Leopard geckos are very sweet lizards and can sometimes even be put in the same tank together without experiencing any issues but unfortunately, in some cases, issues can and will most likely arise. Because there’s no one reason as to why these problems can occur though, I want to go over a few different ones so that hopefully you can get to the bottom of why this is happening.
Why is my leopard gecko biting my female? Males will sometimes bite females while trying to mate, while trying to show that they have dominance over the enclosure, or even if they just have an overall aggressive personality.
Cohabiting isn’t an issue and can be done successfully if you know what you’re doing, but from time to time, even the most experienced leopard gecko owners will run into problems with certain males being overly aggressive in the tank. If you’d like more in-depth information on each reason why your male is acting this way, read on for tips and solutions for how to stop it.
3 reasons why your male leopard gecko is biting your female
1. Aggression
Yes, as stated above, most leopard geckos are very sweet and loveable animals, but from time to time, an owner will run into one that just doesn’t seem to like them or their other lizards that much despite their endless efforts of trying to get them to.
For this reason, the aggressive leopard gecko will not only be temperamental towards the owner, but also towards the female leopard geckos that they’re put into the tank with as well. Unfortunately, there’s not a whole lot that can be done as far as changing their personality goes as some leopard geckos are naturally just like this by nature.
But what you can do is place them in a separate enclosure so that the attacks towards your females don’t go on any longer. If a separation isn’t made between the aggressive leopard gecko and the females, you’ll not only put your females at risk of getting seriously hurt by your male, but you’ll also be putting them under a lot of stress as well.
Aggressive leopard geckos are no fun to deal with for the owners or the other geckos within the tank, but because leopard gecko attacks don’t phase us nearly as much as they do other leopard geckos, it’s important that they remain separated so that their aggressive attacks are only towards us and not our other geckos.
If you’re looking for a tank to put your leopard gecko in that may reduce the number of attacks that they inflict on you by allowing them to see you when reaching into their enclosure, then I recommend this one here from Amazon.
Leopard geckos get spooked when you reach in from the top, so if you’re dealing with a leopard gecko that is aggressive, the chances of them attacking you are much higher with a tank that only allows you to reach in from above as opposed to one that allows you to reach in from the front.
They shouldn’t be biting your female leopard geckos, but they also shouldn’t be biting you as well.
2. Dominance
I firmly believe that it’s okay to cohabit depending on the personality of the leopard geckos that are being put together but because leopard geckos are naturally dominant creatures, sometimes doing this just isn’t possible.
Leopard geckos who have a need for dominance will bite, annoy, harass, and stress out the other geckos in the tank until they eventually come to a point where they’re either trying to take each other out or at the very least, inflict serious damage on one another.
The ones who are dominant a lot of the time aren’t aggressive at all, that’s just how most of them are hardwired to react whenever another reptile is in what they feel like is their personal space. The smartest thing for any owner to do when trying to cohabit is to have another tank on hand for backup just in case things get ugly.
The reason for this is because even leopard geckos who have been paired up for quite some time will randomly go at it for no apparent. So, in order to avoid that, another tank is absolutely necessary for making sure the tension between the two geckos doesn’t end up becoming too unbearable.
Again, if you don’t have another tank for the time in which you might need to make a quick separation, having a tank like this one here will be just what you need for giving your leopard geckos their space so that the fighting doesn’t continue on.
And even though you have a male and a female leopard gecko currently paired together, it’s still possible that two leopard geckos of the same gender will go at it as well. This includes two females, a baby and an adult, and especially two males.
Keep in mind that any two leopard geckos together can potentially end up going at it but when it comes to two males being together, that’s the worst pair-up that any owner could ever try to pull off.
Males are the most dominant when it comes to claiming their territory and if they’re ever put together in the same enclosure, it’s pretty much guaranteed that they will eventually end up fighting and harassing each other.
3. Mating behavior
As odd as it might sound, biting could also be a sign of wanting to mate as well. Leopard geckos aren’t like us. When they’re in the mood and they’re wanting to mate, they can start to become a little aggressive towards the leopard gecko that they’re trying to mate with.
They’ll start to bite the tail and then work their way up to biting the neck where they’ll start to begin the mating process. If you’re not trying to breed your leopard geckos, then, again, you’ll need to place them in separate enclosures.
Breeding season will start in about January and run all the way until September, but despite this fact, male leopard geckos will still try to mate with females whether they’re ovulating or not. Also, because leopard geckos have such a long breeding season, it’s pretty much inevitable that your female will become pregnant if enclosed with the male long enough.
Unless you’re experienced with leopard geckos and you have the equipment needed to care for a lot of additional geckos, I wouldn’t recommend having your male and female in the same tank together.
You can pair them together during the months throughout the year where females aren’t able to get pregnant, but even then, your male will still continue to bite your female gecko in an attempt to mate with them and as a result, potentially put your female under a ton of stress that they shouldn’t have to deal with.
To give you an idea of some of the things that your female may experience if left in a tank with a pestering male leopard gecko, check out this list here:
- Lethargic behavior
- Irritability
- Loss of appetite
- Aggressiveness
- Dropped tail
Any leopard gecko that is subjected to a ton of stress and harassment is likely to start displaying a plethora of different behaviors. And for that reason, if the biting becomes very consistent or if your male is constantly trying to mate with your female, then it’s time to separate them.
Female leopard geckos can be aggressive as well but most of the time males are the aggressors and because of that, they’re the ones that should be removed from the tank. They’re just doing what they’re hardwired to do but even though this is how some of them naturally act it doesn’t mean that it’s okay to leave them in the same tank together.
By instinct, males want to mate all of the time and even though this is good for breeders or in situations where it’s breeding season, the constant nagging and harassing can start to take a toll on your females health and will eventually cause them to start displaying some of the things that I listed above if something isn’t done to stop your male from doing it.
Conclusion
The occasional nibble here and there is nothing to worry about, but if they start to get excessive, then you may be dealing with a little bit of a problem and unfortunately, that problem will usually only be able to get solved by separating the leopard gecko that’s biting from the one that’s being bitten.
Unless you plan on breeding, I suggest you only house two females together.
They’re likely to nip at each other as well, but out of all of the potential pair-ups that you could possibly have when it comes to leopard geckos, having two females will probably be your best and safest option for somewhat ensuring that not a lot of aggressive behavior will be going down while they’re in the tank together.
Male leopard geckos are very aggressive by nature and in my opinion, even though it’s possible, I wouldn’t recommend pairing them up together with any other gecko.
Because male leopard geckos are very dominant and seem to have the urge to breed more than females do, they should be housed alone so that there’s no chance of them picking on other leopard geckos that don’t enjoy being messed with.