# Housing a single male and Female Leopard Gecko together?



## z0mbi3kitty (Sep 28, 2014)

Basically, I've had 2 leopard geckos for around 4 months now who were incubated to be female by the breeder I bought them from. They are my first reptiles. A wee while ago I decided to have a look underneath them to double check their sexes and it turns out one of mine is definitely a male, he has very obvious femoral pores and bulges, nothing like the underside of the other one. After hearing one or two mixed opinions from friends who keep them I called my breeder and asked for her advice as I was worried about housing them together going with the current circumstances, she said with her experience she hasn't had a problem housing a single male and female but I've to keep a check on them when they do reach sexual maturity. I still panic slightly about this and how things will be when they reach adulthood and was wondering for other opinions and some advice on how to care for them when they do start to breed. The breeder I bought them from has been breeding for a good few years now and cares for many reptiles, I do trust her opinion, but I can't help but worry. They have both been together since hatching and are both very healthy geckos. I'd be planning to freeze then bin the eggs that would come from her unless in the unlikely event I decided to start incubating and hatching some. I understand she would have extra needs and care as a breeding female and I know to watch out for stress and problems that could occur when the male wants to breed with her. Thank you for any of your advice!


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## Madseyden (Sep 17, 2008)

Last year I lost a female due to her being with a male. They had been together for two years. Last year she started laying eggs. He was constantly "having a go". I didn't realise this was stressing her out. She had lost a lot of weight and wasn't eating. I should have kept her separated from him. Is was only because I had moved house and had to put them in together. 
I would advise to keep them separate. If you want them to mate then put him with her for a couple of days then take him out and back in his own viv.


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## aquited (Oct 30, 2008)

As above even if you plan to breed, females will need to be separated and given rest away from the male so a separate set up would be required. Best to separate then put together if you do decide to breed after plenty of research.


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## Athravan (Dec 28, 2006)

If you hope to breed then get another female to go in with them and you may still have to separate the male if he turns out to be one of the horny/aggressive ones.

If you don't want to deal with eggs then just separate them. Breeding and egg laying takes a lot out of the female, both stress wise and a big amount of her energy and resources - all for nothing if you're not planning to incubate and hatch them out anyway. Why put her through that if you're planning to freeze the eggs anyway.


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## z0mbi3kitty (Sep 28, 2014)

My main problem right now is space and money, I'd need a bigger viv to house another female and if I were to have another viv to separate them I'd have problems being able to organise the extra electrical wires,Money would also be a problem at this moment in time,Things are just awkward because I live with my parents and cannot get myself a steady income right now from a job. My breeder who sold me the pair says she has kept a male and female together with no problems but just advises me to keep a watch. I know what signs to look for if there is a problem. I do have quite a few months until they reach sexual maturity so I'd obviously try to prepare for a bad situation. There are just a few obstacles stopping me from doing that right now. My only options will be to sell the female(I'd keep the male as he has bonded better with me) or to finally land myself a job to pay for new accommodation,I'd also need to find other areas of my house to keep the new viv in and be able to wire it up properly,I see that as quite a problem as well. I'm just panicking now about the situation in case it goes the wrong way but I'll probably take my breeders advice right now and keep an eye on how it goes. :sad:


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## milk1706 (Nov 10, 2009)

Madseyden said:


> Last year I lost a female due to her being with a male. They had been together for two years. Last year she started laying eggs. He was constantly "having a go". I didn't realise this was stressing her out. She had lost a lot of weight and wasn't eating. I should have kept her separated from him. Is was only because I had moved house and had to put them in together.
> I would advise to keep them separate. If you want them to mate then put him with her for a couple of days then take him out and back in his own viv.


I had a similar issue, i acquired a male and female housed together and had to separate them due to the male constantly pestering the female. unfortunately due to the fact that the previous owner had kept them together for at least 2 year she was in a bad way and i was unable to keep her going. i would advise against this massively as it does far more harm than good. for the small chance that it might work i would not risk the health of the female.


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## CloudForest (Nov 27, 2013)

as a tempory measure you can use a plastic storage tub, a heat mat and an on-off thermostat, it wont cost you more than £40 to set up (check ebay for thermostats and heat mats, local supermarket for plastic box, might even cost less if you shop around)

hides can be plastic boxes, kitchen roll tubes, whatever, use small desert bowls for food, water and calcium etc

don't put off giving them the care they need for the sake of a few £ - first priority is giving them both what they need...a proper vivarium and setup can wait until you have more cash available, just make sure to get a thermostat for the heat mat for now and use a tempory plastic storage tub

rehoming the female is a good option tho, put the animals care needs first always


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