator Stig:

Here is the new girl exploring her new home:

 

[williamsr815]

As im thinking about it, Stig is getting ready to shed so maybe she was just stressed from that and didn't like the newcomer. She has been exploring her cage and they made it through the night without any major scuffles. Any other ideas?

 

[TripleALeos]

Now to my bigger problem: compatibility.

I believe that the biggest problem you have is that you didn't quarantine your new gecko.

 

[PaladinGirl]

From what I've been told, leos don't need other leo friends. Some may seem to get along, but they are more or less just tolerating each other.

 

[williamsr815]

I believe that the biggest problem you have is that you didn't quarantine your new gecko.

Is this something that i should be considering if the problem persists? Or is it too late?

 

[roger]

Is this something that i should be considering if the problem persists? Or is it too late?

its too late now if the newer one has a disease.seperate them immediately b4 either gets seriously hurt and keep them seperate

 

[DiscoDigi786]

You seem like someone who is trying to do the right thing with their animals, so here are two quick notes for the future:

1) You MUST quarantine new adds to your collection. Your setup looks sharp, why not try something new with decorating a quarantine tank? That way you can monitor your new Leo's stools and feeding habits for 60 days or so and ensure disease is not a problem. With crypto and other parasites all too common, you owe it to the new animal and your existing stock to play things smart. Try not to let enthusiasm get the better of you (easier said than done, I know!)

2) Geckos tend not to get along well together. One way around this that I have seen is to disinfect and clean the "community cage" then rearrange the cage furniture, then reintroduce all of the animals at the same time. This defuses "turf" issues.

Also, animals brought up together tend to exhibit less (but still some) aggression towards one another than others, so hatchlings can be housed together. Keep in mind that sexually mature males kept with females will get CRAZY aggressive, though!

I hope you dodged the bullet this time, it seems like you did. Just remember the details next time and you should be gravy. Sounds like you actually have the setup for a good harem... are you going into breeding?

 

[williamsr815]

You seem like someone who is trying to do the right thing with their animals, so here are two quick notes for the future:

1) You MUST quarantine new adds to your collection. Your setup looks sharp, why not try something new with decorating a quarantine tank? That way you can monitor your new Leo's stools and feeding habits for 60 days or so and ensure disease is not a problem. With crypto and other parasites all too common, you owe it to the new animal and your existing stock to play things smart. Try not to let enthusiasm get the better of you (easier said than done, I know!)

2) Geckos tend not to get along well together. One way around this that I have seen is to disinfect and clean the "community cage" then rearrange the cage furniture, then reintroduce all of the animals at the same time. This defuses "turf" issues.

Also, animals brought up together tend to exhibit less (but still some) aggression towards one another than others, so hatchlings can be housed together. Keep in mind that sexually mature males kept with females will get CRAZY aggressive, though!

I hope you dodged the bullet this time, it seems like you did. Just remember the details next time and you should be gravy. Sounds like you actually have the setup for a good harem... are you going into breeding?

Thank you for the insight. I did use the reptile "cleaner" or disinfectant on the new girl before i added her to the cage. They are still bickering every now and then, if it continues over the next few days i plan on setting up my 10 gal as a temporary quarantine tank.

Should i put the new girl in the 10 gal or leave her in the 55 and let Stig have the smaller tank?

Also i plan on re arranging the big tank this weekend and adding a cold side hide, hopefully the more hides i have will reduce the stress between them.

As for breeding, i dont really have any plans, i have always loved reptiles and love making environments like this one.

One last question, would this bulb be suitable to add in order to keep a plant alive?
http://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-ReptiSun%C2%AE-Compact-Fluorescent/dp/B00061V4PI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1301489878&sr=8-1

Also, where in cincy are you DD? Im out on the east side.

 

[williamsr815]

If they do not get along by this weekend i plan on using my 10 gallon tank as a quarantine. My question is, what could i use as a temporary heat source? I have 2 done lights but both of my UTH's are on my 55 gallon. Would just a heat lamp be sufficient temporarily? I was considering an electric heating pad but have not heard good things about them. Any other insight would be great thanks!

 

[Jellybean]

Some geckos get along others do not, I have two males that can share a cage together and get along great. Yet on the other side I have two females that will fight non stop. Geckos can learn from others behavior though and that is one of the benefits of having more than one in a cage. For example, I housed one of my younger juvenile female geckos with a larger sub adult female and within one week the younger one was imitating the behaviors of the older gecko. In the beginning the younger gecko would poop in a different spot in the cage, and it was also very timid when I would take it out to examine it. After observing the behavior of the older gecko say when i pulled their rock out of the cage and the older one walked to my hand, eventually the young one started doing the same thing as well. These animals may not have extremely high levels of intelligence but they can exhibit some additional signs of behavior beyond basic instincts.

 

[williamsr815]

I have started to notice that as well. I have only had the older one since June so she is still getting to know me. The new girl is still very timid and usually stays in her hide. She just shed today which i noticed put alot of stress on both of them. I out the humid hide in but she didn't go in or around it. I figure she isn't used to it or even the tank yet. Hopefully they will get along fine.

 

[roger]

Some geckos get along others do not, I have two males that can share a cage together and get along great. Yet on the other side I have two females that will fight non stop. Geckos can learn from others behavior though and that is one of the benefits of having more than one in a cage. For example, I housed one of my younger juvenile female geckos with a larger sub adult female and within one week the younger one was imitating the behaviors of the older gecko. In the beginning the younger gecko would poop in a different spot in the cage, and it was also very timid when I would take it out to examine it. After observing the behavior of the older gecko say when i pulled their rock out of the cage and the older one walked to my hand, eventually the young one started doing the same thing as well. These animals may not have extremely high levels of intelligence but they can exhibit some additional signs of behavior beyond basic instincts.

??????

 

[roger]

If they do not get along by this weekend i plan on using my 10 gallon tank as a quarantine. My question is, what could i use as a temporary heat source? I have 2 done lights but both of my UTH's are on my 55 gallon. Would just a heat lamp be sufficient temporarily? I was considering an electric heating pad but have not heard good things about them. Any other insight would be great thanks!

U are just asking for trouble when u insist on putting 2 leos together that have had skrimishes.If anyone has told u its ok to put your leos together knowing full well there has been fighting they are WRONG.it is useless to quarrantine them now since they have been together.If there is an illness it has now been passed on to your older leo

 

[Jordan]

Some geckos get along others do not, I have two males that can share a cage together and get along great. Yet on the other side I have two females that will fight non stop. Geckos can learn from others behavior though and that is one of the benefits of having more than one in a cage. For example, I housed one of my younger juvenile female geckos with a larger sub adult female and within one week the younger one was imitating the behaviors of the older gecko. In the beginning the younger gecko would poop in a different spot in the cage, and it was also very timid when I would take it out to examine it. After observing the behavior of the older gecko say when i pulled their rock out of the cage and the older one walked to my hand, eventually the young one started doing the same thing as well. These animals may not have extremely high levels of intelligence but they can exhibit some additional signs of behavior beyond basic instincts.

You MUST be a troll. Surely.

Either that or your mistaking a dog for a leopard gecko or something.


Personally i think Discodigi's comment was very fair, and helpful.

 

[NinjaDuo]

Some geckos get along others do not, I have two males that can share a cage together and get along great. Yet on the other side I have two females that will fight non stop. Geckos can learn from others behavior though and that is one of the benefits of having more than one in a cage. For example, I housed one of my younger juvenile female geckos with a larger sub adult female and within one week the younger one was imitating the behaviors of the older gecko. In the beginning the younger gecko would poop in a different spot in the cage, and it was also very timid when I would take it out to examine it. After observing the behavior of the older gecko say when i pulled their rock out of the cage and the older one walked to my hand, eventually the young one started doing the same thing as well. These animals may not have extremely high levels of intelligence but they can exhibit some additional signs of behavior beyond basic instincts.

Stop trolling