How many geckos in 20 gal?

[TheWulf]

I've been looking into getting a few leos lately and was wondering how many I can house in a 20 gal tank. I originally planned on keeping only 2 but I've read a few articles saying it would be good to have more than one female to avoid the one female being over-stress by the male's mating habits.

Have you guys had better success with a single pair or with a 1.2 setup? I'm mainly concerned about space and having enough hide boxes.

Ideally it would be 2 females but I'm kind of excited about a really nice 1.1 pair that I don't want to pass up if possible.

Thanks

[peterm15]

ive never tried it but if you wanna have a pair you must split them up from time to time to give the female a break... all the male will want to do is mate.. i have 2 females in a 25 gal

[BoidsUnlimited]

Go for the 1.1 pair...and house them in two 10s.

It may be easy..but ALOT less stressful if your male wants to mate, and the female doesnt want to.

[TheWulf]

yea i don't think i'll be getting 2 extra tanks just for the fun of it.. maybe i'll just get 2 females. 1 male & 2 females in a 20 gal would be kind of overkill.

[BoidsUnlimited]

Well its 10 gallons per gecko.
I'm not sure of your situation with money...but it would only be an extra 40 to buy 2 tanks to house them seperately WHICH IMO is best.

BUT...if you must house together. I would suggest 0.2 instead of 1.1

Thanks,

B.U.

[Tim and Julie B]

You can comfortably house 1.2 in a 20 gallon without problem or over breeding:) Just be sure to include 2 dry hides and 1 humid hide, plus a few things to climb on and under. Monitor feeding to be sure they all get plenty of food. If one should bully the others you can get rid of it or get a seperate 10 gallon for it.

Julie

[peterm15]

10 gal tanks are like only 8 bucks... and you dont really need a screen top as long as you have no preditores ie cats

[TheWulf]

Cool.. thanks. I'd rather get 1.2 than just 1 or just females.

(un?)fortunately I do have a cat... so yea I kinda need the top. But you're right 10s aren't expensive.. eventually I'll be getting more herps anyways so I might end up getting more.

[BoidsUnlimited]

Originally posted by peterm15
10 gal tanks are like only 8 bucks... and you dont really need a screen top as long as you have no preditores ie cats

Ah i forgot about the lids...as long as you have no companion pets such as dogs or cats.

So thats only about 20!

[TheWulf]

even the lids aren't too bad for small tanks if you get the normal mesh ones.. or get them second hand.

[BoidsUnlimited]

Good point.

Although whatever you decide.....best of luck!

If you have access to a camera, be sure to take soem pictures!

If you need any other help just post! I would be happy to help.

[TheWulf]

Yea I got a pretty nice camera... I'm hoping to get everything setup this weekend, I'm waiting on an e-mail reply from someone for the gex. I'll be sure to post up when I get them.

[DragnDrop]

With enough hides and careful monitoring, 1.2 in a 20 gallon tank will work, though just females would be less stressful because of the mating thing.

One thing I do want to stress ... please use a lid even with leos. Sure, they can't climb glass, but they can readily dig their claws into the silicone sealer and climb out that way. I've seen it, believe me it can happen. They can also climb on top of a hide or decoration to take a short jump up and out. You'd be surprised at what they'll do to escape. They've got nothing better to do with their time but to find a way out to explore the world.
Lids don't just keep unwanted tennants out, but they keep things in too. Heck, even if you don't have cats, dogs, birds, ferrets and nosy kid brothers and sisters, a lid can keep things from falling into the tank and causing problems. I'd never have any enclosure without a lid.

[peterm15]

good point... its rally no prob for me... i make my own... which you might end up haviing to do...

the cheaper tanks... well some... only make canopys not screen covers... so ask before you buy... and maybe take a sample of lid just to see