I have introduced a new 3 year old to my existing 3 year old.All quarantined etc. They have been in the empty tank now for 1 1/2 hours and had a couple of minor fights.Lennie ,my original seems to be raising herself up and persuing the new female around.Will they settle and how long before they do.
Thanks jakee

Welcome to the HCN. Im gonna have to advise you against keeping them together if they are fighting. Do you really want an injured leo?

Keep an eye on them, if they are just displaying at each other then they might be ok. If they get in any kind of physical fight remove the new one immediately and get it it's own tank.

Since they're nocturnal, you will have a hard time knowing how aggressive they are toward one another, possibly until it's too late. Speaking as someone who just separated two adult females who have been housed together witho problems for 2+ years (but one of whom now has a bitten-up tail), I would say it's not worth it if they are fighting.

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Amy

Hi guys,
Thanks for the replys.I have had them in overnight now, both in seperate hides at either end of the viv,no probs. This morn I took everything out again so they can get used to eachother again,no fights,phew!. a bit of raising up and posturing from lennie (the original )while lislal (the new one) skulks around a lot on her belly making herself lower, and I guess subservient to lennie.Generally they seem to be keeping to "their " side of the tank and ignoring eachother.I put in some crickets and lisal has no probs eating in her new surroundings. She has started flicking sand back with her front legs!! Whats that about? Thanks Guys. Jake

Sand? Not good. Loose substrates can cause impaction and can kill your Leopard Geckos. Better substrates are paper towel, newspaper, repti-carpet, or tile. I would urge you to remove the sand and get something safer for the animals. They are desert animals, but they are from deserts with rock and hard-packed sand, not loose or shifting sand. They end up eating small amounts of sand when they hunt, and it can build up in their intestinal tracts and can eventually be fatal.

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Amy

As Amy said you really should remove the sand.

I used to have a base of 1/2 chip bark 1/2 sand (one side each). But I noticed in the reptile shop I use that all the reps for sale are on sand and I thought it looked better.Perhaps i'll change the base then.But does the behaviour I described sound O.K. Jake

Lets put it this way, if you dont change the sand youre risking your Leopard Geckos life. Just becasue a petstore has their herps on sand that dosnt make it ohk! The behavior sounds normal, just keep an eye out on them.

You can switch to paper towels or newspaper today, and if you want, you can investigate something prettier (like ceramic tiles -- Home Depot will even cut them for you so they can fir the tank if need be) later on. The behavior sounds OK, but I would keep a close eye on them. I don't know about removing all the hides and pushing them to interact. I think removing all the hides during the day is going to make them feel insecure and make it harder for them to adjust. My honest opinion is that you'd be better off with separate enclosures, but if you watch them carefully every night and separate them if you see any injuries, you might be able to make it work with one enclosure. I just had to separate my girls, who were together for more than 2 years, because one of them had the tip of her tail bitten off. I didn't witness it happening, but the injury itself was enough to make me separate them. It could be much worse next time... Good luck with your girls! We love our leo ladies!

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Amy