Housing two males in a split tub?

[artiogarde]

I have two male leopard geckos, Phil and Herb.

Herb is older and larger:



Phil is younger and smaller:



I have a rather large (I think 116 qt) tub that I've split by cardboard down the middle.
Herb's side is on the left, Phil's the right.



I made sure that neither of the boys could fit under the divider and get to the other side. They each have a heat mat, plenty of hiding spaces (warm and cool), humid hides (Herb's is hidden under cardboard hides), calcium, and water. They each get a bowl of mealworms that they sometimes pick from and they also get crickets a few times a week.

This evening I decided to introduce them on neutral ground and see if they got along. It didn't go well. Neither are hurt but they both had a go at each other.

My question is, will they get stressed living in a divided tub? Can they smell each other and will it make them be on edge?

 

[Ruvik]

They may get stressed seeing as male's do mark their area with their scent and smelling another male so close may stress them out. I would look into getting another tub and splitting the two up. That way they have their own little areas to mark away from each other. There is also a risk of one of them trying to climb over and knocking the divider over which would them set them up for a really bad fight. I don't like to risk anything when it comes to my geckos so I would get two different tubs to put them in asap.

 

[indyana]

At the very least, I would make a better divider than cardboard and seal with something like silicone sealant if you need to divide a tub, but honestly, it would be easier to purchase two smaller tubs (unless they are sharing a very large heat mat).

 

[warhawk]

For the price a 28qt tub I would just set up a new home.

Right now maybe no one is climbing to the other side but you keep them in a small area with nothing to do but look for a way to get out they will find a way.

Both geckos look very nice.

 

[artiogarde]

Thanks for the responses. I'm buying them separate tubs tomorrow.