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Housing multiple leo geckos together

forgivenick1

forgivenick1

Latitude 33 Geckos
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What is your experience and/or opinion on housing multiple leos together?

I want to know specifics about your view on

1) hatchlings: do the pros of housing clutch mates (and additional hatchlings?) together, outweigh the risks of competition, possibility of nips, etc?
2) sub-adults: since they are not quite mature, is there a benefit to housing them together to free up other enclosure space and allow sharing of other resources?
3) adults: Is the colony approach beneficial enough for good for socialization, mating with 1 male to many females, and sharing of resources to outweigh the risks of competition, fighting, lack of specific knowledge on feeder consumption per individual, fecal regularity per individual, etc?

Thanks in advance for your replies!
 
1) I house all my hatching individually. I don't have to watch out for bullies and it's easier to see who's been eating. I will on occasion put siblings together, but it's usually because I've run out of clean tubs; once I clean them, they all go alone.

2) Same as above, although the clean tub scenario isn't really an issue here.

3) I house a few pairs together for the entire breeding season, but I also rotate through a male and house them all individually after the first month of the breeding season.

Overall, I find that it's easier to keep an eye on them when they're alone. Most of mine are pretty aggressive eaters, so I also avoid the nips/fights housing them individually. I find the leos to be a little more territoral/tempermental than my cresteds and gargs, who are usually paired up year round with no issues.
 
Thank you Nathaniel. Seems like very logical methods. I have been housing all of mine separately, but have often wondered about the success others have when housing individuals together.
 
1) I've done both, but if I have the space to do separate housing, I always choose that. I do though try to feed them separately always. This avoids fights, accidental bite (hey that trembling tail looks like food!) and that way I can see who is eating what and how much.

2) Same as above. The subs though I'm constantly looking for signs of territory or other disputes. I don't house males together ever, though, once they graduate from the baby stage. Hot females are the same.

3) Females I house together if space is an issue, but again, will feed separately with live prey if I can. Males are never together. A pair I put together only if I'm prepared for a breeding, even if I'm not trying for one. If the female is an adult but I'm not comfortable with her weight and carrying a clutch, then she won't be with a male. And I do feed separately when it comes to live prey. I usually have a bowl of dried crickets and meal worms in the cage, but if I bring in live or f/t pinkies during breeding season, they are separated.
 
Have always kept all my leos housed individually in 6 or 15 qt tubs in heated racks,it eliminates alot of guess work about who is eating,you also don't get the fighting and nips that you do in groups.

They are more relaxed alone not moving about alot and that seems to help them stay robust and maintain fat reserves.
 
forgivenick1 said:
Thanks Stacy. Whats the duration that you keep them separate for feeding? An hour, longer, shorter? Thanks again.
Click to expand...

It all depends on the individual. Generally I'd do until the prey is gone, since I portion out the meals to be enough for one gecko to eat in one sitting (so generally about 8-10 crickets, although others may do different amounts and different frequencies). I do similar if I'm using mealworms.

Generally with hatchlings though, I do the same as above for crickets, but I try to get them to take a mealworm or two from tongs, so that later on in their lives, they will associate tongs with food if I need to change their diet or something.

If I'm feeding them mice I normally put them in different containers and feed each one pinky and wait about ten minute after until I put them back together, just so they realize they aren't getting more.
 
It seems like keeping individuals separate is definitely the safer approach, but I guess if I want to keep two together sometime I would just have to try it out. How long to you wait and watch while introducing two of them together. I have experienced aggression once in the past between two females and keep all of mine separately currently, but I wanted to get an idea for what others do during the introduction period. Thanks again everyone.
 
Overall housing everyone by themselves is the best way to go. You're able to manage feeding, cleaning, and quarantining them (if they get sick) a lot better. For me it's rare to house any gecko together for a long period of time. Of course males have to be separated because of territory and fighting to be the alpha male. Babies can be housed together for a short time, but you'll run the risk of biting each other and loss tails. As everyone has said so far, housing individually is best. Breeding geckos you can leave them from a couple hours to a week. The males, once allowed, will do their things and be done. The females can retain the sperm for 4-6 months. Hope this helps and good luck.
 
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