Housing male and females

Simply

New Member
Messages
10
Location
Virovitica, Croatia
Soon I will be getting 2 females and a male. They are from a very nice breeder. Females are 35 g and 26 g and the male is 41 grams. If I put them all in one big terrarium will it be ok? I guess I will have to seperate a male when he reaches sexual maturity, right?

I was wondering would it be possible to keep 4 females and a male together for one breeding season? It seems kinda natural, right?! Maybe 4:1 ratio would lower the stress in females caused by males advances to breed?

So instead of breeding one male to 4 females individualy and keep all females seperate and male seperate, you would just pick your combination for a season and keep 3,4 females and a males. This seems like a nice (teoretical) setup for small scale breeding. Of course I would monitor the females for stress of too much weight loss.

Anyone tried this?

Thanks

Simply
 

ForTozs

New Member
Messages
129
Location
Ocean Springs, MS
You should not house these geckos together. There is a VERY high likelihood they will breed, and the females are not big enough in my opinion. I learned this the hard way, but luckily I still have my first female. There's no harm in waiting and you will have more success if you do. I have moved to keeping all my geckos individually. Though it costs more, it is too difficult for me to ensure they are all getting the right amount of food and not being stressed. In my experience, geckos kept individually are much healthier animals.
 

katie_

Wonder Reptiles
Messages
2,645
Location
Ontario
I agree with the above statement.
Males should not be housed with females, especially since your females are so small.
Even females can fight, and leopard geckos are not social geckos- it isnt natural to live together.
I house all my geckos seperately too. This way you know whos pooping, eating, breeding dates, etc.
No risk for dropped tails, injuries, etc
 

acpart

Geck-cessories
Staff member
Messages
15,303
Location
Somerville, MA
At 41 grams the male is probably sexually mature already, so for now they should not be kept together. I find that some people feel strongly they should keep their geckos separately. I keep my leopard geckos in breeding groups, generally 1.2 for most of the year and rarely have a problem.

Aliza
 

Simply

New Member
Messages
10
Location
Virovitica, Croatia
Thank you Aliza, this has been very helpful. I belive that I will try and do the same. 1.2 breeding group for start! So in the beginning I should keep the male seperate! Do you think I could put him with the females this breeding season, or should I just wait for the next year?

p.s. to all the people who constantly refer me to go and learn the basics; I have read a lot of available material, and now I want to learn from people with experience. Not all is black or white. I'm not here to play smart, but to learn!
 

DrCarrotTail

Moderator
Messages
3,589
Location
Ridgewood, NJ
It is generally advisable to wait until your geckos are at least 50g in weight before breeding. Breeding is stressful and at over 50g they should have the necessary calcium and fat reserves to deal with the stress and produce eggs. Of course, this is a general rule and some geckos may not be developed enough at 50g to breed - like giants.
 

katie_

Wonder Reptiles
Messages
2,645
Location
Ontario
Thank you Aliza, this has been very helpful. I belive that I will try and do the same. 1.2 breeding group for start! So in the beginning I should keep the male seperate! Do you think I could put him with the females this breeding season, or should I just wait for the next year?

p.s. to all the people who constantly refer me to go and learn the basics; I have read a lot of available material, and now I want to learn from people with experience. Not all is black or white. I'm not here to play smart, but to learn!

They arent ready for this season, you'll be looking at next year. Please dont house your male with them now.
 

Simply

New Member
Messages
10
Location
Virovitica, Croatia
I would be very curious to see your reference for the solitary nature of LG's. In all the literature I found that in the wild they live in small groups consisting of one male and 3,4 females!
 

Embrace Calamity

New Member
Messages
1,564
Location
Pennsylvania
I would be very curious to see your reference for the solitary nature of LG's. In all the literature I found that in the wild they live in small groups consisting of one male and 3,4 females!
I'm curious about your references. It's my understanding that not much is known about their wild behaviour, but the general consensus that they are primarily solitary unless necessary to be around others for the best resources (and being in groups doesn't necessarily make them communal). The troubles housing them together is, to my mind, evidence of this. Truly communal animals can usually be housed together without much issue (eg mourning geckos, which can be kept in large quantities in relatively small enclosures because they truly are communal), whereas it's not horribly unusual for leos to fight or starve each other. However, if there is well-documented evidence to the contrary, I'd be interested to read it.

~Maggot
 
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