Housing multiple geckos

[Wartortle]

I've read mixed discussions on whether or not its okay to house multiple females/juveniles together. I haven't gotten my leopard geckos yet, but what is the general consensus on housing about 3-4 juvenile females together? I've heard that they are prone to drop their tails from stress or something? Are there feeding issues? I can easily separate them, but if i don't have to I'd rather not.....

 

[Ruvik]

As of the moment I have two females together is a large exo terra cage that is 36x18x18. They get along well, but I've had them together since they were small 5 gram babies. A lot of issues that people could have is fighting and bullying. If you do try and keep 3-4 females together I would make sure they all get along. I would also have other cages ready just in-case bullying happens. Feeding you may have to separate them seeing as some geckos may be piggies and eat all the food before the others get any. You also want to make sure you have the right size tank to keep 3-4 leopard geckos. I know a lot of sites say 10 is good for 1, 15 is good for 2, and 20 is good for 3-4, but I am not sure if I like those sizes. I like to give my leopard geckos a nice size area to get away from each other for a while so their is less risk of any fighting. I would much rather 15 being good for 1, 20 being good for two, 25 being good for 3, and a nice 30 gallon being good for 4. The tank I have for my leopard geckos is about a 40 gallon tank. So I could keep about five leopard geckos in there at once, but would I do it no. My max number for housing females together is three. Another think, if you are housing leopard geckos together they will need a lot of hiding spots to get away from each other. In my tank i have over five hides in it. one on the heat pat, two off to the side of the heat pad, and two on the cool side the tank. This could also help with bringing down stress for animals kept together. I do plan on putting a third gecko in the tank with my two females, but first I need to get it back up to weight and make sure that it is a female. as of the moment i think it is male, so it may not be going in the tank with them.

 

[Wartortle]

I have a 60 gallon setup, so i think housing 3-4 would be fine from what you say as long as everyone gets along. I didn't know that I'd need that many hides though, so that's definitely nice to know. I thought I would just have two, (one hot and one cold). If any bullying occurs, I can probably split the tank and house that gecko separately. I'll try to get them together from a young age, but I know that breeders won't have any guarantees on that... Thanks mucho.

 

[Ruvik]

60 gallon would be great. And I think it's more than enough room for 3-4. The best thing to do is introduce them slowly through a glass or something. let them see each other for a while before putting them together. Also you need to make sure they are all around the same weight and size. My two females are only 5 grams off from each other in weight and are roughly about the same size. My new one I have is very very under weight so I figure if it turns out female I will have a few months to go before I can even introduce him/her to anyone. A good thing to do if introducing any two leos together is to do it in a fresh cage that has no one's scent in it. That way it belongs to no one at the time.

So the key things to remember when housing leos together

1. Is the cage big enough?
2. Are you sure they are all females?
3. Are they all about the same size?
4. Do you have enough hides?
5. Can you house them apart during the slow week process of introducing them to each other?
6. Are you able to separate them if needed?
7. Are you able to feed them in different areas?

 

[warhawk]

For me if I'm keeping females together you need lots of room and hiding places for them to hide as they need to. With a 60g tank you could set up two warm areas one on each side of the tank and allow the middle to be the cool spot. That would allow your females to get away from each other and keep the stress down. That is assuming they are all adults.

When it comes to babies or even juveniles too much room isn't a good thing. Small guys have a issue finding the warm spots and food so keeping them in a large areas can cause problems. But on the other hand you can house 3 juveniles(up to 20-25 grams) in a 16qt tub no problem then you could go to a 28qt. You might have some tail nipping so you will need to watch for that and if it does happen remove the injured girls so they can heal.


If you could get lucky and get clutch mates that would be best but getting 3-4 clutch mates will be hard. Plus some do grow at different rates so you have to watch to make sure no one out grows the others.