Problem with our breeder male and new female?

[BrightReptiles]

We have just gotten into the reptile world. We have purchased 4 leos total, 1 male, and three females. First was the female, then the male (yesterday). They were purchased from different people, and got along fine and started breeding right away. Today we picked up two more females, who are slightly smaller (We were told 1 year old, but they look small, possibly from her having the two in a 10 gallon tank for the past while?). Our male has been trying to breed the smallest of the two new females (the larger of the two new ones went fine) but it turns into a small fight every time, he latches on to her, and she snips back. It never lasts more than a few seconds and they separate. Is this something to worry about?? Should we separate the female that has been argumentative to him? They have only been in the same tank for about an hour so far, should we give them more time? During one of the little battles he latched on to her eyelid, and that was a bit scary.

 

[Coby78]

Well I'm no breeder but I can say a few things that others definitely will say..

If you got them all from different sources, you should have quarantined them. If any one of them had a disease, then all of them do now. Also, the reason why the smaller one is not letting the male breed is because she's not ovulating and females are not receptive when they aren't. Also, she is probably too young (looking at the photos you just put up, she has stripes still) to even be breeding right now and it's not healthy at all for her to be putting all her energy into eggs when she should be growing more.

 

[Wild West Reptile]

You should quarantine the new additions for 60-90 days minimum. This is standard procedure before you ever put new geckos together. You have no idea if the new ones are sick, how they are eating, etc. etc. If it was me, I'd separate all of them right away for their own safety. You would hate for one of them to get all the others sick....Vet bills add up real quick!

If you are planning to breed already, just getting into the reptile world, I would seriously think that over as well. You gotta ask yourself if you have the time, money, resources, racks, tanks and all the rest to care for (in your case with 3 females) up to 50 babies.

Not trying to scare you off, just preparing you for what's coming. It's a MAJOR commitment.

But the first thing you should do is separate all the geckos right away for at least a couple of months.

 

[JordanAng420]

Why on earth are you keeping them all in one tank and letting them breed when you've posted 7 other threads asking about what morphs they are? And what the rules on "inbreeding" are?

Seriously, why are you breeding them???

 

[BrightReptiles]

As far as health, the male came from a local reputable reptile store (Pinellas Reptiles, Largo FL) and the first female is 3 years old and fat and healthy, the two newest ones came from a local person, who had them housed together, both seem friendly and eat with no problem. We will be taking the advice with the smallest of them and separating her from the rest, but the others seem to be very healthy with no signs of concern. They have all been vet checked at Pinellas Reptiles and all were cleared.

 

[JordanAng420]

That's great that they all seem healthy...but they ALL should be quarantined.

And you have NO business breeding them if you don't even know what they are.

Do them all a favor and separate everybody from everybody else.

 

[BrightReptiles]

I love how I come here for advice on an action occurring and all I get is people flaming me with answers I didn't ask for.

All I asked in this thread was: (in a nutshell) "Is light fighting between a newly introduced female and male something to worry about, and at what point should I worry about the fighting?"

 

[im faster]

If they fight keep them seperate...

Youa should do lots of research prior to breeding... Keep them ds pets this year breed next after you know more about then.. your risking there lives

 

[andrew5859]

I realize you just came to ask a question but you SHOULD HAVE RESEARCHED them BEFORE you got them! Let alone put them together to breed!!! Cripe you dont even know their morphs!!!

Do what everyone previously said and separate them all immediately. If you dont have another tank (witch you should since you know about how you keep hatchlings and are ready for them) I would separate the male first, and then the small female. Might I ask what size tank you have them all in?
Do they each have their own hides?

 

[NinjaDuo]

I have so many words that I can't use...... Lol this is ridiculous

 

[fl_orchidslave]

I love how I come here for advice on an action occurring and all I get is people flaming me with answers I didn't ask for.

All I asked in this thread was: (in a nutshell) "Is light fighting between a newly introduced female and male something to worry about, and at what point should I worry about the fighting?"

There's no flaming going on here. You ask a question, and don't like the responses. That does not constitute flaming.

You were advised to separate all the geckos for more than one reason. You aren't happy about that. We care about the animals' welfare and that's why you have gotten the responses like this. You're jumping the gun and running before you walk in the gecko world. There's a lot of folks here that will be happy to help you if you're interested in doing things the right way. And yes, there's more than one right way for most, but not all things.

Quarantine is the right way. While you observe behavior and health, you will see different color traits that you will be able to identify by checking out the link provided in one of the above posts. After an adequate quarantine period, they may all be able to live in the big tank together much of the time. But breeding females sometimes need to be alone, to lay their eggs without the added stress of others being right there.

This thread may also help you http://geckoforums.net/showthread.php?t=76665

 

[Wild West Reptile]

He just posted another breeding question. I don't think he gets it at all.

This may be a job for Seamus!:main_thumbsup:

 

[BrightReptiles]

I realize you just came to ask a question but you SHOULD HAVE RESEARCHED them BEFORE you got them! Let alone put them together to breed!!! Cripe you dont even know their morphs!!!

Do what everyone previously said and separate them all immediately. If you dont have another tank (witch you should since you know about how you keep hatchlings and are ready for them) I would separate the male first, and then the small female. Might I ask what size tank you have them all in?
Do they each have their own hides?

They are in a 40gal long tank with undertank heating pad under 1/3 the tank. We have a stockpile of 10gal tanks and small pads for babies.

 

[BrightReptiles]

Oh, and the "sand" is calcium sand and extra fine ground walnut shell mixed 1:3

 

[Coby78]

Oh, and the "sand" is calcium sand and extra fine ground walnut shell mixed 1:3

Yikes, regular sand is better than the calcium sand. They tend to eat it and even though it claims to be digestible, it can still cause impaction. And I've read from many people that ground walnut is just a no. It would be better to just ditch the substrate, or if you must, replace it with play sand.

Put the male in one of the 10 gallon tanks. It's not good to fully house a male in with the females since all males want to do is mate and that stresses the females a lot, especially when they're gravid and laying.

And of course if you're going to quarantine, put the first female in a tank of her own also.

 

[Wild West Reptile]

Oh, and the "sand" is calcium sand and extra fine ground walnut shell mixed 1:3

I can't take anymore of this. Would someone please take over.:main_lipsrsealed:

 

[im faster]

Bud I hate to say it but your not doing very much right here

 

[im faster]

Do your self a favor...

Seperate all since you have so many tanks


And DO NOT USE SAND

you do bot have the proper knowledge to use it properly.

Do reaseach breed next year

 

[Thorgecko707]

Unless you have a hot room it's going to start getting cold if you ever get hatchlings. You can get heated rack setup for only 800 bucks. IMO hatchlings should be solo in case you get two males. Those gravid females are going to be munching that calcium sand like no tomorrow.

 

[Wowoklol]

Heat pad under 1/3 of the tank and how many hides do you have on that 1/3? How many humid/dry hides total? Oh man, this is getting trainwrecky in a hurry! You may want to think about returning some of them.. Start with one maybe and get the hang of it? Please?


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