Lonely gecko?

[OctobersDusk]

Sorry if the title is confusing or off-putting, I don't really know how else to phrase it. Before I get to my question I'll offer a bit of background. I got my first leo, Ryu, back in September of 2021. She was always skittish, I had trouble handling her for fear of her dropping tail so for cleanings and such I usually just guided her into a critter keeper. In January of 2022 I decided I'd like to get another gecko, and possibly look at breeding them as a hobby, as I love the little guys and have always been interested in genetics, so I talked to a local reptile store and got their support and my second gecko, Mochi. All of my research told me that cohabbing could be done as long as they had enough space and introductions were slow, etc. So I got them a 25 long tank and after the quarantine period for Mochi, started slowly introducing them on neutral ground. When I felt that they knew each other and had seen no fighting between them I moved them both into the bigger tank. I saw an almost immediate improvement in Ryu's temperament. She was exploring the tank, I saw her out and about much more during their active times, and just like Mochi (who was and still is like a little puppy) she would come up to the front of the tank when she saw me. She was no longer afraid to be picked up, no longer skittish and running to hide whenever I passed by, and after a little while she even got comfortable enough to crawl onto my hand of her own accord. Recently however I've been seeing the "horror stories" of people cohabbing for years and then having the lizards suddenly start fighting each other or hogging resources, and I got scared. I love these little guys and don't want anything to happen to them. So I got another tank and moved Mochi into it. Now Mochi seems fine, definitely a little distressed by the move at first but now he's settled in and doing great. Ryu on the other hand isn't. The day after I separated them she went right back to her old ways. She runs when she sees me, almost never leaves her hides unless she's temp regulating or I coax her out with food, and the real kicker was earlier today when I heard her chirp a couple times. I have never heard her make any noise at all before this, and a quick Google search told me that they typically do this when they're stressed. Nothing in the environment has changed besides the seperation. I genuinely don't know what to do. If it were any other animal I would think that she misses Mochi and is stressed because he's gone, but everything that people are saying (I'll be honesting most of the cohabbing stories come from tik tok) is that leos aren't social and don't like having others around. Is it possible that she's lonely? Should I reintroduce Mochi and see if her temperament improves? I only separated them a few days ago, should I wait and see if she improves with time? I'm at a point where I don't know what the best move is. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Edit- after posting I had a thought. I did successfully get eggs from these two last year, however I lost the first clutch in a power outtage and she didn't lay again, I assume cause it was her first year. Is it also possible that her stress has to do with proximity to breeding season?

 

[acpart]

I also think that geckos aren't social, however, I did have one gecko who did much better with a casemate, so I provided one. I bred leopard geckos for 13 years and would put the male with his females in January and leave them together until the fall, generally with no problems. I think it would be extremely rare for geckos together to go from being fine together to having one seriously injure the other. In the few cases where there were problems, it was usually a few scratches or a gash on the tail which healed easily. In those cases I separated the geckos. I would say that if they're doing OK together and your female seems calmer, it's worthwhile to house them together, especially since you seem to be receptive to getting eggs. There are some people who feel strongly that they will never house 2 leopard geckos together, but there's more than one way to do things.

Aliza

 

[OctobersDusk]

Thank you so much for your input! I was thinking something along those lines but there's so much outcry about cohabbing anymore that I didn't want to do anything else without getting some input from more experienced people. I'll move them back in together and see if her temperament improves, and update in a few days.

 

[OctobersDusk]

Just as an update- my female is back to her old self. She still seems a tad bit more wary of me then she used to, but she'll let me handle her again and doesn't bolt the moment I enter the room, and she's also spending more time outside of her hides!

 

[acpart]

Great! Glad it worked out.

Aliza