Leopard Gecko Aggression?

Lemon Gecko

New member
I have had my female, Lemon for eight months now. She is roughly ten months old. I have never had any agressive issues with her. She was an "only child" during this time.

Two nights ago I adopted two male leopard geckos from a rescue. The healthier and smaller of the two we named Gruff and the other one, Glass, has MBD. These two were tank mates with the previous owner and we have them separated now. No one is sharing a tank.

With Lemon we have always let her out on our black leather couch to play. During the winter we would let her out for 20-30m, but now that we have 100 degree temps we allow her to play for 2-4 hours every night. Since we got the two new males we are doing the same thing. We let all three out together at the same time.

Gruff and Glass are not agressive with each other. In fact, Glass likes to snuggle with Gruff and vise versa. Lemon on the other hand has become the problem child. I cannot use Glass for breeding with his MBD, so I had hoped she would like Gruff. Sadly, this was not the case.

The first night we introduced them she ignored Glass, but showed interest in Gruff. Gruff tried to court Lemon, but she snapped at him and cut his nose. We have talen care of the cut and he is fine.

Yesterday, Gruff was sleeping on the opposite corner from Lemon. She approached Glass and licked him, but nothing else happened. They just walked away from each other again. The second she saw Gruff, however, she straight up attacked his face. He was sleeping and didn't provoke her.

What's going on here? Why is she sweet to everyone except for Gruff? I estimate that Gruff is between 6-8 months old and Glass to be 8-9 months old. Is it because he is smaller?
 

Lemon Gecko

New member
Another thwory that I had may sound a little silly, but I still think it could be valid. Lwmon was used to being an only child. It was just her and her mama and papa. Now she has to share us with Gruff and Glass. Could she be attacking and acting out out of jealousy?
 

acpart

Active member
Welcome to GU! In general, it's best to maintain a stricter quarantine with new geckos, so keeping them away from each other for at least a month is a good idea. Even though the 2 males did OK together in the past, they are at or approaching sexual maturity and when they perceive the female they may become aggressive with each other, so watch out for that at playtime (after the quarantine). Leopard geckos are generally solitary, but some do get along OK with each other. Sometimes certain combinations work and others don't, as you can see. Give them some time apart and then re-introduce them cautiously and see what happens.

Aliza
 
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