Introducing a male

[dod_resq_ff]

We have recently purchased a large tangerine albino male (who has already had successful breedings) to breed with our females. We have some questions on behavior. We placed him (Dexter) in with one of our giant jungle females (Liz) last night. She didn’t seem very interested but he slowly inched his way towards her, shook his tail rapidly and then proceeded to lick on her face. All of a sudden he started biting on her but not very aggressively. It looked more like a love bite. She just stood there frozen the entire time which is not like her at all considering she runs from crickets. We immediately separated them. I’m not sure where to go from here. We just wanted to see if he would get along with any of our females. I know it’s not breeding season until February and I have some knowledge of the breeding process but have never heard anything about biting. As far as I know Liz has never been with a male before. She shares a tank with another female giant jungle who is also at least 2 years old. Any advice will help us out. Thanks!

 

[acpart]

I'm assuming you're talking about leopard geckos even if it is in the "other lizards" forum. From your description it sounds as if the male displayed typical mating behavior and the female may have shown that she was receptive by tolerating his approach. Usually if the female isn't interested she nips at the male. It can be a bit disconcerting to watch the first part of the mating process because of the biting. As long as neither is injuring the other (and assuming you do want them to mate) they are probably OK together, though they should be watched at first to make sure they're getting along. The mating season usually is later in the winter (Jan., Feb), but some geckos go all year around or have a different idea of when the mating season is.

Aliza