My Geckos (pictures)

Yuk

Yuk

New member
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Candy: She is a normal gecko with a great appetite, plump tail, and calm personality. She is content to nap all day and well into the late evening in her favorite cave.
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Mischief: She is a normal female, just a little bit younger than Candy. She is more inclined to explore and is rewarded with leftover crickets from breakfast. She started out a little skittish, but she is getting braver.
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Ghost: He is a juvenile male around the same age as the other two. He might have been bullied by another larger male in the pet store. He had a small cut on his head when I got him, but it is healing nicely now. He is also getting all the crickets he wants and starting to settle into his tank.
 

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Yuk

Yuk

New member
I do house them together. It is a 20 long with plenty of hiding and moist spots for them to retreat to, but generally they like to sleep together. I'm not really sure why.
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C

Completeleopard

New member
Unfortunately, that is too small for three Leo's !

The recommended size tank for one full grown leo is 20 gallon long, 30x12.5x12.5 " .

Be careful when housing Leo's together, discreet bullying can occur and fights can break out suddenly. They are mostly sleeping together because of instinct, they will also be trying to get the best hiding place and best spot.

Leo's should not breed until correct age and weight (60+ grams) because it can cause a lot of stress on the female when they're at correct age and weight, let alone below the correct weight and age.

Please take these recommendations into consideration!
 
Yuk

Yuk

New member
Thanks for the advice. I am going with the husbandry similar to that of a rack system which is a similar size for up to 5 geckos. They advise not to remove and add the male to avoid aggression, but a concern I do have is the male maturing before the females. I'm considering keeping him separate until the females are old enough to handle breeding if it happens, but I also think it would be better if they were cage mates as juveniles. I will ask the breeder about that, just to be sure I am doing this correctly. I'm not trying to breed them, but I understand that they might breed and accept that risk.

This is the link of the husbandry I am trying to do similarly. http://www.vmsherp.com/LCKeepingLeopards.htm
 
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acpart

Well-known member
I actually do keep 3 leopard geckos in a 20 gallon long, but I add a 12"x12" heated second level which gives them a good amount of room. I keep a male and 2 females together for most of the year without problems. It can be an issue, as mentioned above, to keep male and females together if they are sexually mature but not quite adult size since small leopard geckos can be more prone to egg binding and the toll breeding takes on their bodies can be a problem if they are still completing their adult growth. It may be worth your while to separate the male until everyone has reached 9 months and 50 grams at a minimum (or maybe they're already there).

Just out of curiosity, if they do breed are you planning to incubate the eggs and provide for the hatchlings, or to toss the eggs? Committing to breeding does require some financial, space and time resources, as I assume you know, and tossing the eggs puts the females in a position of using a lot of physical resources to no good end (more of a philosophical issue than strictly a husbandry one). Just some food for thought.

Aliza
 
Yuk

Yuk

New member
Wow thanks! It is great to hear from a similar situation. I am not sure about the eggs. I agree that tossing them seems like such a waste of her energy and a little life. I actually think I want to hatch them and raise them to a good adopting size and possibly donate to a local school, Big Brother Big Sister, or similar educational causes to allow children to learn about them and have an educated adult care for them. We might keep one of the babies because my husband will probably get attached. Otherwise adopt out to good homes :) there aren't any breeders in the area and I was forced to buy from a pet store. Maybe someone else out there wants the same?

Please keep me updated about the article! I would be so excited to read it!
 
Yuk

Yuk

New member
How did you add the second level by the way? I am just curious. Right now they seem to have plenty of room, but if they didn't as adults, I'd like to do something similar :)
 
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acpart

Well-known member
I use 4 pieces of PVC pipe as the "legs". They are 6" tall and come with a screw on part to give it a more stable "foot" (I think they're toilet flanges or something like that). On top of that, I put two 12"x12" tiles with a Zoomed mini UTH sandwiched between. I put a small tile at each corner between the two tiles to vent the UTH and then put a hide on top. The lay box on the ground level provides a way for them to climb up, but I've seen them get up there directly from the ground without benefit of lay box as well.

Aliza
 
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