Looking for some suggestions
- Thread starter New Leopard Gecko Owner
- Start date
JIMI
New member
Hello!
I would swap that substrate with a non-loose substrate to avoid the possibility of impaction. Ceramic tiles are a cheap and excellent option! I don't believe I saw a moist hide. Having a moist hide is necessary to aid in hydration and shedding. Some questions: what are the temperatures of the air and ground on both sides? How are you heating the enclosure?
Is that a 10 gallon it is housed in? If so consider upgrading the enclosure in the future, at least to a 20 gallon long. The bigger the better. Your leo will appreciate it!
I would swap that substrate with a non-loose substrate to avoid the possibility of impaction. Ceramic tiles are a cheap and excellent option! I don't believe I saw a moist hide. Having a moist hide is necessary to aid in hydration and shedding. Some questions: what are the temperatures of the air and ground on both sides? How are you heating the enclosure?
Is that a 10 gallon it is housed in? If so consider upgrading the enclosure in the future, at least to a 20 gallon long. The bigger the better. Your leo will appreciate it!
New Leopard Gecko Owner
New member
I feed out of a dish or hand feed, is there still the chance of impaction? Also the coconut has coco fiber and moss in it and I'm getting a hide for the cool end ASAP. I am thinking in upgrading to a larger tank, but what would be the size if I wanted another Leo in the future? Air on the warm side is 85 degrees Fahrenheit, floor inside warm hide is 87 degrees Fahrenheit, air on cool side is 76. It is summer here and we have harsh summers, so in the winter it drops a few degrees lower in the tank. Thank you!
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JIMI
New member
Yes, as long as you have a loose substrate the risk is always there. The moist hide should on the warm side sitting directly over the UTH. You don't want a cold and wet leo. You can make a moist hide by cutting an entrance hole on the side of an opaque food container.
If you were to get another leo in the future I suggest that you house them separately. They could appear to be best buddies to the keeper until you wake up one morning to find a dead or severely injured leo. The chances of illness are also higher. I personally wouldn't risk it. But if you do want to try then only house 2 females together. If you keep a male and a female together the male will constantly try to mate with her which is stressful. As for the size of the enclosure, I would try to go as big as possible. Maybe 40 gallons minimum though I would still try to go bigger. Anything less in my opinion is just too cramped. Make sure the enclosure has enough space so that they can each have their own hides and so that they can roam. You need to have a spare enclosure on hand to separate them for whatever reason.
If you were to get another leo in the future I suggest that you house them separately. They could appear to be best buddies to the keeper until you wake up one morning to find a dead or severely injured leo. The chances of illness are also higher. I personally wouldn't risk it. But if you do want to try then only house 2 females together. If you keep a male and a female together the male will constantly try to mate with her which is stressful. As for the size of the enclosure, I would try to go as big as possible. Maybe 40 gallons minimum though I would still try to go bigger. Anything less in my opinion is just too cramped. Make sure the enclosure has enough space so that they can each have their own hides and so that they can roam. You need to have a spare enclosure on hand to separate them for whatever reason.
New Leopard Gecko Owner
New member
Ok thank you
Superleo98
New member
Just to note,
Yes there is a risk housing two Leo's together but with the proper conditions it can be done successfully. I have 2 pairs together and the males never pester the females.
It's your choice what you wish to do with your enclosure, and remember everyone has advice and experienced opinions to offer
Impaction is possible with a loose substrate. You decide whether or not you want to make that choice for your Leo. I personally got too stressed that my Leo's were on sand even if they were on it for 2 years, so I switched to repti carpet.
Hope this helps Cute leopard gecko!
Yes there is a risk housing two Leo's together but with the proper conditions it can be done successfully. I have 2 pairs together and the males never pester the females.
It's your choice what you wish to do with your enclosure, and remember everyone has advice and experienced opinions to offer
Impaction is possible with a loose substrate. You decide whether or not you want to make that choice for your Leo. I personally got too stressed that my Leo's were on sand even if they were on it for 2 years, so I switched to repti carpet.
Hope this helps
Cute leopard gecko!Completeleopard
New member
Hello and a warm welcome to GU.
Some suggestions:
1. Your temperatures are a little bit too low, eventually this could lead to your Leo not eating as Leo's need warmth to digest their food. Will post recommend temperatures soon.
2. As JIMI stated, you need three hides, a warm dry hide where your Leo can keep warm and digest their food, a warm moist hide where your Leo can stay hydrated and it aids your Leo with shedding, a cool dry hide where your Leo can go to cool down.
3. There are many conflicting opinions regarding housing Leo's together. I wouldn't risk it, there is always that chance that you will find one Leo severely injured. There are also many signs that you may not recognise of one Leo bullying the other. One Leo will always be more dominant than the other. They may be sleeping in the same hide, this is down to instinct and they will sacrifice certain things (keeping their whole body warm) just so that they feel secure. You also do not know who's poop is who's , making it hard to tell that they are both pooping regularly and that they are healthy poops.
4. I'd recommend removing that substrate and replacing it with a solid substrate such as textured tiles or paper towels!
Temperatures
Recommended temperatures for all leos regardless of size
88-93 F (31-34 C) ground temp at warm end inside the warm dry hide
no greater than 85 F (29.5 C) air temp - 4 inches above ground on the warm end
no greater than 75 F (24.5 C) air temp - 4 inches above ground on the cool end
Leave the UTH on 24/7. Turn off the overhead lighting/heating at night (~12 hours on and ~12 hours off) unless ambient room temperatures are particularly cool during the night.
Moist Hide
Homemade Humid Hide recommended by GU's Conched (Matt)
1. I use 45 oz Country Crock containers; the 16 oz are too small. The lid has a 6 inch diameter. The 45 oz size allows a fully grown Leo to fit inside comfortably.
2. Cut an entry hole about 2.5 inches above the container's base.
3. Add 2 inches of sphagnum moss to that hide.
4. Keep moss or paper towels damp 24/7.
5. Use the lid of the container as the ceiling.
6. Locate the moist hide on the warm end of the enclosure.
7. Warm moist hides 24/7 help leopard geckos stay hydrated so that they shed completely by themselves. Even when not shedding you will find your leo inside.
Some suggestions:
1. Your temperatures are a little bit too low, eventually this could lead to your Leo not eating as Leo's need warmth to digest their food. Will post recommend temperatures soon.
2. As JIMI stated, you need three hides, a warm dry hide where your Leo can keep warm and digest their food, a warm moist hide where your Leo can stay hydrated and it aids your Leo with shedding, a cool dry hide where your Leo can go to cool down.
3. There are many conflicting opinions regarding housing Leo's together. I wouldn't risk it, there is always that chance that you will find one Leo severely injured. There are also many signs that you may not recognise of one Leo bullying the other. One Leo will always be more dominant than the other. They may be sleeping in the same hide, this is down to instinct and they will sacrifice certain things (keeping their whole body warm) just so that they feel secure. You also do not know who's poop is who's , making it hard to tell that they are both pooping regularly and that they are healthy poops.
4. I'd recommend removing that substrate and replacing it with a solid substrate such as textured tiles or paper towels!
Temperatures
Recommended temperatures for all leos regardless of size
88-93 F (31-34 C) ground temp at warm end inside the warm dry hide
no greater than 85 F (29.5 C) air temp - 4 inches above ground on the warm end
no greater than 75 F (24.5 C) air temp - 4 inches above ground on the cool end
Leave the UTH on 24/7. Turn off the overhead lighting/heating at night (~12 hours on and ~12 hours off) unless ambient room temperatures are particularly cool during the night.
Moist Hide
Homemade Humid Hide recommended by GU's Conched (Matt)
1. I use 45 oz Country Crock containers; the 16 oz are too small. The lid has a 6 inch diameter. The 45 oz size allows a fully grown Leo to fit inside comfortably.
2. Cut an entry hole about 2.5 inches above the container's base.
3. Add 2 inches of sphagnum moss to that hide.
4. Keep moss or paper towels damp 24/7.
5. Use the lid of the container as the ceiling.
6. Locate the moist hide on the warm end of the enclosure.
7. Warm moist hides 24/7 help leopard geckos stay hydrated so that they shed completely by themselves. Even when not shedding you will find your leo inside.
JIMI
New member
Please just be aware of the risks. Awareness is a powerful tool. There's a lot of good information regarding this on GU. Some people are successful and some are not so successful. Some are also successful in the beginning, but suffer sad results in the end. There's no way of knowing. The possibilities are endless and it certainly can happen to anyone(look through the whole thread): http://www.geckosunlimited.com/community/leopard-geckos-husbandry-housing-heating/69423-housing-2-geckos-together-agressive-behaviour-badly-injured-female-pictures.html
In the end, housing them separately is the safest method of housing. We choose to bring them into our homes so it is our responsibility to keep them safe. Housing them with another leo puts them in harms way essentially risking their life because the possibility of death or injury is always there. Housing alone is peace of mind, but in the end it is of course the keeper's decision. The same can be argued about loose substrates.
But anyways, back to the present!
Is your leo a male or a female and how old is he or she? Also, what are you using to heat the enclosure and what thermometers are you using to read the temperatures?
In the end, housing them separately is the safest method of housing. We choose to bring them into our homes so it is our responsibility to keep them safe. Housing them with another leo puts them in harms way essentially risking their life because the possibility of death or injury is always there. Housing alone is peace of mind, but in the end it is of course the keeper's decision. The same can be argued about loose substrates.
But anyways, back to the present!
Is your leo a male or a female and how old is he or she?
Also, what are you using to heat the enclosure and what thermometers are you using to read the temperatures?
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Yuk
New member
I'm going to second the "awareness" recommendation. There is a lot more evidence on forums compared to literature and studies when it comes to aggression in leopard geckos (excluding male on male aggression). One of the worst cases I had heard of was when someone placed a new male in a tank with a female and left them alone for a day to come back and find the female dead. There were a lot of things wrong about that situation. It's often just easier to say "Don't do it" than explain the precautionary steps you need to take to do something. Even then, there are individual geckos that even if you do everything right, they do not get along with other geckos. I believe that is why some people keep geckos together with no issues and another person "randomly" has a fight on their hands. We tolerate dominance in dogs and fish, but I haven't observed that sort of tolerance with reptile owners. Just my two cents
TL/DR: If you want to house them together successfully, do your research
That all said! I recommend a 20 gallon long for two. Mine has a lot of natural decor and still has enough room for the both of them
TL/DR: If you want to house them together successfully, do your research
That all said! I recommend a 20 gallon long for two. Mine has a lot of natural decor and still has enough room for the both of them
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New Leopard Gecko Owner
New member
I cant really sex it yet, i think its a she just by a guess, im not sure, the owner didnt know the age but im guessing 5-6 months. I use a ten gallon uth and a 60 watt night bulb to heat the cage.
Thank you for all the great advice, definitely getting some tiles soon and another hide soon.
Thank you for all the great advice, definitely getting some tiles soon and another hide soon.
Completeleopard
New member
How big is the tank she's in ?
New Leopard Gecko Owner
New member
10 gallon
Elizabeth Freer
Well-known member
Hi ~
Welcome to Geckos Unlimited to you and to Pluto.
Juvenile leopard geckos become sexable at about 6 months old.: Sexing Leopard Geckos
New Leopard Gecko Owner
New member
Ok, thank you i will look at some stuff on how to sex them, see if i can. Thanks
Elizabeth Freer
Well-known member
You're welcome. Did you click on the link I posted? You'll see a picture right there.