Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've had a male leopard gecko for about 4 years now that I rescued as an adult. This fall I purchased a proven female at a local show. When I attempted to introduce them in a neutral tub, the female appeared somewhat agitated, and simply avoided the male. The male was very interested in the female, and followed her around the tub. After a short time, he suddenly lunged at her, latched on to her tail and began to shake her violently. This was not a gentle "love bite", this was a full-on attack. I was able to separate them to their own enclosures, and have not tried to re-introduce them since.

How common is this type of aggression? How can I introduce them without them fighting?

Everything I've read indicated that a leos can be housed together as long as there is only one male per enclosure. I have a 1.1 pair of fatties that have been together for years without problems.

Thanks in advance for your help.

With out seeing it personally I'm not positive but it could be because she was ignoing him and he was trying to get her attention. You could try putting him in her enclosure so it has all her smells and that might calm him down. You also must remember that it is the off season for breeding so she might not want him bugging her. GL