leo viv ideas and possible tank mates

[Shelly24]

hi all,

as im in on my own tonight and very bored my imagination seems to of run riot with me! lol
today i bought a new lizard didnt ask my sister if she minds another in her room but hey ho, ive got 2 weeks till i pick it up so im sure i can persuade her.
Anyway.... I bought an 8 week old female hypo leopard gecko. I have a little glass tank set up for her. She is only small, as is the tank, so am planning on making a nice wooden one suitable for her and a tank mate or 2.

I need to know how big to make her next viv so was wondering... are leos happy on their own or do they prefer company?
My first leo I got when I was 11 and I had her for 11 years, she was 6 when i got her so I think she lived a good life. She was on her own for 99% of her life and seemed happy although in the last year of her life I was given a male high yellow and put him in with her. The pair of them curled up together all the time under the same bark and didnt leave each others side.
If she is to have company, is it better to have a pair (buy a male) or to have a group? And what is the best ratio (males to females) to use?

If i wanted to breed from her in the future is it ok to keep a male with her 24/7 or keep them seperately?
If i did breed from her, what would be a good male morph to get?

Sorry for all the questions, im excited to get my new girlie and i like to have grand plans for all my pets! lol

thanks

[Zak]

Wont answer it all as sure others on here could give better answers but in terms of ratios only ever put one male in a tank. If there are 2 they will fight each other and as they're trapped in such a confined space one or both would end up getting seriously hurt. Heard one male can 'service' up to 10 females if a large enough viv with enough hides for everyone is provided.

Naturally leopard geckos arent social animals, they meet up to mate and thats about it. Some dont mind sharing space others do, tried introducing male in with my female this summer and just didnt work. So introduction in a neutral setting is probably best, dont just throw a new male into a home that a females had to herself all her life and hope for the best. Also theres disease to consider, you should always quarantine reptiles that you bring in from somewhere else in a clean viv for a few weeks to ensure they are not carrying any infections which could spread to your other animals.

[Sarah-Jayne]

It depends how big your viv is to whether you can have more than one in it

I keep my females in groups of 3 in 3ft x 1.5ft vivariums and they all get along fine

I would never keep a male with my females, I dont wish to take the risks involved

[Shelly24]

what do you mean risks? fighting?

im going to build a new viv myself, like i did for my cham so first i want to decide how many im building it for.
I will keep the glass tank as a quarantine tank so when i get new ones i can keep them seperate.
What i was thinking was, maybe i could keep 2 females together in 2/3 of a long wooden viv, then section off 1/3 with a sheet of glass for the male so he can see the girls but not mate with them, or is that a bad idea? If he was kept on his own, wouldnt he be lonely? Oh i dont want any being lonely! lol

[Zak]

I dont think they really understand lonely like we do. In the wild they are alone nearly all the time so dont think they need to see or be around others.

Risks - yes fighting, tail nipping, bullying so one doesnt get enough food.

[Sarah-Jayne]

Ok....the minimum sized vivarium for 2 leopard geckos is 3ft long....so your idea of sectioning a bit off for a male wont work unless your viv is 5ft long, because the minimum size for a lone leopard gecko is 2ft long

The risks involved with keeping a male with females are, stress, fighting, over breeding etc the male can pester the female constantly to mate, causing stress, and also can lead to fighting if the female is not receptive....and also there is the fact that if the female does constantly breed it is gonna put her body under alot of stress and could make her rather ill

[Sarah-Jayne]

and no...they dont get lonely

[Shelly24]

oh thats ok then, well im perfectly happy with her on her own but might just make a 3ft viv incase i want another, and if i do it will be a female.

also was wondering, will i have problems with egg laying or anything like that in the future?

[Sarah-Jayne]

They can produce infertile eggs by themselves, but I dont know how common it is, none of mine have done it

[Sambee]

Originally Posted by Shelly24

oh thats ok then, well im perfectly happy with her on her own but might just make a 3ft viv incase i want another, and if i do it will be a female.

also was wondering, will i have problems with egg laying or anything like that in the future?

If you do end up getting another, make sure it's the same age and size otherwise you could have a bullying problem. It's better to be prepared to have another set up ready in case they don't get along.