a little help pls

zachb · #1 09-06-2010, 10:10 PM

2nd post so here goes..

i have 1.1.1 cresties which i bought another today which is male, i believe the other 2 r female as i dont c the bulge but im unsure of the 3rd 1

i am quarentining the first 1 until he gets larger so he can breed with the other 2 but my problem is the other 2 are having some troubles as 1 attacks the other which i was using a smaller cage, 10g, but now i got a 40g tank and thought it would be ok
but they stil fight, how can i get them to stop fighting? like tips or something would be nice ><

and how much should they weigh? with and without tail, one of mine loss hers b4 i got her x.x

mdmlss23 · #2 09-07-2010, 10:36 AM

the best bet for them if fighting is to seperate them how much do they weigh should be at least 40 grams to be safe for breeding or one+ years old

zachb · #3 09-07-2010, 03:13 PM

i separated them last night : /

i've had them for about 9months, any tips to try to get them use to eachother?

Spyral · #4 09-07-2010, 03:42 PM

Are you sure both are female? Is one bigger than the other? Two males are a problem, as is housing different sized females.

I have a female that just won't tolerate companions. Maybe try in another week or two, but first make sure there are plenty of places to hide and two food bowls. Sometimes introducing both into neutral territory helps; can you take them both out and re-arrange the tank? Put them back in at the same time on different sides of the tank. Minimizing exposure to each other can help, but you may just have incompatible animals - in which case you will need to house them separately.

zachb · #5 09-07-2010, 06:40 PM

i'm sure 1 is a female which she is bigger than the other 1, and the smaller 1 doesnt have a tail either so idk how much dif in weight that would b ><

ima get more fake plants for em later aswell, 40g tank is pretty big lol... well relatively speaking that is

StickyFeet. · #6 09-09-2010, 06:16 PM

Your best bet is to leave them seperated for about a month to get more weight on the smaller girl. The RULE of thumb when housing together is to ALWAYS house animals the same size. Even if one is slightly bigger than the other, bullying and dominance can still happen. Crested females can and do dominate other Crested females.

If you're going to re-introduce them, take everything out of the tank you're planning on using, completely sterilize it and all the furnishings and then introduce them. If they continue fighting, you will need to seperate them permanantly. There are no tricks to making them 'like' eachother. If they do not tolerate eachother now, they usually never will and one animal will stress the other animal to the point where you run into health issues.

Also, do more research on breeding. 1 year old for a female is NOT an appropriate breeding age, regardless if they are 40 grams.

sammaroo420 · #7 11-24-2010, 07:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StickyFeet.

Your best bet is to leave them seperated for about a month to get more weight on the smaller girl. The RULE of thumb when housing together is to ALWAYS house animals the same size.

There are no tricks to making them 'like' eachother. If they do not tolerate eachother now, they usually never will and one animal will stress the other animal to the point where you run into health issues.

Is it possible to have slight exceptions to the rule? I recently bought two cresteds.. one being much closer to a hatchling than the other (neither are full grown. They both seem to be getting along fine.. hardly even notice each other. I am planning on keeping the smaller one in a keeper for a week or two so i can make sure that its eating and pooping but then i plan on putting them right back together because i want them to be used to each other. Do you see a problem with that? as long as i dont see any signs of fighting?

Spyral · #8 11-27-2010, 05:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sammaroo420

Is it possible to have slight exceptions to the rule? I recently bought two cresteds.. one being much closer to a hatchling than the other (neither are full grown. They both seem to be getting along fine.. hardly even notice each other. I am planning on keeping the smaller one in a keeper for a week or two so i can make sure that its eating and pooping but then i plan on putting them right back together because i want them to be used to each other. Do you see a problem with that? as long as i dont see any signs of fighting?

There is always a chance that it would work out, but it's not really recommended. You may not see any signs of fighting, but there can still be aggression and bullying. Then there is the problem of them being a male-male pair which is very likely to lead to fighting - possibly to the severe injury, even death. And that kind of behavior has been seen in small juveniles (4 grams).

You would want to monitor weights and condition (scratches, bite marks, tail & toe nips, etc) and offer plenty of foliage and hides in the tank, keeping in mind that each may have their own preferences.

I would recommend keeping the smaller in the KK you have until it catches up in size, and then only if they're female. If they're males, do not house them together. If male and female you need to wait until the female is 35 grams AND you are prepared to take care of offspring.