Keeping 2.3 sikorae together. Bad idea?

Nocturnal80 · #1 06-01-2011, 11:28 PM

Hello, this is kind of a two part question. I am keeping 1.2 sikorae in a 55 gallon and am thinking about increasing the size of the enclore and adding 1.1 geckos. First, and I dont know if this is even possible but I would like to stack two 55 gallons. Break out the bottom of one and glue it to the top of another. Anyone ever try this? The reason I would break the glass is because I want to keep the trim on the bottom intact. Second, is it even a good idea to keep five geckos together? Will the males fight? I would imagine 110 gallon enclosure would be plenty. Thanks in advance for any help.

uroplatus99 · #2 06-01-2011, 11:50 PM

Keep them seperate... get another female and just have 2 groups... less stress on you and even better, less stress on the geckos as well as less work on building the enclosure.

I think, though its a cool idea doing competive breeding and such, right now, keeping good clean bloodlines is key as well, and atleast tracking groups (as well as pairs) is easier and better for the genus/species in the long run when you know where the offspring came from then trying to track down which male and female the eggs came from.

miguel camacho! · #3 06-01-2011, 11:53 PM

There's no guarantee whether or not the males will fight, although I feel as though there is a better chance of fighting if one male is established in an enclosure and a new male is added. The size of the two stacked enclosures sounds like it will be large enough for the group. Just keep a close eye on the males and look for any signs of bite marks on either of the two.

Good luck.

jadrig · #4 06-02-2011, 12:42 AM

Dont break the glass...those tanks are worth more than a gecko $$$ wise anyway. I would imagine an inverted 55 gal would be large enough for 2.3, but I believe that it is better to have smaller groups/ pairs together.
Also, there would be a much easier/cheaper way to make a 55 gal a 100+gal set up.
With sikorae, I have heard that pairs have been successful. Female sikorae are WAAY too aggressive towards food to have that many in one enclosure. You would have to throw in atleast 25-30 crickets every night in order to guaranty that the males were eating. Very inefficient set up. If it was something that you wanted to do just to do ...go for it. But, it would be tough to monitor the health of the individual geckos. Also, I have no experience with keeping two male sikorae together, but I would doubt that the males are as aggressive towards eachother as satanics are. My 6+ year old male satanic is like a pitbull...he is kept in solitary confinement.

NigelMoses · #5 06-02-2011, 01:30 PM

I agree if you have the space for more why put them together. You could have two groups of different bloodlines going. Also, I have never witnessed aggression towards males kept together but that doesn't mean it can't happen. These were animals raised together. As Mike mentioned, if the male in your current tank is established, he could very well view the other as a threat. I have made this mistake with male ebenaui placed in the same enclosure. Not a week after adding the male with no signs of aggression shown did the introduced male die. To me it is not worth the risk if your current trio is doing great.

Nocturnal80 · #6 06-02-2011, 11:46 PM

Thanks for ur advise gentleman. Couple reasons why I want to do it. First, I dont really have the floor space and also I can probably get a 55 gallon for real cheap. Second, im having issues with the trio. Ive witnessed the male mating with one female but she has been laying slugs for atleats a year now. The other female seems to have no interest in him. Maybe its him.....maybe its them. I recently adopted the other pair so dont know much about them. They are currently in a quarantine tank. Plus, it would be interesting to see there beavior in a tank that size. It would deff be much larger and much more comfy.

uroplatus99 · #7 06-03-2011, 12:59 AM

sounds like you have already made up your mind... good luck with it all. You posted "Bad Idea?" and most have answered...

If you don't have the space... why take on another group of Uroplatus. If your having issues with the first trio... why venture in to another pair? get it right with the first before assuming the responsibility of another group of Uroplatus?

Quote:

Maybe its him.....maybe its them.

Maybe its how you are keeping them. If kept in the Natural standards, the environment of the species of Uroplatus your keeping, you really shouldn't have an issue there... and if it's him or her, then adding the stress of another pair isn't going to help them at all!!!!.

Just so you know... it may not be more comfy with 2 males fighting over territory!

Just my 2 cents. Not trying to be an @$$, just looking out for the geckos!

Nocturnal80 · #8 06-03-2011, 04:29 AM

Sorry uroplatus99, just asking people for their opinion. Didnt know I needed ur permision first. I must be doing something right because i have babies and eggs. Asking a question doesnt mean ur ignorant. Assuming YOU know everything is. Thanks for your two cents but a cpl of pennies wont get u anywhere now and days. Aim for franklins. Thanks

**Elizabeth Freer** · #9 06-03-2011, 04:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nocturnal80

Sorry uroplatus99, just asking people for their opinion. Didnt know I needed ur permision first. I must be doing something right because i have babies and eggs. Asking a question doesnt mean ur ignorant. Assuming YOU know everything is. Thanks for your two cents but a cpl of pennies wont get u anywhere now and days. Aim for franklins. Thanks

Hello Nocturnal80 ~

First off, many kudos for your success getting hatchlings and eggs from your animals

! (Your post mentioned the slugs, but not the babies.)

Some feeling caused you to ask the question "Bad idea?" in the first place.

Apart from me you have the valued opinions of some proficient GU Uroplatus breeders! Please don't ignore their advice when they recommend two separate enclosures for your groups, keeping 1 male per group to avoid even the slightest chance that aggression might occur. What does one do when it it too late and one male dies from such an experiment? Uroplatus are valued geckos. Breeders should do their best by them and not take unnecessary chances just because.

pakinjak · #10 06-03-2011, 06:45 AM

I'm with everybody else on this one.

-don't know the details, but it would take two sq. ft. or less of floor space for another enclosure to house a pair of Sikorae, depending on the enclosure. I know I could find that easily, so I'd like to think that you could squeeze it in if motivated.

-Elizabeth just alluded to it, but I don't think it gets said nearly often or strongly enough. EVERY Uroplatus is valuable, they're not like most other geckos. Their conservation status, fragility and the mortality rate among US imports means, IMO that all keepers need to do everything they can to keep them all alive.

-Another thing I think may keepers don't take seriously is accurate breeding records. Someday, and maybe soon, we won't be able to get WCs any more and then it will be helpful to know what hatchlings came from what pair to keep the gene pool strong. It's already been mentioned, but again since we're talking about Uros and not some common gecko it's more important to know which pair produces what eggs.

I'm casting my vote for "bad idea". Either way, good luck with them and I hope you get lots of eggs.