Mourning Gecko-Party of One

[animateash]

About 6 months ago I got a pair of mourning gecko hatchlings. 1 is doing very well and the other...well, she managed to zip past me and escape. I had set out water and food in tupperware containers in the room for about a week, but when she didn't come to the 'traps" I figured i'd never see her again. We ended up finding her 2 wks later dried up on the other side of the house!

Point being, I now have a single mourning gecko, and am aware they do not typically live alone. Is she suffering because of this? Would it be in the best interest of her well being to seek out another roommate? Or is she ok to live single until she lays her first eggs, which i imagine will solve the roommate slot?

The guy I bought from hasn't advertised in the classifieds lately, but I may be able to dig up his email to see what he has. Otherwise, I may have to wait for the next reptile show in my area.

 

[Sakurahana]

That is very sad. Poor gecko.

I would suggest having a group of at least 3. They are very social creatures and I have observed mine playing together and helping each other with things (e.g. one standing guard whilst the others drink water droplets), which your solo girl will be missing out on. They form a group hierarchy, which needs more than 2 animals to function properly or you risk one of them being picked on by the other all the time. Also, by herself she won't reproduce as she will be unable to stimulate release of eggs - they pseudocopulate to do this.

 

[animateash]

Thanks for the response --I didn't know that about not being able to lay at all if kept single. I figured she was bored out of her mind, at the very least.

Finding the dried up one was sad indeed. I wish she had veered right instead of left, and ended up in a bathroom with moisture instead of in the vast desert of the office.

I will dig up the original breeder's email address and see if he has any friends available. He seemed pretty knowledgeable but had been selling them in pairs, not threesomes. Fortunately it looks like there's a reptile show in my area Jan 6 and 7th, so I might find some there too.

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

That is very sad. Poor gecko.

I would suggest having a group of at least 3. They are very social creatures and I have observed mine playing together and helping each other with things (e.g. one standing guard whilst the others drink water droplets), which your solo girl will be missing out on. They form a group hierarchy, which needs more than 2 animals to function properly or you risk one of them being picked on by the other all the time. Also, by herself she won't reproduce as she will be unable to stimulate release of eggs - they pseudocopulate to do this.

Are you sure about that?

Right now I have one Lepidodactylus lugubris housed separately. She's laying enough eggs to have hatchlings show up now and then.

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

Mourning geckos are definitely cannibalistic! They will eat their offspring if given the chance.

 

[Sakurahana]

Hmm, hadn't heard of them being able to lay eggs all on their own. I'm less sure about it now than I was before reading your post. Has she been living alone all her life?

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

Hmm, hadn't heard of them being able to lay eggs all on their own. I'm less sure about it now than I was before reading your post. Has she been living alone all her life?

She's not been living alone all her life. She has been living alone for maybe 5 years???