Questions on multiple Geckos. Please help.

[kart]

Hi. I'm new to the forum, and also new to Leopard Geckos. As a kid I had a couple of Iguanas. I've always been fascinated with reptiles and amphibians.

Anyways, I did all my research before I headed to the local Petsmart, but decided to buy two at the last minute. Is this a bad idea? If I had to guess, one is male, and one is female (based solely on appearance). However, I'm very worried that I have made a mistake. I love the personality of the male, and would hate to have to exchange him for a female. But the one I believe to be female is only about 3/4 the size of the other gecko. Is this too much of a size difference? I guess I am especially worried since the male eats way more then the female. I've read if one male and female are kept, the male can sexually stress the female, has anyone found this to be true?

I would like to house two, but don't have the money to purchase two "sexed" females online. Right now the ones I own are just babies, and way too small to accurately tell gender.

Here are some pics, I guess I'll stop asking so many questions and wait to hear what you guys have to say. Note that I just bought these guys Sunday, November 5th. Maybe I'm just worrying too much. Petsmart offers a 14 day guarantee, so I should be able to exchange, or refund a gecko if necessary.

Thanks to anyone who bothers to read all this. Any advice would be much appreciated.

Both are pics of the gecko I presume to be male. I'll try to get a good pic of them side by side soon.

 

[GeckoMandi]

I know people keep their geckos together for breeding reasons, but putting a bigger and smaller one together isn't a good idea I would think he may bully her into not eating at all, but as small as they are I wouldn't think you could guess the sex just yet.

I thought most leo's sold at petsmart and other places were female but not sure if this is true either. I'm sure there could be a male in the bunch.

Maybe someone else can help more on this, but that's a cute setup you have.

 

[kart]

Thanks for the compliment on the setup, it sure as heck wasn't as cheap as I thought it would be. I'm really not sure. The bigger one rattles its tail right before it strikes its meal, but I don't know if thats specific to males. Hopefully you are right and I have two females, that would be awesome. I've kept a very close eye on them, and I've witnessed no bullying. They tend to stay close to each other, and sometimes get right next to each other in the humid hide on the left.

The smaller one hasn't eaten the past two nights, just lets the bugs crawl on her. I'm making sure to remove them as to reduce stress. The day I bought them they were sold out of small crickets. So I fed them waxworms for two nights, along with one mealworm each. Maybe the mealworm is giving her a hard time? I'm just not sure.

I love the gecko in your avatar Mandi. I really like that morph, but online ordering is just too expensive. Not to mention shipping them is just one more thing to worry about.

 

[BalloonzForU]

Cute little bugger!

That appears to be a 20L? If it is you can put a divider in the middle and move the UTH to the middle, giving you two inclosures. You would just need to double up on the funishings.

 

[Mel&Keith]

You could divide your tank in half and keep one on each side. That way you don't have to worry about one keeping the other away from the food.

edit: Felicia beat me, I guess we were typing at the same time. So ditto, lol.

 

[SwimMom]

If you are worried about one not getting enough food you could take one out while you feed the other and then switch.

 

[Jeanne]

I agree with Felicia, Melody & Heith. They sell plastic dividers in pet stores, that you can buy made for your tank.

 

[kart]

Thanks for the advice guys. I was really hoping to keep them together, Id rather take one back in rather then seperate them. There have been no signs of aggression. Second night in a row the little one hasn't eaten, hopefully she comes around soon. It would be very nice if I could determine the sex before my 14 day gaurantee.

 

[Stitch]

Just because you don't see bullying doesn't mean it's not there when you are not. If one sits on top of the other that can be a sign of dominance. They need to be separated just on the issue of size difference, forget about sex. The larger one will beat out the smaller one when it comes to competing for food. I have 8 geckos and all of them are in separate tanks. I'd rather have them separated and healthy, compared to together and stressed.

Of yeah just a little bit more info. Even if you had 2 females, there is no guarantee they would get along. They usually do fine at a young age, but once they reach sexual maturity things can change such as territory disputes.

 

[kart]

Hmm. Maybe you are right. I guess I should consider taking one back. If this is the case, I may consider taking both back, and buying one online. I have a thing for the carrot or tangerine morph? All yellow, no spots, orange tail.

Edit: I have another question on your info.
1.3.2 Leopard Geckos: Frosty(M), Snow White(F), Precious(F), Thing 1 & 2 (?) and Aurora (F)
1.1 African Fat Tail: Simba & Nala
1.0 Veiled Chameleon: Spike

Does that mean you have 3 tanks, with 1, 3, and 2 geckos in each tank? 1 tank with a chameleon, and one setup but don't yet have a chameleon in it? Sorry, I'm brand new, and that was the most I could make of it.

 

[GeckoMandi]

I agree just buy a tank divider, and for buying extra supplies there is tons of things you can get at the dollar store or even walmart to create your own stuff for the setup. I make all of my own hides now it's soo much cheaper and I think they look cute.

Edit: sorry I wanted to stay don't take them back! Most petsmarts are known for not caring well for their reptiles! All though some do any of the ones I've went into suck!

 

[kart]

These guys actually have quite the setup for there reptiles. There's a girl in there that I talk to when I'm in there, she has like 5 reptile tanks. I'm pretty sure she's taking care of them. I'm still not certain on what I will do. Its only been 4 days, I have another 10 to decide. Tank divider sounds like a decent idea, I'd rather keep one alone then split the tank in half.

Edit: I thank you guys again for posting in here. I really value your opinions. Glad to get advice from people with such experience.

 

[GeckoMandi]

That's good I'm not saying all chain petstores are bad, but all the ones I have been into, well let's just say it isn't good.

 

[BalloonzForU]

I know the idea of keeping two together is nice, but even if they are the same size and both girls, that doesn't mean they will do well now or ever. Sometimes you just get some that don't play well with others, just like kids. I've found that unless you are breeding, it's best to keep them separate.

 

[kart]

Sigh, maybe I will have to return the small one. Like I said I still have 10 days to decide, but like you, I also worry maybe a year down the road they could decide they don't want to share a tank. I guess I could risk it, the girl at the Petsmart said she would be willing to adopt one if they don't get along. So I guess all I have to risk is the money I paid for the gecko. I'd rather not come home to a dead gecko, but they seem to do quite well with each other. I think the little one bothers the big one more often, it often will climb right over the larger one to explore the tank.

Right now everything seems fine, other than the fact that the little one hasn't been eating. She still seems very active though, climbing, curious, etc. I may try to pick up a heat lamp asap, tank doesnt seem warm enough with the UTH. The air inside the humid hide is 78. Laying the probe on the ground, I get 77. If I lay my hand on the bottom of the tank, its much warmer than 77 degrees.

Again, I'm so sorry for all the questions, I just want to make these little geckos as happy as I can. The more I ask, the happier they will be. I appreciate your posts very much.

 

[Stitch]

Ground temp is much more important than air temp. You need the probe to read the temp of the ground in the warm/humid hide. If you feel that the probe is giving you false readings then take it back to exchange it. My room temp is usually 74 and the hot spots in the cages are 88-91 degrees. I know that if the substrate gets wet it loses heat, so make sure your not taking readings just after wetting the hide.

Also don't forget that they are new and stressed so it can take up to 1-2 weeks for them to settle in. Babies are more prone to stress so you may have to give her just a little more time.

P.S. I use a temp gun that gives me my temps instantly, not bad for like $35. Try tempgun.com

 

[gothra]

Edit: I have another question on your info.
1.3.2 Leopard Geckos: Frosty(M), Snow White(F), Precious(F), Thing 1 & 2 (?) and Aurora (F)
1.1 African Fat Tail: Simba & Nala
1.0 Veiled Chameleon: Spike

Does that mean you have 3 tanks, with 1, 3, and 2 geckos in each tank? 1 tank with a chameleon, and one setup but don't yet have a chameleon in it? Sorry, I'm brand new, and that was the most I could make of it.

Those numbers mean: male.female.unsexed baby

 

[brandy101010]

Hi! You say they seem fine together but they do not seem fine together to me. If one is not eating and is being submissive to the other one there are territory issues. I would get the divider. Your set up looks great so I can see why you would not want to change it, but you did such a great job I'm sure you could make it look just as good with the divider and then you would not have to worry about these issues. I only keep geckos together for breeding and thats for a very short time. It's easier because I don't have to worry about them and safer for them also.

on a side note...We just got a petsmart here in cumberland county NJ and I was shocked! I have heard so many bad things about them but honestly I found not one thing wrong! The leopard geckos were housed separately, with reptile carpet, a humid hide and everything! All the other animals looked great too!

 

[GeckoMandi]

That's awesome Brandy, I wish the ones around here were better it's really sad when I see eggs laying around in SAND, and 9 large leo's in one 10 gallon tank, and last time I was in there they had very small leo's in with large ones. I haven't went back since because I can't take it.

 

[brandy101010]

That's awesome Brandy, I wish the ones around here were better it's really sad when I see eggs laying around in SAND, and 9 large leo's in one 10 gallon tank, and last time I was in there they had very small leo's in with large ones. I haven't went back since because I can't take it.

Wow! That sounds pretty bad! I guess it all depends on the people they hire to deal with the reptiles. They need to have a reptile specialist come in to train all the staff that will be in charge of ordering and caring for reptiles. Most of the time it's not that people are deliberately harming the animals, they just don't know any better. But I'm sorry, If I am going to be buying an animal from someone, They better know what the heck they are doing! I guess most places just don't think of it that way and are more worried about hiring cheep help then selling healthy happy animals to happy costumers!