Need help-question about strange behavior

[Mnash0915]

Hi!! I am new to the site and I have 2 male leopard geckos (stan and gary) almost a year old. They currently live together in a 30 long tank with a heating pad covering half of the bottom of the tank and that side of the tank stays at around 90 degrees. The cool side stays around 70. They do not have any sand in their tank. I use reptile chips and reptile carpet. They have three hides, one on the warm side, one on the cool side and one large magnetic rock that hangs on the side for easy viewing. They also have some decorative leaves to hide in. I keep a little fresh water in there all the time and they eat about 10 dusted, gut leaded crickets each each night. I give them a few meal worms once a week as a treat. They have grown well, they shed often and have nice fat tails They also sit in the sun by a window for direct sunlight.
Sorry for info overload, I just want you to get an idea of the set up before I get into the question. I have had these guys since they were little and it has been almost a year now. I was told they were prob about 2-4 mt old when I got them and they have always seemed to enjoy the company of being together but the last few weeks it seems as if Gary is shying away from the food and Stan is getting most of it. We put crickets in different places in their tank to make sure Gary gets some but he is down to eating half as much as he did. He doesn't sleep in the hides with Stan anymore either and they never share the magnetic rock anymore. Now in then last 3days Gary has started hiding on the cold side of the tank and acting like he is trying to climb out. He is scratching and clawing to get out and doesn't want to be held at all. He is acting really odd. He hasn't eating in 2 days either. One night I fed him by hand and he did eat one cricket and that was it.
My question is, do you think he doesn't want to be with Stan anymore? Are they reaching some sort of maturity level where they need to be separated? I purchased an all new setup for Gary today...it is sweet! The new Exo terra terrarium with the doors that open in the front and the nice climbable background and I am going to transfer Gary into the new environment to see if that helps.
But I am new to keeping geckos and I want to do what is right for the little dude. I am going on instinct here. I would appreciate any opinions anyone has.
Thanks so much in advance!!!
Michelle

 

[Embrace Calamity]

1) Two males should never be housed together. EVER. They will eventually fight and kill each other. Your one gecko is eating less and not using hides because the other is dominating him, and this will only get worse as they get older. Separate them IMMEDIATELY.
2) What are "reptile chips"?
3) You should never put a tank in direct sunlight. This can result in some serious temperature changes. If you need extra heat, use an overheat light.
4) They need a humid hide at all times. If you don't want to buy one, just use a Tupperware container, cut a hole in the top or side, and put in wet paper towels.
5) What are you dusting with?

"Instinct" is not a good substitute for real knowledge. You need to do some hardcore research on leopard geckos.

~Maggot

 

[katie_]

Ageed ^

Males will fight and can do serious damage and even kill each other. Even if theyve been housed together for months, you can wake up one morning to find one dead.
Its great that you bought a new tank! Both geckos will be much happier, as geckos do not approve of company.
Reptile chips I believe are similar to aspen shavings, or larger wood chips (depending on the brand) and I wouldnt use either. Your geckos can accidently eat it, and it can do real internal damage. Reptile carpet is okay, but if you could which to tile it would be even better (and looks nicer).
UTH's are the greatest way to heat your tanks, you can use the search function to find proper protocols on thermostats and such.

 

[Mnash0915]

Ageed ^

Males will fight and can do serious damage and even kill each other. Even if theyve been housed together for months, you can wake up one morning to find one dead.
Its great that you bought a new tank! Both geckos will be much happier, as geckos do not approve of company.
Reptile chips I believe are similar to aspen shavings, or larger wood chips (depending on the brand) and I wouldnt use either. Your geckos can accidently eat it, and it can do real internal damage. Reptile carpet is okay, but if you could which to tile it would be even better (and looks nicer).
UTH's are the greatest way to heat your tanks, you can use the search function to find proper protocols on thermostats and such.

Thank you so much for the feedback
I have the UTH heater and I am just waiting for the new tank to warm up and then I can move Gary and I am sure he will be much happier. I feel bad that I left him this long. I really thought they liked the company when they were super little.
I will switch my substrate as soon as I can find some tile! I didn't like the carpet because his little 'teeth' kept getting stuck on it when he tried to catch crickets so I switched.
Thanks again!!

 

[Mnash0915]

I appreciate your help!
I didn't mean I put them in direct sun light, I'm sorry to mislead you. I just meant that they get exposure to some natural light.
I dust with a calcium powder made for juvinal geckos. I will drop off to once a week once the geckos reach a year old or so.
So far they have been thriving. I have a new home all set up for him and I just waiting for it to come up to temp so I am separating them tonight. That will make them much happier I am sure.

 

[Embrace Calamity]

I appreciate your help!
I didn't mean I put them in direct sun light, I'm sorry to mislead you. I just meant that they get exposure to some natural light.
I dust with a calcium powder made for juvinal geckos. I will drop off to once a week once the geckos reach a year old or so.
So far they have been thriving. I have a new home all set up for him and I just waiting for it to come up to temp so I am separating them tonight. That will make them much happier I am sure.

I'm not aware of any product on the market that is formulated specifically for juvenile leopard geckos.

~Maggot

 

[Ozy]

I would use Repashy Calcium Plus for dusting. You dust every insect everyday and it gives them the vitamins they need. They need more than just calcium. Also, gut loading is important. I gut load my insects with Repashy Bug Burger. You can also use Fluker's High Calcium Cricket Diet and give them some fresh fruit/veggies from time to time to munch on as well. Then your geckos will be getting all of the nutrition they need to be happy and healthy for a long time!

 

[Mnash0915]

Well Gary has been in his new terrarium now for a day and he is thriving. He is eating and seems very happy.

I am using the Flukers calcium dusting powder plus I give the crickets and array of fresh veggies to eat too. I figure the better the veggies that I give to the crickets the healthier the geckos will be
Thank you for your help
I'm thrilled that Gary is happy again and has a swanky new house!!