Suddenly competitive and aggressive

[pandyana]

I have 6 geckos. 3 females and 3 males. 1 female and the three males are housed in 10 gallon terrariums and 2 females are housed together in a 20 gallon long.

The 2 females (Suki and Lulu) that are housed together have been together for several years and were just fine together until recently. I took one out (Lulu) and put her with a male the same size as her about a month ago and then put her back in with Suki. Since I have done that Suki has been competitive when feeding and I've had to put two dishes in or she'd snap at Lulu.

I am seriously thinking I have to separate the two of them now. What I want to know is, would it be a bad idea to put Lulu back in the males (Blitz) tank again since they got along just fine or should I completely house her separately. I am thinking it would be better to put her separately in another tank altogether but if she gets along with Blitz just fine could I put her in with him?

 

[Dreamsong]

Unless you're trying to breed them, I'd suggest keeping Lulu in her own enclosure. How long did you have her out of the tank she shared with Suki? If they shared the tank before, they had a set heirarchy, and by removing Lulu for a period of time you allowed Suki to claim the entire tank. She might settle back down with time, but if not I'd say separate tanks for all of them.

Alternatively, you might try doing a complete clean on the 20gal tank and putting in new hides. If they think it's a whole new tank, they'll explore together and neither will be claiming the entire tank as theirs. Right now, it's just as if you're adding a new gecko to a pre-established territory.

 

[pandyana]

Lulu was out of the tank for 2 days and since then I've cleaned the tank. Cleaned everything with vinegar water and let it sit in the sun for a couple hours before I put it back together. Including the slate tile.

It's more food aggression. I'm feeding them every 2-3 days with worms left in the bowl after they are done so they shouldn't be fighting over food. At least I wouldn't think they would

 

[pandyana]

Well, I decided to make a completely new set-up to separate the girls. Now i have 6 tanks to take care of lol.

Funny enough I put a dish in the corner in one of the tanks where one (not sure which) went toilet and I went over last night to check on Lulu and she went toilet in the dish. Would be much easier if she kept doing that lol.

 

[DrCarrotTail]

It is never a good idea to house males together unless they are really young (like under 15g in size). Over that they can (and will) become aggressive. It is just a matter of time as to when they will attack each other -- not if they will attack each other. I strongly suggest you separate them before something irreversible happens.

Females may or may not tolerate each other for periods of time or forever. Changes can make them more or less compatible. Right now as we are transitioning from summer to fall they may change their attitude and become more aggressive as they attempt to claim resources that their biology tells them may begin to become scarce in the following months. If they are young they may just be growing up and claiming their space. There are many other reasons as well. IMO you should always have a backup enclosure ready and waiting so you can separate your geckos immediately if issues arise. Folks can offer advice here but individual animals are individuals and may or may not be compatible as tank mates.

 

[pandyana]

Thank you. I always keep a temporary housing for when I'm cleaning tanks. I just cleaned it out and put one of the females in that. I still have a 5.5 gallon tank in the house and another 10 gallon in my storage unit.

The girls were housed together for about 3 years and were just fine but then I took out one and put her with a male for 2 days, put her back in the tank, and that's where the problems started. That was at the beginning of summer. Tried giving them separate food dishes but that didn't seem to matter as they still nipped at each other.

Was just an update to this thread to let you guys know what happened.