Leopard Gecko Questions

Hey guys! I’ve had my leopard gecko, Patella, for 2 years now. She enjoys basking under the heat lamps and eating her meal worms with the ocasional wax worm or cricket. Unfortunately she did have an issue shedding and now has troubles seeing out of her left eye, however, her right eye is normal. I have a friend offering me larger tanks, a 20 gallon and a 40 gallon and I was wondering if it would be safe to get a second leo. I know it’s probably safer to buy two together from the same place so they’re already used to each other, but I didn’t have the tank space then. I also worry about Patella’s vision being impaired because what if the other gecko and her don’t get along? The geckos at the pet stores are usually younger and therefore smaller, is that safe to place a young gecko in with an adult gecko? Do you guys have tips for housing two geckos together?

 

I’d say don’t house a baby with an adult. She might pick on the new baby or even kill it! However, if you can find an adult who seems to have a nice temperament you could probably make it work.
I personally only have one leo, but he used to have a companion when he lived with his old owner. They got along very well even though they were purchased from separate places. If they’re about the same size and one isn’t overtly aggressive, it will probably work out. If they don’t seem to get along, you could keep one in the 40 gallon and one in the 20. Good luck, I hope you can find her a friend!

 

Honestly, you really shouldn’t cohab leopard geckos from what I understand. They’re better off by themselves. Reptiles aren’t social creatures and often live their entire lives in solitude, only seeing one another for mating and territory. There is a LOT of conflicting information on housing them together, lots saying that it’s completely okay, but these are not trusted and vetted sources. I think a lot assume they’re okay kept together because they’re housed by the dozen in reptile stores.

I don’t own leopard geckos but my full-time job is pretty much breeding and taking care of various reptile species. I cohab female crested geckos that are within the same size and that’s a hugely debated topic as well, BUT it’s more so with leopard geckos for some reason. I think it’s because more issues have arose because of it, so I think it’s in your bet interest to keep your leopard gecko by it self.

What size enclosure is it in now? Because you can definitely still upgrade and I bet your gecko would really appreciate it.

As for her eye, are you able to post a picture? They don’t shed scales on their eyes like other reptiles do but they do shed a layer of skin and sometimes that gets stuck and causes issues. You can try adding a humid hide box in her enclosure and it should help her get the excess shed off. It’s simply a plastic box with a hole in the front so the gecko can climb in with some damp (not soaking wet) moss or even paper towels. The humidity will help her get her shed off. You can leave the humid hide in her enclosure forever (just clean it out) and she can use it when she feels like it.

 

Honestly, you really shouldn’t cohab leopard geckos from what I understand. They’re better off by themselves. Reptiles aren’t social creatures and often live their entire lives in solitude, only seeing one another for mating and territory. There is a LOT of conflicting information on housing them together, lots saying that it’s completely okay, but these are not trusted and vetted sources. I think a lot assume they’re okay kept together because they’re housed by the dozen in reptile stores.

I don’t own leopard geckos but my full-time job is pretty much breeding and taking care of various reptile species. I cohab female crested geckos that are within the same size and that’s a hugely debated topic as well, BUT it’s more so with leopard geckos for some reason. I think it’s because more issues have arose because of it, so I think it’s in your bet interest to keep your leopard gecko by it self.

What size enclosure is it in now? Because you can definitely still upgrade and I bet your gecko would really appreciate it.

As for her eye, are you able to post a picture? They don’t shed scales on their eyes like other reptiles do but they do shed a layer of skin and sometimes that gets stuck and causes issues. You can try adding a humid hide box in her enclosure and it should help her get the excess shed off. It’s simply a plastic box with a hole in the front so the gecko can climb in with some damp (not soaking wet) moss or even paper towels. The humidity will help her get her shed off. You can leave the humid hide in her enclosure forever (just clean it out) and she can use it when she feels like it.

I talked about this whole issue with my mom and she really doesn’t want another lizard in teh house and after hearing what you said plus what i’ve seen online I think it’s just safer to call it a rap on this. i’ve decided to use the 40 gallon tank i’m getting to make a giant crabitat. however I can inform you that patella (my leo) isn’t a fan of her humid hide. I used to keep one in there for her when I first got her but she never went in it...literally never, even when she was shedding so I took it out of the tank. maybe if I get an actual hide box she’d use it (I had used a large mug laid on it’s side filled with moss). as witg the eye thing, it happened when she had shedding issues on her head. her old skin held her eye shut for a long time (I tried my best to get it off, I did soaks and everything hut it’s really hard screwing with a gecko’s eye). when her skin finally came off and let her eye be free it also pulled with it something out of her which i’ll be honest about and say I have NO CLUE what it was. it looks slimy, like the top layer of her eye or something. either way I know I obviously can’t just ask her how her vision is, but she only seems to react to movement (such as her food coming in because I feed her with tongs) on one side of her body, so i’m assuming the other one is either blind or severely impaired.

 

I talked about this whole issue with my mom and she really doesn’t want another lizard in teh house and after hearing what you said plus what i’ve seen online I think it’s just safer to call it a rap on this. i’ve decided to use the 40 gallon tank i’m getting to make a giant crabitat. however I can inform you that patella (my leo) isn’t a fan of her humid hide. I used to keep one in there for her when I first got her but she never went in it...literally never, even when she was shedding so I took it out of the tank. maybe if I get an actual hide box she’d use it (I had used a large mug laid on it’s side filled with moss). as witg the eye thing, it happened when she had shedding issues on her head. her old skin held her eye shut for a long time (I tried my best to get it off, I did soaks and everything hut it’s really hard screwing with a gecko’s eye). when her skin finally came off and let her eye be free it also pulled with it something out of her which i’ll be honest about and say I have NO CLUE what it was. it looks slimy, like the top layer of her eye or something. either way I know I obviously can’t just ask her how her vision is, but she only seems to react to movement (such as her food coming in because I feed her with tongs) on one side of her body, so i’m assuming the other one is either blind or severely impaired.

That was probably the stuck film of “shed” on her eye coming off! It’s not like the rest of their skin, it’s a thin, slimy membrane like you said other geckos like crested geckos shed hard scales off of their eyes, whereas leopards are a little different.

And a crabitat is a good idea as well! They’re really fun to set up.