introducing leos!

[*LDC*jimbo]

well i have 2 leopard geckos, and they are close to the same size. I want to put them into a 20 gallon tank together. i was just wondering is there a good way or secrete for introducing leos. oh and one is a male and the other is a female.

thanks to everyone that responds.

*LDC* jimbo

[reptilez]

You can just put them in together and they should be fine.

[Zoe]

Yep, they should be okay. Give them enough hides and such, and they should be fine.

However, if the female is young you may want to be careful - an immature leo with eggs is never good, and she could become egg bound and die.

Zoe

[Leo-Land]

Did you make sure they were quarentined before you put them in with each other? If not, one may have a sickness the other could catch.

[reptilez]

Thats true...That hapen to me with my beardies. Get them both checked first.
-Reptilez

[*LDC*jimbo]

yep i have had both of them for about a year now and there both A ok. is 2 years old old enough to have eggs?
thanks to everyone ill try this tomorrow

[snakemann87]

good luck with the breeding. If i get a pair, ill have to check back with this post

[reptilez]

Ya there fine to breed....Just make sure that there healthy and eating right.
-Reptilez

[Leo-Land]

Really, age doesn't matter too much if they are over 6 months or so. They just have to exceed 56G in weight. Also, if they do breed, I like to feed a pinkie with the pinkies whole back side dipped in calcium to the female. That will help fatten her up for her next clutch. Also, if you see some superficial bruiseing or small cuts, don't worry, the male just got a bit too rough with her while breeding. Only worry if the cuts actually bleed.

Hope that helped!

[Alicewave]

If you want to breed them, it's better to put the male the 20gallon for a couple weeks to establish his territory and then introduce the female. Never introduce a male to a females territory as she could get violent. Many have had success putting them in at the same time, so it'll be a judgment call on your part.

[Rebecca]

Ya I agree put the male in first. I couldn't for the longest time get mine to breed then I tried that and it worked fine!!

[Leo-Land]

Mine are housed with each other for their lives in one huge cage. They just mate when ever they think the season has started I guess.

[*LDC*jimbo]

thanx, but it turned out i miss sexed my so called female and they were showing signs of agression so i seperated them. i hope to get them properly sexed soon.

[fr0glet]

Take closeup pics of their undersides and post them here for sexing help! :)

I agree that the male should have a chance to do all his roaming in the new cage first, then add the female. IF you have one of each. :)

Sexing them at 2 years old should be pretty easy. If they are different genders, some things should be apparent: the male will have a slightly larger (or "blocky") head and neck, and the base of his tail (pelvis area) will be wider. Thereby the female (if plump)should appear curvier, more of an hourglass shape as her neck and pelvis will be smaller.

Looking at their cloaca, the male will have a v-shaped set of pores that are fairly dark and obvious. This time of year he might even have a whiteish waxy discharge on his ventral pores. Just above the vent he should have two hemipenal bulges, they look like two parallel slight lumps.

The female will also have the ventral pores, but not as dark. She will not have two obvious hemipenal bulges, instead just in front of her vent she will have 1 smooth bump (kind of like a speed bump shape).

You mentioned some signs of agression.... did they both drum their tails on the floor? If only one drummed but they were both nippy and agressive, you might still have 1 of each sex. Let the 1 you think is a male live in the new tank for a couple of weeks and do all of his roaming around. THEN add the suspected female and keep the lights dim and watch the interaction. If they BOTH drum their tails on the floor, you're almost guaranteed they're both males. Then seperate them again quick! :)

[*LDC*jimbo]

well the male has been living in the cage im introducing the "female" into for as long as i have had him, so that shouldnt be a problem. ill try puting them back together to see if they thump thier tails on the ground. but when i first introduced them they only chased eacthother around the cage and the "female" kept niping at his feet. I dont think he liked that to much because he raised his tail in the air and started twirling around. thanks alot and ill tell you the results later.

[ThEmAdHaTtEr]

I didnt know there was an age limit to breeding...How big are the ones that are alright to breed (Size wise)? This is my male, and I should be getting a female soon, is this size big enough to breed?http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/1461fredrawdico-hand-med.jpg Not sure how old he is..

[fr0glet]

He's probably physically big enough, but his tail is a little skinny. Have you had him tested for parasites? How often/how much do you feed?

Really, it's females weights you need to worry about when breeding. The males could be scrawny little punks and still knock 'em up. The females need to have lots of tail fat as LOTS of calcium supplements as they will likely go off food for a while at the end of their pregnancy. If you look at your lizard and say "geeze, fatty! You need a diet!@!", then she's ready to breed. :)

[Alicewave]

I don't think his tail looks that skinny. It's not a great picture so it's hard to tell. His legs and torsoe look fine. The tail has some roundness to it. He looks healthy to me.