Reptile & Amphibian Forums

After reading dozens of care sheets on cresteds, where everyone mentions only putting one male per enclosure, I came across a breeders site who said it's okay to put two males together as long as there is No female in the cage. What are the opinions of others who have kept cresteds for a long time? This would sure save some space issues I'm having. I'd like two, but I really don't want to breed, and females are hard to find already sexed,so that leaves males!

My understanding has always been that 2 males will almost always fight, even in the absence of a female. I have heard it occasionally working out ok if they've lived together since they were very young *and* have never been around a female. That said, I personally would not risk it.
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0.1 Albino Leopard Gecko - Tigger
0.1 Crested Gecko - Pooh-Bear

I was told by a breeder that males can live together if they are brought up together as well, and I did know someone who introduced two sub adult males together who lived quite comfortably for a while without a problem. I don't know what happened when the males reached maturity.

However, it doesn't seem like it's worth it. One bit of aggression when a person isn't around could be enough for a tail drop or injuries that could lead to infection and cepsus.

I don't even house hatchling together for more than a few weeks, because my first two clutchmates showed such a difference in growth rates because of feeding intimidation.
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1.1 Ghost corns, 1.1 Butter het. stripe corns, 0.1 normal corn
1.1 Tremper Albino Leopard Geckos
1.0 Super dalmation crested, 1.1 Pinstripe crested, 2.1.1 Misc crested
1.0 Ghost Bull, 0.1 Snow bull

I have always kept my males separate. I, like you, have read it all over that they will fight. I have always had the understanding that that is the way it is with many geckos I have kept in the past. It makes complete sense too. If it is not a dominancy dispute, it would be a territorial or a "Right to court" dispute.

My friend has two different enclosures with a pair in each enclosure. Both pairs happen to be males. Both of the pairs have grown together. On pair is adolescent while the other pair is mature. The adolescent pair lives in a 15 gallon and the mature pair lives in a 55 planted terrarium. To this day, he has not had any fights at all. The mature pair is a year and a half old and the adolescents are almost a year.

He is aware that there may be a day where he needs to separate them if he sees any aggression.

Three weeks ago, I gave him my female to pair up with one of his mature males. I had him put her in the 55 gallon and had him take out the male who I did not want her to breed with and he is keeping him in a separate enclosure for the time being. I told him before we started this project that there was a possibility that after we do this, we may be crossing a point of no return as far as putting the males back together.

Why? Because not only will one male learn to breed but there after he may possibly learn why he needs to be territorial…to court of course. OR when he introduces the virgin male back into the enclosure when I take my female back, the mere scent of a previous presence of a female may habitually trigger aggression. My hunch is that these two males will not be able to co-exist in the same enclosure despite the fact that it is a well planted 55 or the fact that they grew up together. Do you think they will really remember each other???? I do not know that they will.

I will post the outcome in 3 more weeks after I bring my girl home. It should be interesting to see what happens.

I for one have done/seen things in the past that defied husbandry. But then again, I have seen consequences from defying rules. I personally believe in this case that it is best to keep the males separated. A vast majority of the wild males studied in New Caledonia are tail-less believed to be due to territory/ courtship disputes. It isn’t just tail loss but in an enclosure where they have limited space to escape, that stress and constant bullying would lead to a decline in feeding and eventually a decline in health.

I will always keep my males separate, regardless of my friend’s re-introduction outcome. I would not even want to risk the loss of their tails.

Please realize this is just my insight/opinion. Hope this helps.

N/P
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4.1 snakes, 4.3.2 crested geckos, 0.1 gargoyle gecko, 0.0.2 red-eyed tree frogs, 2.0 devon rex cats, 1.0 betta, 0.1 sun conure, 1.0 lovebird

I would not recommend placing 2 males in one cage if space is an issue. Males are highly territorial, it doesn't matter if it involves females or not. I have had 3 males live in the same cage, but it was 4'x3'x3'. The chances that they even came in contact were minimal. I was in a pinch needing to get another cage, so this was very temporary and none of my males were injured. But this isn't necessary common. Any time two males are placed together there's a good chance of death in one or both of them (or worse! they're alive with broken limbs or broken jaws...the possibilities are endless!).

If you are uncertain about getting geckos, go with juveniles or unsexable ones. You can keep them together in a 10 gallon tank until sexable. If you get females, good for you. If you get 1 F and 1 M or even 2 M...then get another 10 gallon tank and stack them.

Sami