First time owner-Please help! Male attacking female

[JessT8601]

I got my new (and first) breeding pair of leopard geckos today. They seemed fine when first introduced then 10 minutes later were mating. After that they cuddled up together and slept.

I heard loud scuffling a little while ago and saw that the male had the female's upper leg skin in his mouth and was vigorously shaking it. He wouldn't let go and it was terrible to watch, I didn't want to pull him off in case I did more damage. Finally the female managed to pull her leg away but a 5mm (approx) piece of skin has come off too and she's bleeding a tiny bit. She's now hidden in the moist hide with her head down, I imagine she's very stressed.

I've stuck the male in the small tub he came in for now, in the middle of the viv and I'm really not sure what to do next...it's 3:30am, should I wait til tomorrow and let him out again and should I do anything to help with the female's wound?

The female is 47 grams and the male is smaller than she is and they're both about a year old.

I'd be really grateful if someone would help me as I'm pretty shaken and upset...

 

[Sammerz1990]

it sounds like you should keep them separated...males are pretty mean when they mate. maybe put some neosporin on the females wound just keep the pair separated i don't suggest the container he came in he needs something he can move around in. even if its a big tupper container and dont let him go without food or water. it would b nice to see a picture of the female and her wound.,

 

[JessT8601]

it sounds like you should keep them separated...males are pretty mean when they mate. maybe put some neosporin on the females wound just keep the pair separated i don't suggest the container he came in he needs something he can move around in. even if its a big tupper container and dont let him go without food or water. it would b nice to see a picture of the female and her wound.,

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly! I had another look and the male has a wound on his head too:

I put him in a larger container with some water just as a temporary thing til tomorrow when I can buy something better.

Not sure if you can see, but this is the female's wound, sorry about the crappy photos.

 

[Gopherhockey03]

Keep them separated!!! Then I would recommend keeping the cage and everything clean to avoid infection in the wounds.

 

[Sammerz1990]

ya keep them seperated and make sure that the cage is clean and keep cleaning the cage and the geckos wounds everyday to prevent infection, these two dont need to be housed together only put them together to mate and once they are done doing the deed remove them from one another, but i wouldnt breed them again until their wounds are healed.

 

[Sammerz1990]

they also may be to young to breed so you may want to wait a good while before you try it again.

 

[LeoLover1]

Sometimes love is difficult! You've got some great advice here. In the future, you're going to have to keep an eye on them whenever they get together. They may never live together permanently.

 

[JessT8601]

Thanks so much for your help! The reptile shop had said they'd be fine living together but I guess not...I've bought another viv and I'm going to wait til they're older and fatter before trying to breed them again. Do you think it would be okay to buy another female to put in with my current female (planning to do this maybe in a year or two) as the viv she's in at the moment is huge and it's a shame to just have one alone in it.

 

[Amanda1]

You could put another female in, but you should still be careful and watch them to make sure they get along. You'll have to closely monitor their weights to make sure one gecko isn't stealing food or stressing the other. Sometimes females will have personality issues, and you may end up separating them too. Also you shouldn't just add a new gecko right away; it's a good idea to quarantine any new gecko away from your others for a month or two in case it is sick or carrying parasites.

If your enclosure is really big, what you could do is add a panel that divides the tank in two, that way you could keep both geckos in the same tank but still have them separated.

 

[Josh2]

Any update on how your geckos are doing??