When we take on a pet, it is often tempting to take on more than one. In some cases, such as with rabbits or dogs, animals will live quite happily alongside one another, even if they don’t always interact. However, when it comes to leopard geckos, do the same rules apply? Can leopard geckos live together?
Leopard geckos generally prefer to live in their own enclosure. If you put two males in the same enclosure, there is a high chance that they will fight. Conversely, if you try to keep a male and a female together, you may end up with baby leopard geckos.
That being said, there may be occasions when these lizards can happily cohabit. But this certainly shouldn’t be something that is done with close attention being paid to the setup. In this article, we are going to be looking at the best way to house multiple leopard geckos and what to do if they don’t get along.
Can Leopard Geckos Live In The Same Cage?
When you go to the pet store to purchase your leopard gecko, you will probably be confronted with a tank full of geckos, who appear to be living nicely alongside one another.
However, you should keep in mind that this is designed to be a temporary setup and by no means something you should recreate at home.
In the pet store, the leopard geckos are typically much younger and therefore, smaller meaning that, while the tank may be crowded, it isn’t as bad as multiple adults sharing a space.
However, that is certainly not to say that leopard geckos like living in the same cage. These animals are not social and when they are in the wild, the leopard geckos don’t live with one another. They are extremely solitary animals only typically coming together to mate.
This means that when you look at keeping more than one leopard gecko in a single enclosure, it might not best mimic their natural habitat. One of the most important things to consider when looking after ‘wild’ animals is that you need to try to create an environment that is as close to nature as possible. Throwing several leopard geckos into a single tank is anything but.
However, there may be exceptions to this rule but if you are thinking about housing more than one leopard gecko in one enclosure, you’ll need to consider the genders of the geckos, their health, and the size of the animals and the cage.
Leopard Gecko And Tank Size
When mixing leopard geckos in the same enclosure, you must consider the size of each animal. If the pair are of a similar size then they will likely live quite well together.
However, if one if much larger, it is likely that this gecko will take the lion’s share of the food and space.
This could be detrimental to the health of the smaller leopard gecko, not to mention that it may put it under undue stress.
In addition to the size of the lizards, you should also consider the size of the tank. The more space that you can give your geckos, the better they will thrive. However, as a minimum, your tank should be no smaller than 20 gallons.
Health
If a leopard gecko is not in the best of health, it may be worth thinking about allowing it to live on its own. Primarily, this will prevent the lizard from becoming stressed by other tank members, which could potentially worsen its condition.
In addition, this is a good idea because the leopard gecko may be contagious and the last thing you want is to spread illness to other members of the enclosure.
Mixing Genders
When it comes to keeping leopard geckos in the same space, one of the first things you will need to think about is the sex of each gecko. Placing different gender combinations together can have varied results and it is important to consider the implications before committing to this.
This is because, as your leopard geckos become sexually mature, their behaviors will also change. This could lead to problems with excessive breeding and fighting. Let’s look at the different combinations you might consider.
Male And Female
If you are going to house a male and a female leopard gecko in the same enclosure then you must be prepared to become the proud parent of several baby geckos.
Animals are hard-wired to try and breed with one another and this is not something that can be eliminated. While it is theoretically possible to neuter a leopard gecko, this is extremely rare and not something that most vets will do unless there is a medical reason.
The female leopard gecko can produce as many as eight clutches of eggs in any given mating season; that’s a lot of babies! Furthermore, if the female is allowed to mate repeatedly, this can have a devastating impact on her health and may significantly shorten her lifespan.
Of course, someone has got to breed leopard geckos, but professional breeders will be the first to tell you that one male should have the opportunity to mate with several females so that no one lizard has to undergo the stress of excessive breeding.
Two Males
If you own two male leopard geckos, we would always advise you to house them in separate enclosures. Keeping them together will likely result in them becoming very territorial and a fight will likely break out. These animals won’t think twice about maiming one another to show their dominance.
What’s more, leopard geckos are known to drop their tails when they feel threatened. While this isn’t life-threatening, it can cause a lot of stress for the animal and if this can be avoided, it always should be.
Two Females
If you absolutely must house a pair of leopard geckos in the same enclosure, two females is likely going to be your best bet. The females don’t typically fight and will generally live relatively harmoniously alongside one another.
That being said, it is worth considering that they will still need a significant amount of space to thrive and shouldn’t be on top of one another in the cage. When putting the two females together, you should look at the size of them and find an enclosure that gives each lizard enough personal space.
Conclusion
Leopard geckos will always do better when living in their own enclosure. This will best mimic their living conditions in the wild where these animals never cohabit.
That being said, there may be times when housing them together is unavoidable and there are ways to make sure that they live well alongside each other.
The best way to do this is to ensure that the leopard geckos have a lot of space and that they are around the same size. Furthermore, housing two females together tend to bring the most harmonious setup.
