Are you thinking of adding another crested gecko to alleviate the loneliness of your existing gecko?
In theory, it sounds like a great idea. You’ll have two crested geckos living together and keeping each other company when you go to work or school. What could go wrong?
Everything could go wrong, and you could come home to a dead crested gecko.
Here is the issue, crested geckos are solitary creatures. They thrive in the wild alone except when they need to mate. Therefore, housing a group of geckos in the same tank might not be the best idea.
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Can Crested Geckos Live Together In Harmony?
As you would expect with any wild males, crested males are territorial. The moment you introduce a male to another male’s housing, you are asking for war.
Crested geckos look cute, and you might wonder how much damage could such tiny creatures inflict on their house buddies. A crested gecko’s mouth is small but has about 177 tiny teeth. If the gecko bites you, it feels like a fish bite — geckos rarely bite unless they feel threatened.
So, if the bite doesn’t hurt you will it hurt another gecko?
Yes, it will. You see, biting is one of their defensive mechanisms, and when it matters, geckos have a mean bite — at least to other crested geckos.
You can picture how housing two or more males in a single tank might not work. They will fight for territories, dominance and food. Some are ruthless and might fight till one gecko dies. It’s the law of the jungle that males will fight to defend their territories.
Therefore, don’t house two or more male crested geckos and expect them to get along.
Can You House a Combination of Male and Female Geckos?
If the idea is to house one male and two or three females, that might work. However, if you’re planning on housing multiple males and multiple females in a single female, it’s a recipe for chaos.
The best combination is housing multiple females or one male and multiple females. If you have one male living with multiple females, you can expect them to thrive as they aren’t competing for territories.
However, keep in mind that housing a male and female will lead to mating. Do you have room to cater for the babies? Don’t choose this housing arrangement if you’re not ready for results.
Also, breeding is often a stressful process, especially for females. You see, the male gecko will want to mate even when the female hasn’t recovered from breeding. This could lead to serious health complications for your female gecko. Eventually, you’ll need to separate the two.
Therefore, if you plan on housing female and male geckos, house one male and three female geckos. This will reduce the stress on one female gecko. You’ll need a bigger terrarium and be ready for the offspring.
Can Two Crested Females Cohabitate?
Yes, unlike males, female crested geckos can live together harmoniously. They are tolerable and will rarely fight for territories. This doesn’t mean that females don’t fight.
They will fight occasionally, but their fights aren’t as vicious as male fights. They typically fight over petty issues such as favorite sleeping places, etc.
If you plan on housing two females together ensure that you house the same size females. Here age doesn’t matter, but size does. They could be months or years apart, but they can tolerate each other if they are similar sizes.
The idea is to give each gecko a chance to defend itself if they get into a fight. Larger animals typically bully the smaller animals, whether it’s physically or psychologically. To prevent such acts of aggression, you can house the same size crested geckos in one terrarium.
Can You House Different Species?
The short answer is no. So many things could go wrong when you have two different species in one housing. Here are some of the disasters that occur when different species are housed together.
Avoid mixing species but if you have to, ask your breeder the species that can thrive with crested geckos. Some people have experimented with green frogs and the Giant African Millipede and claim that the two species can live together peacefully. In addition, the Millipede helps clean up after the cresties’ leftovers as they prefer eating decaying food.
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How to Introduce Another Crested Gecko to Your Existing Enclosure
If you intend on adding another crested gecko to your existing terrarium, be sure to take extra measures.
Start by confirming the gender of the new gecko. Is it a female or male crested gecko? If it’s the former, are you introducing it to a male or female? Are you adding a female to a male enclosure for mating?
If it’s a male gecko, are you introducing it to a male or female? Two males in one terrarium can be disastrous as detailed earlier. A male and a female means offspring, are you prepared to raise more geckos?
Once that’s settled, you’ll need to quarantine the new gecko for at least 60 days. The idea is to prevent the spread of diseases and parasites, regardless of whether the gecko is healthy or not.
Now that you’ve confirmed that the new gecko is healthy, you can introduce it to your other gecko. Place them in a common ground and monitor how they get along. As they figure each other out, you can thoroughly clean the terrarium.
Ensure that you remove the old substrate, and clean the decor and everything else in the tank. This helps create a neutral environment for the two geckos and don’t forget to rearrange the decor.
The cleaning and rearrangements help reduce territorial disputes as both animals will consider it a new home. Monitor the geckos for signs of aggression so that you can stop it before it gets serious.
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Can You House Two Geckos Together?
Yes, it’s possible but with a few reservations as we’ve discussed. Crested geckos live alone in the wild thus your gecko will be fine living alone. However, if you intend to cohabitate with several cresties, be sure to consider the housing plans we’ve recommended.
