First time poster. Gecko size difference?

[Pameleen]

Hi. Long time reader, first time poster.

I know that cresties do best when housed with like sized friends (or alone). I also know that no two geckos are the same and many of them just LOVE to break the rules of conventional wisdom (they're just like kids in that way). However, "like-sized" isn't quantitative and I am not sure how many grams lay in that window of sameness.

I would like to house two of my geckos, females, together. One is 18g and fairly feisty (loves the hunt, not a handling fan) and the other is 33/4g as of this posting and VERY mellow (likes to pretend to be a stick pretty much all the time). I'd like to put them together but I don't want to stress them out unnecessarily. The enclosure they would be sharing is arboreal. Maybe 6 feet tall and 15" wide, and I have washed it out and rearranged it in hopes I could put these two females there because it is such a nice enclosure.

Is the weight difference too much?
Should I attempt a trial?
Would I begin it before or after sun-down?
How long do I need to supervise?

I've done the research but I just couldn't find any good advice on whether or not, given my specific parameters, I should bother trying. Thanks!

 

[DrCarrotTail]

I usually recommend NO MORE than a 10% weight difference between the two geckos. This means that an 18g gecko can be housed with another 16-20g gecko and a 33g gecko can be housed with a 29-36g gecko. The larger the size difference the greater the chance the smaller gecko will be severely injured or even eaten. Just because a gecko is mellow when you handle it does not mean it will not be territorial with other geckos in its space. Most fights don't happen the moment you put them together or while you are watching. They happen when you are out of the room and the geckos are both trying to eat out of the same dish or sleep in the same spot or because one of them is just that bossy or unpleasant. I think a trial run with two geckos with such a large size difference is a huge risk. Personally I would just keep and enjoy them separately. Most cresteds, in my experience, do best in enclosures that are appropriate to their size. I keep my adults in enclosures that are 2cuft max. I tried to offer my first few geckos bigger enclosures but found that they did not grow as quickly and were much more flighty than my geckos that were kept in smaller enclosures. My babies live in smaller enclosures up to about 25g and I increase their enclosures in size as they grow. Generally babies up to 8-10g are kept in 6qt containers, adolescents 8-25g in 12 qt containers and 25g+ sub adults and adults in 40-55qt sterilite bins.

Best of luck with yours!

 

[Pameleen]

I'm going for a natural feeling to the enclosure. So like they would live in the wilds, had they been born there. They've been gaining steadily though not speedily. Thanks for the 10% parameter. I like having an actual number to put to the advice I keep reading!