Firstly, I'm Laura, and I co-run Steel Reptiles with my husband. We are part small turtle/crested gecko breeders, part small reptile rescue. Nice to meet you!
Now moving on to the topic at hand; housing multiple cresties!
I'm going to start by saying that male crested geckos should be housed alone when not breeding during breeding season. I have heard of other people housing a male with a female or two, but I personally house all my geckos separately .
While most people say that females can be housed together, I also prefer to house them separately. I find housing multiple geckos can cause them stress, and just like people they don't always get along.
There are some sources that state crested geckos are semi-cannibalistic, so you may be taking a chance with that too. In the wild they would likely not be living in close quarters with each other, so it's not as natural for them to be social.
With that said, I do house two babies together (<10g each) and they seem to enjoy each other. They can be seen sleeping on the same leaf on opposite sides, jumping over each other, and even eating together. I plan on separating them once they get bigger or their sex can definitively be determined.
If you do choose to house your gecko with a cagemate, I would suggest getting a female, and ensuring that you have an appropriate additional enclosure to isolate the new addition for several weeks to months to ensure it is healthy before putting the health of your gecko at risk. You will also want to keep an enclosure available to set up quickly in the case that the two geckos don't get along, start to fight, or either of them becomes sick or stressed.
Some other things to consider are:
- Are you prepared if your cresties are male & female to incubate the eggs, and care for and house the resulting babies?
- The risks of egg producing complications in females that are bred too early
- The risks of injury caused by one crestie to another
- The additional space required by multiple geckos (2-3 adults need a minimum of a 30 Gallon Vertical Tank)
So does your crested gecko need friends?
My answer is no.
