Tips on introducing aggressive males

colinmelsom · #1 10-21-2011, 08:40 AM

Does anyone have any tips on introducing very aggressive males to females? I have one male guimbeaui that is very large and aggressive.
In the past I have tried to pair him in his vivarium and the females` vivarium but he has either intimidated the female or killed her.
I was wondering about a larger neutral vivarium with plenty of foliage and hides but that would make it more difficult for me to remove one of them if necessary.The other thought that I had was to introduce two females but then I was worried that he might kill both.
Any thoughts would be welcome as he is a different blood line to my other guimbeaui.

lodewijk · #2 10-25-2011, 08:03 AM

My male rosa killed 3 females back in 2009,sometimes things don't work out as they are suppose to go.
You have to keep on trying,monitor all his movements,a bigger terra will help but if he doesn't like her he will chase and kill her.
When things doesn't get better you always can sell or swap him for another male at Hamm next year.
succes

bradley · #3 10-25-2011, 11:27 AM

I would:
Make sure the tank size is of a sutible size and enables the pair to get away from each other
Reaarange the inside of the tanks and introduce the female for 5 mins then the male
Make sure there are plenty of hiding places for the female to get away like hollow babmboo.If the male is bigger then the female you can try to cut a hole only the female can get through.

PhelsumaUK · #4 10-30-2011, 03:23 PM

I swap you my aggressive one at Hamm Colin!

Don't bother trying during the 'winter'. Try once you start warming the tanks again (make sure she's not already showing with eggs). Put her in (evening seems better) and watch the male. If he's just rolling sideways at her, probably not going to work. If he goes towards her, snout down and neck humped with the head juddering side to side, he's more interested in sex than territory. If things appear to be going smoothly, leave them together overnight but physically check the female the following evening (even if she's hiding away) for wounds (other than the neck region). If she's got bitemarks on the side or round the base of tail, remove her. Wait until after shes laid her next set of duds (or eggs if you got a mating), then try a couple of days after that...Took me 14 attempts over a couple of years to get a pair of P. borb mater together once...but after that they were the best of friends. Maybe he just grew out of it?

Not sure why some males go aggressive (often seems to be at the age of 3-5). My aggressive male was fine up until about 8 months ago and then decided to attack his female and then a second female I put in with him later. I'll try him again next season with another female. Temporary aggression at the end of the breeding season and over the winter is fairly common so I split pairs up at the first sign of trouble and re-introduce when the lights start going on for longer again.

colinmelsom · #5 10-31-2011, 05:57 AM

Thanks for the replies,I will try again in the Spring.
Lodewijk I bought the male in Hamm.I should have known by now that its strange to be able to buy a lone male guimbeaui.Thats why the previous owner sold him!!

ajb28221 · #6 10-31-2011, 01:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bradley

I would:
Make sure the tank size is of a sutible size and enables the pair to get away from each other
Reaarange the inside of the tanks and introduce the female for 5 mins then the male
Make sure there are plenty of hiding places for the female to get away like hollow babmboo.If the male is bigger then the female you can try to cut a hole only the female can get through.

I agree, I have heard of people having success with aggressive males after rearranging everything in the viv and then introducing the female first. The concept is that the male has his territory in the viv and hes protectiong it but when everything is rearranged it kinda disrupts that and gives the female a chance to get situated before adding him