I always fancied the idea of raising a pet reptile. And then one fine day I came across a pet store with a variety of lizards and brought home a Leopard Gecko. Initially, I was thinking about introducing him to another Gecko; so that my little reptile friend can enjoy some company.
But, then after talking to other Leopard Gecko owners and researching this particular Gecko species, I decided against it.
Do Leopard geckos need a partner? Leopard geckos will fight with each other since they are solitary animals and especially males are territorial. Irrespective of whether it’s a male or female, once they become adult, they prefer to be on their own. Some Leopard Geckos may like company, but not all do.
Leopard Geckos are without doubt one of the best choices for easy-to-care and easily handled small pets for beginners. One of the best things about Leopard Geckos is the fact that they can be left alone for several days, if necessary.
They don’t even need a partner. Unlike other common pet animals, Leopard Geckos prefer to be alone. No matter what sex your Leopard Gecko is, it’ll be a wise decision to never get a partner for it.
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The nature of leopard geckos
It is quite unnatural for Geckos to live in a group. When it comes to Leopard Geckos, though they are non-aggressive and easy-going lizards, at the end of the day, they too are solitary species.
Geckos are solitary and sometimes territorial animals and Leopard Geckos are also no exception. A female Leopard Gecko and a male Leopard Gecko are likely to spend time together only when it’s time for mating.
Even the female Leopard Geckos don’t stay around to care for the baby Leopard Geckos.
Apart from the attractive and colorful looks of Leopard Geckos, it is certainly their temperament that makes them popular as reptile pets.
They are not social if you take the word ‘social’ in its true sense, though they communicate with the other members of their species as well as their surroundings.
Yes, Leopard Geckos are loners and prefer to live alone and putting one Gecko with another Gecko partner can stress them. This does not mean that they are not “friendly” though. We show you how friendly they really are here!
Why should you never get a partner for your Leopard Gecko
Since Leopard Geckos like to be on their own and are solitary reptiles, it’s best not to get a partner for them. Here are some reasons for which you should never get a partner for your Leo Gecko.
- Getting a partner for your Gecko can cause it to feel stressed about sharing its habitat with others.
- The presence of another Gecko can also make your Leopard Gecko feel threatened and defensive, resulting in attacks.
- Putting another Leopard Gecko in the terrarium of your Leopard Gecko can cause both to fight with each other to be on their own which will result in bites, scratches, failing to eat or even dropped tail.
- Keeping Leopard Geckos together tend to result in them bullying one another, and competing with each other for hides that are dry and humid, and for
food . - Keeping Leopard Geckos together can result in them getting violent with each other and even resulting in de-gloving each other.
- Your Leopard Gecko can develop health issues as a result of being kept with another Leopard Gecko in the same
tank . - If you want to prevent your Leopard Gecko to get bullied by the new Gecko or the new Gecko get bullied by your pet Gecko, then also getting a partner for your Leopard Gecko should be avoided. Because the other Leopard Gecko will be prevented from sitting or lying or eating the way it wants to by the dominant one.
Often, Leopard Gecko owners think that raising a single Gecko can cause the reptile to feel lonely.
However, many suggest that thinking that your Leopard Gecko will get lonely is nothing but anthropomorphizing emotions of humans, who are known to be social species, on a species that is no way social, at least when it comes to living with others of its species in the same terrarium.
By ‘no way social’ it means they are solitary animals who come together only for a short period such as mating.
Except for breeding purposes, it is suggested not to keep two or more Leopard Geckos together. Leopard Gecko also doesn’t like the company of other Leo Geckos except for the breeding season.
If you think about putting two Leopard Geckos in a huge terrarium with plenty of hides and lots of
Do Leopard geckos get lonely without a partner?
For those who think that their Leopard gets bored alone, know that they don’t. They are cold-blooded animals (ectotherms), which means that trying to make them active too much can prove to be too hard on them.
Unlike warm-blooded animals that don’t have difficulty in replacing energy, cold-blooded animals like lizards cannot do it so easily.
Hence, they move only when there is a solid reason to do so. Therefore, if you do see your Leopard Gecko sitting in a particular place for a long time without much of a movement, don’t think that it’s feeling weary or lonely for having no partner.
The reasons behind its sitting like that can be the fact that it doesn’t want to become active then which can make it lose energy. And if your Leopard Gecko doesn’t get bored there’s no reason to think about getting a partner for it except for breeding reasons.
What can happen if you get a partner for your Leopard Gecko?
A lot of things can go wrong as a result of getting a partner for your Leopard Gecko. The first thing that happens usually is they start fighting with each other and feel angry.
However, you must remember that not all Leopard Geckos feel the same way about a partner; some may go well with another male or female Leopard Gecko.
But studies suggest that in such cases of Leopard Geckos living together, they are not living the way they like to but just surviving.
Due to their solitary and territorial nature, Leopard Geckos prefer to live alone.
If you see two Leopard Geckos of same-sex or opposite-sex living together without fighting with each other, then know that there is always an underlying competition among them for the resources for living such as
And it is competitions like this that leads to one of the two Leopard Geckos becoming more dominant and getting more water, more
In many cases, it has also been observed that, even when same-sex Geckos are put together, the Geckos initially bonded together but later as they became adults they started fighting.
Yes, despite living together since birth, without any fight, after maturing which is turning around 7 months old, they no longer bear the presence of each other. In that case, you need to separate them immediately as it can stress both the Geckos.
Leopard Geckos tend to reject other Geckos even after living with it for a while. Female Geckos, even when alone, get stressed during pregnancy.
Except for mating season, if you see two Leopard Geckos cuddling each other, know that it’s their way of stealing warmth and asserting dominance over the other.
Should you consider putting a smaller Leopard Gecko with your adult Gecko?
Yes, some Leopard Geckos may not show hostility when kept with another Gecko. But it doesn’t mean that you should consider getting a baby Leopard Gecko for your adult Leopard Gecko.
Whether it’s a male Gecko or a female Gecko, it can harass the little Gecko, and attack it if it feels so. And as a result, the baby Leopard Gecko could become excessively stressed which can result in it stopping eating anymore.
Even if you consider getting your Leopard Gecko a partner or see whether it gets well with another Gecko or not, get a Leopard Gecko of the same age. A female should never be kept with a male unless it’s for breeding.
Even two male Leopard Geckos must not be kept together. The maximum you can do is keeping two female Leopard Geckos together to give it a chance whether they will bear the presence of the other.
However, in the end, it will do no good to your Geckos since they are less likely to thrive together in the way they will when left on their own.
Remember, the only way to try keeping more than one female Gecko or one male Leopard Gecko with one or two female Geckos is by increasing the size of their terrarium.
A 20-gallon terrarium can be a house for a maximum of three Leopard Geckos if you’re thinking about breeding. However, we still recommend getting a bigger
A bigger
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David
Tuesday 17th of November 2020
I am so thankful for you, I was about to smell some dead gecko, haha. I love my gecko with all my heart, Thank you cause I almost spent my 100 dollars from my bank card, Thank you kindly.
Pierre And The ReptileCraze Team
Thursday 22nd of July 2021
Hey David,
we are very happy that you found our article helpful and that you were able to save your gecko :)
All the best,
Pierre and the ReptileCraze.com-Team