Can Crested Geckos Live Together? Top Tips On Housing Crested Geckos

Can Crested Geckos Live Together

Crested geckos make great pets and that’s why many owners want to get more than one. But can Crested geckos live together in the same tank? The answer is -yes, some can depending on the geckos’ gender.

In this article, we will be looking at the following topics:

  • Crested gecko social behavior in the wild
  • Can Crested geckos live together and what factors determine this
  • Tips on housing multiple Crested geckos and how to ensure they stay happy and healthy

Crested Gecko Social Behavior In The Wild

Can Crested Geckos Live Together

Before answering – can Crested geckos live together, it’s important to determine if Crested geckos are sociable animals in their natural habitat.

In the wild, Crested geckos are solitary animals and will only meet up with other geckos when it’s time to breed. After that is done, each gecko will be on their way.

Therefore, when kept as pets, Crested geckos will be at their happiest living on their own. After all, that is what they choose to do in the wild.

Can Crested Geckos Live Together

Can Crested Geckos Live Together

You might look at your Crested gecko and wonder if they are lonely or you might just want to get another gecko.

Although, your Crested gecko will be better off living on their own, that doesn’t mean they can’t be housed with other geckos.

If you do want to keep two or more Crested geckos in the same tank/enclosure, it’s important to know the very important rules that will ensure your geckos are happy and healthy.

The following factors determine what Crested geckos can be housed together safely:

  • Age. A female Crested gecko that is too young breed should not be housed with a sub-adult/adult male. The female’s body won’t be developed yet and it can lead to stress and injury
  • Size and weight. You should not house Crested geckos that are different sizes. If there are differences in size, the larger geckos can end up bullying the small to the point where they can’t get the amount of food they need. This can be very stressful and dangerous to your Crested gecko’s health
  • Gender. This is the main factor that determines which Crested geckos can be housed together safely

Keep reading below on what gender combinations are ok to live together.

Housing Multiple Crested Gecko – Gender

Can Crested Geckos Live Together

The following combinations are OK to keep in the same enclosure:

  • Crested gecko on its own
  • Multiple female Crested geckos
  • One male and multiple female Crested geckos
  • Housing hatchlings/babies

The following combinations are NOT OK to keep in the same enclosure:

  • Multiple male Crested geckos
  • One male and one female Crested gecko
  • Multiple males with one female Crested gecko
  • Multiple males and multiple female Crested geckos

Let’s explore the topic – can Crested geckos live together, in more detail aswell as what combinations are the most desirable vs the most dangerous and why.

Crested Gecko Gender Combinations That Are OK

The following combinations of Crested geckos living together are ok and pose little to no threat to your Crested gecko’s health.

Crested Gecko On Its Own

As mentioned earlier, Crested geckos are solitary animals. This is how they choose to live in the wild and the only time they want to socialize is when it’s time to mate.

Therefore, the best possible option for your pet Crested gecko is to live on their own.

By providing your Crested gecko with their own enclosure, they won’t suffer from any stress caused by other geckos. And don’t worry, they won’t feel lonely! That’s how they like it.

Multiple Female Crested Geckos

One of the safe combinations for housing more than one Crested gecko is – multiple females. Normally, the female Crested geckos are less likely to fight as they aren’t territorial.

The females will normally stay friendly and happy as long as the tank is big enough.

One Male And Multiple Females

Housing one male and multiple female Crested gecko is also ok. This situation is less likely to cause stress as the male gecko will breed with more than one female. However, you should expect many hatchlings as a result.

Hosing Hatchlings/Babies

Another combination that is ok and doesn’t pose a threat to your Crested geckos’ well-being, is housing hatchlings/babies together.

However, once the males reach sexual maturity which is at 4 to 10 months old, they need to be separated in different enclosures/tanks.

Crested Gecko Housing Combinations That Should Be Avoided

The following combinations of Crested geckos living together are not advisable as they can cause fights and are overall dangerous. Furthermore, it can result in your gecko/geckos injured, stressed and it can even lead to death in some cases.

Multiple Male Crested Gecko

Housing multiple males will result in them fighting to establish dominance which in turn will lead to a lot of stress, noise and injuries.

One Male And One Female Crested Gecko

Housing one male and one female Crested gecko might seem like a good idea. However, it’s not. The reason for that is – the female gecko will become very stressed over time because of the male gecko constantly trying to breed. This will result in your female being chased around the enclosure, causing stress and even shortening her lifespan.

You should only house one male and one female when you want them to breed and not for long periods of time.

Multiple Males And Females

Keeping multiple males and females together is also not a good idea. This is because of the male’s territorial behavior. The males will end up fighting to establish dominance. This can result in stress and injury to both male and female geckos.

Multiple Males And One Female

This is a very dangerous combination for your female Crested gecko. As the males are territorial, they will compete to breed with the one female gecko. This will result in the female constantly being chased around the enclosure which in turn will cause extreme stress and injury to the female.

This situation can also result in male geckos injured from fighting to establish dominance.

Housing Multiple Crested Geckos – Top Tips On Keeping Geckos Safe And Healthy

Now that we answered the question – can Crested geckos live together and what gecko combinations are safe, we are going to look at what you need when housing multiple geckos.

The following list is what you need to do and provide before and during the process:

  • “Introduce” the new Crested gecko/geckos
  • Appropriate enclosure/tank
  • Observe the Crested geckos’ behavior and act if necessary

Introduction Of New Crested Gecko/Geckos

If you have decided to get another Crested gecko, it’s important that you properly “introduce” the new gecko to the enclosure. By proper introduction, we mean following these steps:

  • Parasites. Crested geckos can carry parasites that can be transmitted to any other gecko in the enclosure. Therefore, you need to put the new gecko in a quarantine
  • Isolation. The period of a isolation/quarantine is average of 2 weeks. During that time, you’d be able to observe if there any health issues such as parasites or other. If you are worried about parasites, the only way to confirm this is by getting a vet to test a sample of your gecko’s stool

Learn more about Crested gecko’s diseases, including parasites here Do You Have A Sick Crested Gecko? Full Crested Gecko Health Guide

Appropriate Enclosure/Tank

The first thing you need to ensure you have before housing multiple Crested geckos is an appropriate enclosure.

Crested geckos need enough space to move around in their enclosure. What size is the enclosure depends on how many geckos are in the group.

In addition to that, the geckos shouldn’t feel the need to compete for the food/water source or the hiding spot.

Use the following tips, when housing multiple Crested geckos:

  • A single adult gecko needs a 20 gallon tank
  • Up to 3 Crested geckos can be housed in a tank that’s minimum size of 18x18x24 inches
  • Hatchlings/babies. In a 10 gallon enclosure, you can house up to 4 babies that are 0 to 2 months old; up 3 babies that are up to 2 to 4 months old; or up to 2 babies that are 5 to 10 months old (female)
  • Habitat setup. Ensure there is enough water/food bowls in the enclosure. This way your geckos won’t feel stressed for reasons such as: food/water running out, not being able to find it or having to compete with the other geckos for it. In addition, there needs to be enough hiding places such as rocks, plants, logs, etc. This will minimize the chance of your geckos becoming stressed and getting sick

Observe The Crested Geckos Behavior

Even if you pick a safe combination when housing multiple Crested geckos, there still can be issues. As discussed in our other article Crested Gecko Personality – Is Crested Gecko Right For You, Crested geckos have different personalities and they can clash when living together.

For instance, female Crested geckos are quite tolerant towards each other but they can still get into fights if their personalities clash. Another example is – a really active Crested gecko might not be the best roommate for a lazy gecko.

The following signs can mean your Crested geckos are not getting along:

  • Stealing food. One of the biggest problems when housing multiple Crested geckos is stealing food. It’s common for the more dominant gecko to steal food from the other geckos. To improve this issue, you can ensure there are regular feeding times, more than one feeding bowls. Lastly, you need to observe their behavior. If it doesn’t improve, you might need to separate the geckos

  • Stress. Crested geckos are easily stressed, especially when being introduced to a new environment and other geckos. It’s extremely important to observe how your Crested geckos are behaving when living together and to keep an eye out for any stress signs.

Learn more about what a stressed Crested gecko looks like here Crested Gecko Stress Signs: How To Prevent And Treat Stress

Final Thoughts

When answering the question – can Crested geckos live together, we looked at the following factors that play a major role:

  • Age
  • Size and weight
  • Gender

Crested geckos can live together in the same tank. However, you need to ensure it’s the right combination of Crested geckos. For instance, if you house 2 or more male geckos, it will result in stress and injury. The same goes for 1 male and 1 female and the list goes on.

It’s important to remember that even if you have the safest combination of Crested geckos living together and you have done the introduction part right, there still can be issues. This is because Crested geckos have different personalities, just like us and they can clash.

Therefore, it’s important to always observe how your Crested geckos behave when living together and resolve any issues quickly even if that means separating them.

unusualpetsguide

My name is Iliyana and I'm a passionate animal lover and pet owner. As there is significantly less information online about unusual and exotic pets, I decided to found this website and recruit expert writers to help pet owners.

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