New Baby - when to introduce?

[Izzy's Mom]

So, I've done some remodelling in Izzy's tank since my last post (pic attached.) Izzy seems happy, but I wanted to get her a friend since I do want to have more than one gecko.

There is a local reptile store here and they had 3 month old baby cresties. I picked one out that the owner said he suspected was a male, but of course there's no way to tell yet. I have the new little guy in a separate 2 gallon tank right now... but how long should I wait until I try to introduce him to my main tank? I don't know how much he weighs, but his body is about 2 inches, plus his tail length.

Also, if he is a male and they breed in the future, how many of the babies would I be able to keep? I want to know what is a respectable amount of geckos to keep in a 29G enclosure.

 

[zohariels]

Only put them together if they are around the same size, if one is too much bigger there is usually too much competition for for food, sometimes ending with the bigger ones deciding to make a meal out of the little guy- or at least his tail. At 3 months there is really no way to 'suspect' what age it is. Crested geckos should not be bred until they reach 18 months to 2 years, and only if the female is over 35 grams. If you do decide to breed them, the babies actually have to be kept in a seperate enclosure from the parents, unfortunately they can be cannabilistic to their young. When they first hatch the babies are literally smaller then the adults head, just about smaller then some of the crickets I feed to my adults!

 

[Izzy's Mom]

I am planning to buy a scale so I can weigh my geckos soon... but my female is about 18 months old already, so by the time the other one is ready to put in the main tank, she should be ready to breed if other one turns out to be a male.

How do I go about introducing them when they are ready? And, I'm still not sure how many geckos would be good in a 29 Gallon tank?

 

[zohariels]

No fancy stuff to introduce them, as long as they are within an inch of each other and the female is a good weight just put your male in. For a 29 gallon you could probably get away with a 1.3. Just make sure to keep an eye on them, sometimes you can get a dominant animal in the tank who bullies another one, I've never actually had this happen with cresties but it can happen.

 

[Izzy's Mom]

did you mean 1-3 geckos, or a 1:3 ratio (1 male plus 3 females?)

 

[Scarlet.Escapist]

She meant 1 male, 3 females . You can also do a 1.2 or a 0.3. Imho, I think 4 might be pushing it for 29gallon. I'd say minimum 1 gecko per 10gallons, as that is the min for how individual geckos are kept. Obviously, a few extra gallons won't hurt its nice to have some leaping room if you know what i'm saying :lol:.

When adding tank mates you should keep in mind...:idea:
-male+male = fighting, especially in presence of a female
-female(s) + male = breeding (even if they are related), so be prepared
-Female+female(s) = possible fighting, possible best friends
-Adult(s) + babies = "Where'd the baby go?" (baby's tail hanging out of mom's mouth O_O)
-Bigger geckos + smaller ones = fighting/bullying/cannibalism
-Equal sized geckos = possible pecking order then they are good friends (sometimes you have geckos that just don't get along too..)
-always provide extras of everything...(hides, food dishes..)
-always have extra tanks ready if they must be separated due to illness, weight loss, bullying, fighting, and injury.

err think that is all =P. Hope that helps

 

[MsShlee]

definitely shouldnt be putting them together until for one you are knowledgeable about breeding and ready to house the babies and two you know the sex and three until they are of breeding age