Can crested geckos live with other reptiles?

Can crested geckos live with other reptiles?

Crested geckos, or “cresties” as they are known by their fans, make ideal pets. These nocturnal lizards come in a variety of sizes, colors and patterns to fit any preference.

They also tend to be very hardy and easy to care for. Cresties typically require minimal space; males may even be housed together once they’ve reached sexual maturity at one year old (check with your vet before housing male cresties together).

However, there are several other types of reptiles that make good enclosure mates for adult crested geckos—if you decide to house your pet with others, take the time to observe each animal’s behavior carefully to make sure they all get along. Juvenile crested geckos can be housed with other reptiles, but monitor them closely for any signs of trouble.

In the wild, most types of reptiles establish a hierarchy that determines their social structure. In captivity, however, they may end up living together because individual lizards may not have established this pecking order yet or because you’ve introduced them to an enclosure at the same time.

This is okay as long as all the animals are getting along—not just not attacking one another—and there is plenty of food and water available to avoid conflict over resources.

If any creature begins acting aggressively toward its housemates or appears stressed by their presence, remove it from the enclosure immediately to avoid serious harm or death. It’s safer to house individual lizards together, but if you’re determined to try communal living, follow these tips.

1. Size up the situation

While it may be tempting to let your animals live together “to see what happens,” think about how much space each animal will have if they are left undisturbed. Cresties require an adult-sized enclosure measuring approximately 20 inches long by 10 inches wide by 12 inches tall for two crested geckos.

If other reptiles are involved, make sure each has enough room to accommodate all their needs before introducing them into this space.

You can then use fake plants or real plants with tough leaves (such as pothos) and plenty of climbing opportunities to give everyone lots of room to establish their own “turf.”

2. Keep a close eye on new digs

If you decide to move your crested gecko or one of its housemates from its current enclosure, make sure the setup is complete before placing it inside with the others.

Cresties need a heat source and a light source at opposite ends of their cage for sleeping and activity time, respectively. If you’re moving a reptile into a communal housing situation, try using an identical enclosure initially rather than simply placing them together in the same tank.

This will help reduce stress as they adjust to their new surroundings. You can then monitor closely for signs that any of these animals are not getting along (below).

3. Identify warning signs

Typically, you’ll be able to tell if your reptiles are fighting by the sounds they make and their behavior. If one of them hisses at another, pins its ears back, stands tall and tail twitches, this is a sign that it doesn’t want to be around the other animal(s) in the enclosure.

You can also watch for one reptile trying to dominate or bully another by biting or chasing it. Don’t try to intervene unless a seriously aggressive fight breaks out—in which case, separate the animals immediately with a wire mesh divider until you can figure out what’s going on.

4. Work through issues

If some of your reptiles do not get along well with others, don’t up hope yet! In some cases, it just takes a little time for the animals to figure out who’s who and establish their own hierarchy.

In other cases, you may have to take additional steps before they can live together peacefully. If one animal seems very stressed by the presence of the others, you can house it in a hospital tank or enclosure on its own until it gets more comfortable living with its companions.

5. Be patient!

If things don’t work out as planned, resist the temptation to give up right away—you’re bound to run into an issue once in a while when housing multiple reptiles together.

In some cases, even though two creatures will be able to coexist without any problems from day-to-day interactions (feeding and changing water), they may still occasionally fight or show aggression.

This is normal and not necessarily a sign that your animals cannot live together, as long as it doesn’t happen every day and the aggressive behavior doesn’t escalate to physical harm. The important thing is to try different things and be patient as you work through any issues.

DO NOT HOUSE DIFFERENT SPECIES OF CREATURES TOGETHER!

Some reptiles will kill others even if they were housed together without incident for months on end.

It’s very difficult to tell what two species will get along well enough together until you do it, so keep species-specific enclosures in mind when deciding which reptiles to put in the same house.

As stated above, keeping setups helps reduce stress because each animal has its own space. This means you can test out some reptile roommates without having to worry about the potential of losing a beloved animal due to injuries or death.

Similar Posts