How many geckos to a cage

[Daedric1]

Just curious to see how many leo geckos people put per cage.

Quite a badly formed question, as this completely depends on size.

The best answer is: 1

Some people use the formula: #geckos = gallons/10 - 1

i.e. 3 geckos to a 40 gallon.

Some people say 3 can go in a 20, but really the most important thing is that there are enough basking spots & hides (cold, warm, moist) for each gecko. The more space there is, the less likely bullying will be incurred.

 

[Desdemona]

I think the main poster was just asking what people did, not asking what the "right" thing to do is. There is a big difference sometimes.

Also, like the one poster mentioned 2 males living together, sometimes animals will do things completely out of their norm, especially under unusual circumstances in captivity. Mind you I would never suggest actually trying to put some of these groups together (like I said very unusual circumstances). But, I am sure there have been a few snake and mouse stories on here, a couple of snake owners have let the two live together as cage buddies with no bites to the snake and obviously the mouse doesn't disappear. I have also heard of mice and rats living together, but only in the situation where a rat fostered the mice when the mouse mom died. I also saw a baby rat hanging out with a couple of hamsters in a pet store where rodents were all kept in the same wired cage setup. One hamster was freaking (These were two adult Syrian hamsters, which is another group that isn't suppose to get along) out and the other was totally uninterested in the rat. Of course, if kept that way the hamster might have changed it's mind later. I ended up keeping that rat since he was such a nut (wasn't put out by his hamster face off).

But, anyways, sometimes animals do strange things (like two males living together) but it doesn't mean it's a norm or something to attempt.

I will have three girls in their own cages for a few months, but once they are past the quarantine I am going to see if the two younger ones will get along. If they do then they will live together. Eventually, when the two younger ones grow up, I'm hoping they will get along with the adult and the 3 of them will have a 36 gal tank to live in. I do like the idea of more free tanks available in case I see another gecko I "have" to have, hahaha

 

[valknut79]

The personality of the geckos matters more than the size of the tank, in my opinion. Two of mine live happily together in a 20L, they're always together and sleeping in the same hide, climbing the back wall together, and when I take one out, the other will start pacing the tank looking for the other. They're inseparable. Another two of mine fought constantly in a 20L, but got along fine in a 36x24x24 ExoTerra with a few levels and tons of hiding spots. I have one gecko who has a huge tank all to himself who will fight with any geckos he sees (he always wants to play with the bearded dragon though, who have tried eating him through the glass on several occasions, so he has lots of issues).

If you do decide to try housing geckos together, the best advice I can give you is to make sure you have the finances and the space to move one out should the arrangement not work out.

 

[loulovespat]

I have a 2 year old leopard gecko and have had him since he was 3months, i want to put a female in with him and need some advice really... he has only lived in his tank on his own but the thing is i dont want them to breed, i know its a bit silly putting male and female but not expect babies but i heard you cant put two males together ?? i just want him to have the company

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

After nearly 16 years of keeping and breeding leopard geckos, I truly believe they do better housed individually... with the exception of when a pair is together for breeding.

 

[bluesymbol]

I have 1.2 in my 36"x18. Not sure of gallons in that size, but planning to add a 2nd tier to it to give them a little more space. There is enough hides for them all, food is generously placed either Locust (obv running loose) or 2 bowls of mealies to reduce chances of fighting. Not had any problems thus far... albeit there most def a pecking order for food!!!!

 

[scm133]

I keep everyone in their separate cages. My exception is Lucy and Ethel, my craigslist geckos. No matter how many hides and 3in1 hides that I but in their 20L tank. They are always sleeping together in one 3in1 hide in the AM.

 

[Desdemona]

Another idea you can try is to put a divider up for a few months, with two girls, and let them smell each other for a bit. However when you want to put them together you can't just lift the divider. You will need to really clean the tank and "toys" to make a neutral territory and mix things up placement wise. I am going to try this with two of my girls who I don't plan on ever breeding. I, unintentionally, did this with two anti-social aging female mice while I was in college. One could crawl on the other's cage during play time. I noticed that they stopped acting aggressive and one would just sit by the other so I housed them together and they were good as gold. Of course there is no guarantee but it will let you assess them prior to housing.

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[Desdemona]

I should probably add that if you use a air tight divider it might not work as well as a fish tank type where they can sense each other better.

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[Dimidiata]

Your typical fish tank divider is lined with holes that i bet a leo would or could try to climb.

 

[Desdemona]

One person mentioned a female getting to a male in their divided tank, I wonder if that is what they used. I have been in a couple of threads recently about dividers so I don't know if it was this one or the other. A well placed book on the top or a lid would fix that as long as your divider goes to the very top of the tank.

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[Chet1028]

I have a question. I am considering putting two females in a 20gal. Are there any warning signs of them not getting along? Any behaviors that might foreshadow bad things to come? I would hate to put them in and them come back the next morning to one of them being injured.

 

[Desdemona]

They do have aggression social signals, however if your geckos are night owls you may not see them. I tried to put two together after I moved and ended up seperating them after I found blood in the cage. I never saw any injuries though, it was odd, but I seperated to play safe. They slept together and seemed fine. Once seperated the blood never showed again, so I don't think it was illness related either.

I would probably not try this again unless both were young or hatchlings that grew up together anyways.