Putting together

[ThEmAdHaTtEr]

Hey guys, Ill be putting my 1.1 leos together pretty soon. Ive seen plenty of these 'what should i do' type of threads but I just wanna make sure Im doin it right. Anyway, Ive had my smaller male quarentined since April 26th, so I think Its time for him to go in. Hes eating great and fattening up. Ive had the female for over a year and a half so Im not really worried about her. If I just put them together thye should be fine right? I know the mating ritual and everything so I think im about ready. Thanks all.

[Zoe]

They should be, but half a month really isn't enough quaratine time. However, if he has good weight and a clean bill of health, everything should be fine.

[ThEmAdHaTtEr]

Yeah both of them in tip top shape! Thanks Zoe.

[scott hough]

I usually quarentine mine for -at least- 40 days. It's nice to get a feel for the geckos habits(eating ect), and it's much easier to see these habits if the gecko is alone.

Good luck:)

[Emily-Fisher]

I don't know, ThEmAdHaTtEr, keeping one female and one male together can be very stressful for the female since the male will always be trying to mate with her therfor I would not keep the two together for more thsn a week, which is still very extreme. Many people do it for years and years with no problem but many people also get stung by tarantulas repedevly and nothing happens so just be safe and only put them together for a week max at a time.

[Alicewave]

You should always introduce the female to the males enclosure. The male should be in a 20 gallon long or larger and have been in it for about a month to establish terrirory or longer for quarantine purposes. Introducing the male to the females enclosure may result in excessive aggression from the female. It's ok to keep a 1.1 provided the female is very well fed and you make sure she is getting her share of food (males are typically more agressive feeders). However I don't recommend keeping 1.1 year round for reasons stated above. Aurora has been with Diggy for about two months now and it's time for her to come back to my house so she can have some peace from the male for a little while.

[ThEmAdHaTtEr]

Ah damnit, Ive had my male in a pretty basic enclosure waiting to put him with my female... This is getin pretty grustrating. What if I change the females tank around and put them both in there?

[Alicewave]

You could try that but her scent is gonna be all over everything. I would clean out the females tank completly and make sure you change around everything! I overlooked one piece of cage furniture that I had only rotated and I tried putting two in and the female immediately went to that piece of furniture and when the male approached her a NASTY fight ensued.

[ThEmAdHaTtEr]

Oh wonderful...Man, what should I do? The last thing I want is a fight.

[Samba]

ThEmAdHaTtEr: Don't get frustrated! Once you take everything in you'll realize it's not as complicated as it seems. I agree that the female should always go into the male's tank. Biologically speaking, I understand male leopard geckos can be territorial, therefore, can be insecure once placed inside another, unfamiliar tank. (He doesn't know the layout of the tank, wether or not another male may be present, and as stated above, I've witnessed some pretty defensive females). Bottom line: You want the male's attention focused on her, not her cool cage! I wouldn't recommend keeping males and females together normally, but I've seen different-sex roomies get along just fine. I think it really depends on the geckos and how well they get along, BUT even if they don't seem to have any conflicts it's best to make sure they have 'alone time' like right before the mating season. When I breed mine, I fatten up the females months prior to the actual meeting and introduction. I start feeding her fatty treats, and making sure she gets a healthy dose of calcium twice a week. (I also make sure calcium is available 24/7 in a dish in her tank, this is important for the formations of eggs). The male gets fatty treats as well, but admittedly, needs little 'preping' as compared to the female. When warming them up, I use a halogen heat lamp to create ambiante warmth during the day. HOWEVER I am NOT recommending you use this technique unless you are familiar with halogens (they can cause severe burns if placed too close, etc.). During the night I turn the lamp off. Since I live in the desert this works well for distingushing day and night temps for them. After about a few weeks of this I start letting them have 'visits' to get re-aquainted. Now, I know a lot of people probably don't do this but I believe if they are aquainted about 20 mins. once a week or so for a few weeks prior to mating both geckos will be at ease with one another, and cut down on the possibility of fights. I also do this to gauge the female's interest. If she seems distressed or uninterested, I might postpone the mating and introductions for another week or so, and go from there. There was a lot more information I wanted to include here, but at the moment I have to sign off the computer. If you have any other questions or thoughts feel free to reply. Good Luck with you geckos!