Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I recently received four female (so he assures me) leopard geckos from a uncle of one of my SpEd students. Upon receiving them (one week ago), they have been housed in a 20 gallon long tank floored with newspaper, water and food dishes, and two shelters.

The first night, the larger one pounced on a smaller one, biting her on the side. Since then, she acts like the Alpha-female. As these gals are so tiny, it has not surprised me that they hide all hours of the day. My over-cautious self worries that the larger one may be bullying the others, since she is the only one I see leaving the shelter to eat, explore, drink. Once, when I was cleaning out the shelter, I noticed the others adopting a subservient, heads down stance in the Alpha’s presence. Last night I measured the little gals. Three are 2 inches (head to vent). The Alpha is 2.75 inches. I am now segregating the Alpha in a separate tank.

Am I doing the right thing? Will this over-shy period end (the PetSmart Geckos don’t seem that shy, they just lie all over the place)? What different sizes can be housed together?

Even if they were the same size, I'd still recommend separating them if one is bullying the other ones. I also have a leopard gecko who just cannot be in the presence of others, so she is separated.

It is really easy to sex leopard geckos. The males have two large "lumps" under their tail, but since yours are so small, it's probably too early to tell. Remember that keeping 2 males together can lead to fighting, so if you notice some of your baby geckos starting to drop bumbies, it'd be a good idea to seperate those, too.

Remember that it's not always size that determines if you should separate them, but more of their disposition. I, however, don't keep animals together unless they are relatively the same size.

Good luck.
-----
0.1 Irian Jaya carpet python
1.0 Hogg Island Boa
0.1 Ball python
1.3 Crested Geckos (harlequin/fire, dalmatian, fire)
4.6.0 Leopard Geckos (nrml, abno, htct, blz, lcs)
0.1 Western Hognose snake
1.0 Albino Lavender California Kingsnake
1.3 Bearded Dragons
0.2 Water turtles
0.0.1 Rose Haired Tarantula-Sammy
1.0 Umbrella Cockatoo (belongs to my mom and I)

That makes sense. I never really noticed an overwhelming size difference until I measured. Perhaps I will try again when they mature.
Thanks!

It is always best to house leos separately unless you are breeding.... Every animal I have is housed individualy.... Animals housed alone will consistantly do better than animals housed in a group and it is also much easier to document food intake....

Their babys right? Know how old?

I was told they were very young. Measuring from snout to base of tail, three of them were 2.0", one was 2.75". Any idea how long it will take for them to double their size?