Failure introduction?

[mainelygeckos]

Ok so I have two juvinile geckos. Not sure of sex tho am almost posiive one is male. I decided I would try to introduce them to eachother as I would liek them to be housed together if possible. So this is what happened.

Willow, 10 grams, removed some furniture from is enclosure and placed in Stubs, 12 grams, enclosure. Placed Willow in enclosure. Willow explored a bit as Stubs sort of watched but didn't move from opposite sides of enclosure. After a few minutes Willow proceeds to go to warm side of enclosure where Stubs was and suddenly Stubs starts a stalking motion like when it goes for food..almost looking an aggressive state..Willow raises tail and starts to twirl it around in circles, tho stubs does not raise and twirl tail but aggressive state still seems evident.

Question is, both males? or a natural mechanism for Willow and Stubs to do when introduced even if Stubs may be possible female? I removed Willow right away afraid of injuries and placed him back into his tank. Willow is the one I am assuming is male since i think I see the bulges forming tho pre anal pores are slightly evident but not much. No bulges appear evident on Stubs nor pre anal pores but at approx age guess at about 4 months maybe not evident yet anyway?

Will keep them seperated for now but would be nice to know if this was a sure sign both are male? thanks all :main_huh:

 

[Khrysty]

The tail wave thing is something that males do to check and see if the other is a male. If they both did it then they're either both male, or one feels the other is encroaching upon its territory. Either way, it's best not to put them together until you're 100% sure of the sex...and even then sometimes they'll get too aggressive even if they're opposite sexes..

 

[RampantReptiles]

If at least one is a male, which seems to be evident then you cant house them together until breeding age/state.
Two males will kill each other
OR
Female could be impregnated before she is ready and can lead to death.

 

[mainelygeckos]

Thanks a bunch and I know about two males together..guess it was kind of a test to see for sure about males or females but only one did the tail wagging hting so means onnly one is male? and I will make sure they are kept seperated in their own tanks. I appreciate all the feedback..since they were juvi thot would be ok either way but I guess not lol

 

[Fallupinreverse]

The problem with juvies is that the female would not be of age to properly handle mating, but that generally has proven to not matter much to males, who will try to mate anyway. This process could end up killing the female.

 

[mainelygeckos]

kk ty much ofr input...I was actually hoping they were both females lol so as ot haouse together and have an extra tank for more leos! LOL but have to wait til I can get another whole set up I guess

 

[geckolvr88]

My female has done the tail wagging thing. It's not just a male trait. Some pictures of their vents would definately help.

The only way, however, that they can be housed together is if they are both females.

Post some pics of their "parts" and maybe we can sort this out better

 

[mainelygeckos]

I have a terrible camera and have tried several times to get some decent pics for you all to see but to their dismay i might add so to get a pic of their undersides i guess might be out of the question so will wait til they are more visible..really wish i knew how old, or approximately how old they were it sure would help me in keeping records lol..both are about 5 inches long..one a bit shyt of 5 inches cause of regrown tail..one is 10 grams and other is 12 grams as of the 20th ..the one with regrown tail is the stalkier one lol she is quite an eater..the other is more streamlined..any guesses? there are pics of them somewhere in here lol but nothing real recent like in two weeks...thanks if this helps give me an estimate if not I just wait

 

[Khrysty]

at 10 and 12 grams I really wouldnt expect to see anything. How old did you say these guys were?

 

[mainelygeckos]

thats just it idk lol bought them from a stupid petstore and they don't know anything so got no solid answers..they were both quite small tho I have had the one that weighs 10 grams for a month now..the other a few weeks..I think they are too young..at least they eat great!

 

[Khrysty]

If they really do eat great then you've got a couple of hatchlings on your hands. I could hardly call them juvies at that weight. Just out of curiosity, how much do they eat a day?

 

[mainelygeckos]

oh my well i just changed their mealies to medium/large (about 7 or 8 a day) cause they were eating 16 and 17 smalls lol they eat 5 or 6 small crickets when i get em for em. They have been gaining about 2 grams a week

 

[Khrysty]

oh my well i just changed their mealies to medium/large (about 7 or 8 a day) cause they were eating 16 and 17 smalls lol they eat 5 or 6 small crickets when i get em for em. They have been gaining about 2 grams a week

Well at least you know they're healthy. The gaining weight thing is definitely good :main_yes:

I doubt you'd be able to sex either of them at this point, though..wait about 5 more months.

The tail waving was likely a dominance thing, not a sexual display, judging by their age/weight. They're probably so used to being separated (at least the one was) that they didn't want to share a space. Not a big deal. Once you can accurately sex them, if they're both females, you can go ahead and put them back together again--but definitely watch for signs of aggression. Sometimes you don't see the bullying if you're not watching carefully enough.

 

[mainelygeckos]

ok ty so much for that! I do have pictures of them somewhere in the forums i think in show off your leos if you want to check them out as well as my avatar photo is of the one displaying the dom thing and the other is my profile picture..thanks again

 

[Khrysty]

ok ty so much for that! I do have pictures of them somewhere in the forums i think in show off your leos if you want to check them out as well as my avatar photo is of the one displaying the dom thing and the other is my profile picture..thanks again

Saw your post with the leos in it. They all still have their baby stripes--definitely too young to sex IMO. But Rob (ElapidSVT) came up with a way that he claims allows you to accurately sex hatchlings, though, if you can get them to stay still enough to try it out. I've never done it.

Here's the link for that:
http://www.geckoforums.net/showthread.php?t=26095&highlight=sexing+hatchlings

 

[mainelygeckos]

lol looked at that thread 10 minutes b4 u posted it isn't that funny..great minds think alike? anyway I know the High Yellow wouldn't even let me attempt it but maybe my other we will see..I will let you know what happens ty