Curious behavior

[mascutt]

Ok, here's one for anyone who can interpret Leo behavior. This past week I upgraded my vivarium to a large, front opening, instead of fish-tank style. I put everything in the same position and Lola and Sela have been fine. Since I have more height, I built a zig-zag bridge out of pineapple palm sprouts several days ago. Of the two, Sela is the more adventurous. She climbs it all the time, but Lola shows no interest yet. Now the top height is only 12" from the bottom of the tank, and since both have kamikazee'd off my shoulders, I know they can handle a 12" drop if they don't feel like climbing back down.

So just know, witnessed by my wife and I both, Sela climbed to the top, and started looking for a way down instead of the way she came. She hung over the side but didn't let go with her back feet. So she's hanging there, and Lola, who is on the ground on the other side of the tank, sprints to right underneath Sela and stares up at her. Then, completely by surprise, she jumps clear off the ground at Sela. She did not reach her, but we have no idea what the heck she was trying to do. Help Sela up? Knock Sela down? It was quite a funny scene. And in the end, Sela just pulled herself back up and walked down the bridge.

Anyone know what the depth of Leo communication might be?

 

[PsycoticLizard]

I'm not sure but maybe it was a little tease by Sela trying to show off to Lola.

 

[STUTFL]

Maybe Lola is the more aggressive leo and Sela is trying to get away from her up there because Lola's not a big climber?

Or, maybe they're just a two-leo circus act.

I'd keep an eye out if one is striking at the other, though. Geckos can be territorial and bullying.

 

[mascutt]

I always watch for signs of aggression; have never seen anything. They're supposed to both be female, but Sela is still young yet, so I know there's a possibility she could be male. But, they always lay in a big pile in their hide - same side of tank. They're always together. Sela is just more adventurous in everything. She will always climb in my hand... she will try to explore when I have her out of her viv. Lola I always have to pick up, and she always just sits still on my hand or my shoulder without really trying to go anywhere. They just have different personalities. But jumping up to her was comical - we just couldn't understand what she wanted, or what she thought she was trying to do. LOL

 

[STUTFL]

How old is Lola?

 

[mascutt]

They are both Juveniles; neither are a year old yet, but Lola is 8.5" long and Sela is 7.5". As a guess I'd say Lola is probably 8 or 9 months old?

 

[mascutt]

Another thought my wife just had about it: Sela and Lola are always together on the ground, but now Sela's becoming a climber. My wife wonders if maybe having Sela up high, and hanging down, just surprised Lola, and being unused to seeing a gecko above her, thought it was a new gecko and not Sela??

 

[STUTFL]

From the pictures you posted earlier, Sela looks a *lot* smaller (and probably lighter, which may be why she finds climbing easier?). Maybe everything's fine, but keep a closer eye on them for a few days to make sure there's not trouble in paradise. Females fight, too.

 

[ILoveGeckos14]

In the tank room they are at different heights and the ones who are lower than the others will climb to the highest point in the cage trying to get on the same level or higher than the other gecko. I believe it is a territorial behavior to show dominance over certain area/ vantage point. Maybe in the wild the gecko with the top rock is the head honcho. I know that those that are in the higher tanks seem to know it and so do the ones that are in the lower tanks.

We rehabbed this one girl gecko from a friend and she was on a tank stand that was lower than Angel's tank across from her. Soon she would just stare at Angel and when Angel would eat, she would eat more, when Angel was out she would be out on her log staring. It was like she was competing in a different tank, trying to get bigger, trying to eat more, trying to climb higher than Angel's tank but it was obvious her behaviors were revolving around what Angel was doing. One of the first times she ravenously attacked her food dish was when I was feeding Angel worms one by one. She came out of her half log because she saw Angel eating then saw the wriggling worms under her and proceeded to eat all of them. lol

 

[STUTFL]

:laugh: Well, there's one way to fatten up a leo!

 

[ILoveGeckos14]

haha that's true!

 

[STUTFL]

Like kids who won't eat their veggies unless it looks like someone else is going to take them. :laugh:

 

[mascutt]

That's very interesting. I never thought about a height difference. But yet, why only this one time? Sela climbs it all the time - she goes up; she come right back down. It's not like she hangs out up there, but more like she's getting exercise. And it's never bothered Lola... only that one time did she do that.... not before and not since.

Sela is smaller than Lola, but she has grown much since the pix I posted. I just measured them both last week and she is 7.5" in length now, but she is much thinner and lighter than Lola. She still has that squishy feel when you pick her up that Lola no longer has.

 

[CallDr]

This is all interesting! I am curious, knowing a lot of breeders keep their Leos in these plastic containers and not in a Tank or such as we do when we get them? It also makes me wonder if that is also part of the reason they go and stay in Hides at first?

The climbing thing I think is a natural behavior. All "prey" like to have the best vantage point. Climbing for fun, exercise or roaming might be part of the "temperament"??????

One thing I have thought about is feeding. If it's always offered on the floor.... then this would lesson their need or instinct to "hunt for food".

But back to what you started with. Most animals communicate through verbal and body language. The "reaction" could have been that..... or as suggested.... was a "reaction" to what the other observed. In Nature there is a pecking order. This will have one act or the other react to the others of it's kind in a given circumstance. What you described.. was a reaction.

My guess would be the one who jumped was the dominate of the 2. Not sure..... maybe the experts here may know. Sometimes animals attack a wounded or injured other. But what you described, did not sound like the jump was attacking.

 

[mascutt]

My guess would be the one who jumped was the dominate of the 2. Not sure..... maybe the experts here may know. Sometimes animals attack a wounded or injured other. But what you described, did not sound like the jump was attacking.

It did not appear to me to be an attack. There was no tail flicking, no open mouths. One was hanging down from her back legs, the other was on the ground stretched up. Quite honestly, they looked like they were about to try a trapeze act LOL. Then Lola jumped. Just one time. Sela pulled herself up, climbed down, and they went to sleep in their normal pile together ??

 

[mascutt]

This is all interesting! I am curious, knowing a lot of breeders keep their Leos in these plastic containers and not in a Tank or such as we do when we get them? It also makes me wonder if that is also part of the reason they go and stay in Hides at first?

I think that might be a possibility. I know neither of my leos use the hides. I provide them, warm and cool, with and without sphagnum moss - but they don't go in them. However, they are freaked out if I remove them which I do in the morning for feeding (I hate hunting for crickets). But once I put it back, they both go in for like 3 minutes... like just to make sure it's there, and then they go about their daily business - which they do not do in hiding

My hides are the types bought at petstores... like an Egyptian Sphynix they can both go into, as well as climb on the inside and outside of it.

 

[STUTFL]

My leo's favorite of his three hides is the cottage-cheese container. He's in it most of the time when he's not roaming around. Next is the rock pile, which he just fits in except for his head - he rests his chin on the water dish and looks at me.
He rarely uses the purchased log hide except after he eats and needs to warm up.
His favorite hide outside the tank is my shirtsleeve or pants leg. :laugh:

 

[CallDr]

It did not appear to me to be an attack. There was no tail flicking, no open mouths. One was hanging down from her back legs, the other was on the ground stretched up. Quite honestly, they looked like they were about to try a trapeze act LOL. Then Lola jumped. Just one time. Sela pulled herself up, climbed down, and they went to sleep in their normal pile together ??

The hanging upside down as you described seems to have been just an event that took place, rather than some form of body language that the other reacted to. I have no idea of the jumping up as a reaction to the other just hanging down. What can cause a reaction is if the one observing sees the other as hurt or injured. Seems to me it's was just a cool thing to watch.

 

[janjgeckos]

Do you ever feed them by dangling food down in their tank, like from tweezers? She may have mistaken her or part of her as food if her front legs were hanging down and moving.

 

[mascutt]

It was very cool to watch. I wish I had been running my video cam! hehehe.

No, I don't dangle food down from above them. I usually feed them one or two meal worms by hand to get an indication of how hungry they are, and then I place the appropriate amount of crickets in with them. That way I know they're getting both. What they don't eat after like 30 minutes, I take back out.