Considering another

[Jay_Bunny]

I was thinking of getting another leopard gecko. I already have a female hypo tangerine that I got back in March. She lives in a 20 long tank. Would it be possible to put another leopard gecko in with her. If so, are there any sort of introductions I should do with them. Will they fight?

I am worried about bullying. I went to a petstore the other day and they had a tank with two lg's in it and one was big and fat and the other was skinny and frail looking. I asked what was wrong with him and they said that the other would not let him eat. It was very sad, so I don't want that happening to Chibi or any new gecko I get. If I can't put another gecko in with Chibi I don't want to get one just yet then. I'm going to a reptile show in November and was hoping to get the second gecko there.

Any opinions, suggestions, advice, concerns?

[mlededee]

usually it isn't a problem to keep females together. the issue with the two at the pet store is that they are keeping 2 very different sized geckos together, in which case the larger will dominate the smaller. you want to make sure to only keep similarly sized leos together.

before introduction after quarantine, clean the cage that both will be kept in and rearrange things so that it is unfamiliar to both geckos so that any established territory (a favorite hide or something similar) that the gecko that was residing in the cage had is broken. that way both geckos can establish their own new territories. they may rattle tails, lick and nip at eachother slightly when first introduced but it should be relatively minor and not be anything that hurts the other.

[Jay_Bunny]

How long should the quarantine period be? I have a 20H tank that I can use as the QT. The only problem with this tank is that it is 2ft high and has side doors made of very weak screen. We have some 10g tanks that were the ball pythons' previous housing before we got the snake rack. Would an adult leo be ok in a tank that size if it for QT?

[mlededee]

a 10 gallon tank will work fine for an adult for QT which should be 90 days. you should also get a fecal done on the new leo if you get it from a pet store. if you get it from a reputable breeder it's more of an option, but pet store leos are almost always full of internal parasites.

[Jay_Bunny]

I plan on getting one either from a reptile show, or online from a good breeder. I would even consider getting a younger leo and not a full grown adult. I will probably be getting fecals on all of my herps once I move into my own place, if not then, definatly by the holidays. My corn snake is store bought. She gains weight like a champ but I want to make sure.

[mlededee]

if you get a younger leo just wait until she catches up in size with the one you have now before you house them together.

[Jay_Bunny]

Of course. How long does it take them to reach adult size from lets say a baby? I don't think I'm going to purchase a baby but perhaps a sub-adult, like Chibi was when I got her.