Reptile & Amphibian Forums

We have an adult leapard gecko, very calm nice easy going. We got a companion for our gecko, a baby. The adult is not picking on the baby at all. Seems to like the baby, we have had the baby over a month and a half but it has not grown any. It is not lethargic, very skittish has not calmed down at all since we have brought it home. We have seen it eat but since its not growing we are concerned. Two geckos only, 20 gallon tank. Environment is the same as it has always been for our other leopard gecko, which we raised form a baby and thrived well. Pet store has no advice. I have tried to feed baby by hand but baby can't stand to be touched. Will eat crickets but only one or two then it just bites them and spits them out. Will eat meal worms but I have only seen her do this once ate about 8 of them. What do I do. Does it just hate us? We don't handel it much because it has always seemed so terrified of handeliong even from when we brought it home. Other gecko seems to love us, we can hand feed her if we want, hold her, stroke her, even kiss her. What are we doing wrong with the baby? Help!!!!!

You need to put the baby in her own tank. Even though you might not be able to see it, the baby is totally intimidated by the adult and is not eating because of it. This is very common when two leopard geckos are housed together and one is smaller than the other. I'm pretty sure that is the whole problem, I really do. Just give her her own tank and a lot of small (her size) hide boxes and in a few days I bet she's eating fine.

When she is full grown you can try putting them together again, but watch for fights. Also of course, if the baby turns out to be a male, there will be other issues if you house them together, but that's in the future Let us know how it goes!

Thank you for your quick reply.... someone actually it was in a leopard gecko book said that when housing two of the same sex together to make sure one was a lot younger then the other so there would'nt be a problem with fights. This applied to both sexes. And the pet store said they thought the baby was a female, and we know the adult we have is a female. Our intention was to get a friend for our adult because she seemed so socialble and as a matter of fact she seems more content to stay in the cage with the baby there. Before she always wanted to be held. Or thats what it seemed to be. Would you suggest that I put the baby in her own cage until she's somewhat bigger and give it another try? Right now she climbs all over the adult gecko and seems mostly to be intimidated by us. Our adult gecko lets the baby climb all over her and doesnt seem to mind. Do you still think the baby could be intimidated by the adult? Thanks so much.

I know it's hard to believe that the baby is intimidated by the adult when she's climbing all over her, and there is no sign of agression or fighting. But I have seen it often, where a smaller leo will simply not eat in the presence of a larger one. If I were you, I would give her her own tank and try that for a couple of weeks. If she still is not eating, then we can go from there. But it sure sounds like she's healthy and active, not sick in any way. The most likely and logical reason for the problem at the moment is her being housed with the larger girl. (and leopard gecko books can be wrong! especially with the speed the past few years that we have learned new things about the leos. if a book (or the author) is only a few years out of date, some of the info can be quite obsolete.)

Thank you once again for the timely reply. We will try what you suggest. Thank you so much. And I understand about the books because we bought several books when we got our first gecko, but alot of the time they contradicted each other. Thanks again

I made this mistake once.. I housed a baby/juvie with my adult fem... the baby quit eating, and I didn't figure out what was wrong until she was too far gone.. My adult *seemed* quite happy to have her around, and the baby crawled all over her...

Something that we, as Mammals, need to remember is that, as sociable as our leopard geckos, as reptiles, may seem, it doesn't mean that they're going to take to socializing in the same way that most mammalian species do.

~~Dusty Windom
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So Many Alleles, So Little Time...!
@
~~The Gecko Barn~~

P.S. I'm not lecturing you. I'm Philosophizing. Truly and Seriously.

~~Dusty Windom
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So Many Alleles, So Little Time...!
@
~~The Gecko Barn~~

I agree 100% that your little one is being intimidated. It will be best to get a separate enclosure. In the meantime (unless you have the things you need already), you can try taking her out and feeding her separately in a Critter Keeper…or even Tupperware. You can try making the transfer less stressful by either bribing her with a worm in you hand, or by gently nudging her into one hand with your other hand. She’s probably not going to like it too much the first time or two, but she may feel free to eat as much as she wants in a separate container.

I agree with all of the above responses.

Just one thing to add...for future refernce, even if you do buy a lizard to go in with another you really shuld quarentine them for at least 60-90days in a seperate enclosure. This makes sure that the new lizard is transitioning well and has no illnesses that could be transmitted to your orignial leo.

Im sure she will be fine when she is alone
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0.1 Bearded dragon
0.1 mexican kingsnake
1.0.2 Leopard Gecko's
0.0.1 Rose Hair Tarantula
1.0 BTS
0.0.1 Reverse Okeetee Corn
0.1 Bullmastiff
4.1 Cats

Thank you everyone for your help. I appreciate all of your concern, and am gratful for the advice.