Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Okay so I have this 50g tank w/ one leopard gecko in it. (I believe female.) I was at a petstore today and saw 2 leopard geckos together... (assuming they were both female). The employee told me he did not know the genders. I put them into the tank with my older gecko. And they did there "ritual" so to speak (w/ the shaking of the tale... etc.) and all went well. No fights or problems. Well i decided to leave them for a few hours and see how they were after that. I just checked on them and i can see that the 2 new geckos are on the far west side of the cage in a gecko hut. While my old gecko is by itself on the east side of the tank. (losing his beloved hut. ) Is this a territory issue? Are they not getting along. Somebody help!

Number one, I would never add geckos to your existing tank without a quarantine period (45 to 90 days)
Second, I have to wonder why you didn't check to see what sex they were to be safe before buying (unless they are babies?)

Third, I have only seen that type of reaction (with the tail wagging) when there was going to be problem with them... not necessarily outright fighting, but territorial issues and bullying. The only females that I have had get along well were those that ignored each other from the start.

Your gecko is freaked out because of the new intruders on it's territory. If you do decide to keep them together, rearrange the tank and get more hides to allow each of them to choose a warm, cool, and humid area without having to share. Watch carefully for signs of bullying such as one not allowing another to roam freely without being frightened back into hiding, chasing another away from food, or hogging food. Not all females get along, so use a divider or get another tank if you see any problems starting.

Are they all the same size? Never put them together if there is a difference in size or weight. If they have parasites, which is common, you may have to get all three treated. Stress can cause a small parasite load to bloom into a larger problem, so if any stop eating or act lethargic, you may want to get a fecal exam.

I wish you luck with them, and I hope it all turns out OK.

For future reference, you shouldn't have put the new ones into the tank with your "old" one without them having been quarantined first. If they have anything wrong with them you could have passed it to your "old" one.

Here's a picture of a male and female so you can figure out what you have...
http://www.reptilecare.com/leopardgender.htm

The two that were together in the store are probably "comfortable" with each others company while yours is the outsider. If there are two females and one male or three females, then hopefully all will work out and they will all get along.