[getmealemon]

Hi all, finally got a female for my little guy. She is alot smaller than him but is already dominating the viv. There has been a lot of head bobbing and throat puffing from him which usually ends with her chasing him, on other occaisons a bit of face licking before she again chases him off. I'm guessing she is not interested in breeding yet.

She has basically taken over the top half of the viv in the 5 days since i got her, is it normal for females to be so aggressive?

I know people will raise the whole is it a supressed male debate, i don't have a good enough camera to post a pic of her, she is brown/olive in colour. I would have thought if my she was a he then would be turning blue as he has the best spots in the viv now?

Sorry for the ramble, still learning how they interact together.

[hexentanz]

How old is your female? When you say by a lot, exactly how much smaller?

It could be she is too young and telling the male she is not ready for mating by chasing him.

When I got my 100% female I got her from a friend who had another female. The one I got was bullying my friends other female and suppressing his male a bit. The first two weeks she was with me she refused to mate with the male and would often chase him. I separated them for a bit and changed some things around the tank and then added them back together. Now they are the best of friends.

In my experience it is always best with most species to introduce a male to a female, this usually ends in the most smoothest pairings.

[suez]

Originally Posted by getmealemon

Hi all, finally got a female for my little guy. She is alot smaller than him but is already dominating the viv. There has been a lot of head bobbing and throat puffing from him which usually ends with her chasing him, on other occaisons a bit of face licking before she again chases him off. I'm guessing she is not interested in breeding yet.

She has basically taken over the top half of the viv in the 5 days since i got her, is it normal for females to be so aggressive?

I know people will raise the whole is it a supressed male debate, i don't have a good enough camera to post a pic of her, she is brown/olive in colour. I would have thought if my she was a he then would be turning blue as he has the best spots in the viv now?

Sorry for the ramble, still learning how they interact together.

how old is she?
I have never found my females to be aggressive with the males in fact very submisive on a 1 to 1 pairing.

[getmealemon]

Had a big change round in the viv last week, things seem to be improving. I'm seeing much more face licking and much less of her chasing him off. She is only 6 months old so i've been told so that may be something to do with it.

[hexentanz]

Originally Posted by getmealemon

Had a big change round in the viv last week, things seem to be improving. I'm seeing much more face licking and much less of her chasing him off. She is only 6 months old so i've been told so that may be something to do with it.

If she is only 6 months old you need to separate them now as she is far too young still to be with a male. If she gets pregnant at this age you risk her health. Her growth can be stunted, she could die, she could become egg bound, etc.

[getmealemon]

Doh, thats not good. Not really in a position to seperate them, don't really want to take her back but i might have to if thats going to be the case.

[hexentanz]

Originally Posted by getmealemon

Doh, thats not good. Not really in a position to seperate them, don't really want to take her back but i might have to if thats going to be the case.

With her size and age you could hold her for a few months until she is 12 months of age in a 30cm cube exo. If you cannot afford an exo you could order some braplast boxes and make a temp spot for her. It would stress her out too much to be bounced back and forth between homes then to be placed in a temp location in your home. If the braplast box interests you most, shoot me a pm and I can show you how to make one in to a temp home.

[getmealemon]

Right just got a new Exo 30X30X45cm viv (only £35!) will be getting that sorted in the next few days. Long term would this size viv be suitable for a pair once their ready to be re introduced or do you think it's too small?

Was hoping i could then use the 45X45X60cm one for some kind of Phelsuma...

[hexentanz]

Originally Posted by getmealemon

Right just got a new Exo 30X30X45cm viv (only £35!) will be getting that sorted in the next few days. Long term would this size viv be suitable for a pair once their ready to be re introduced or do you think it's too small?

Was hoping i could then use the 45X45X60cm one for some kind of Phelsuma...

Yes the 30x30x45 would be the minimum size for a pair. I have got a pair currently in a 20x40x50, but will move them to a 50x50x70 since I wish to get a second female to make a trio + I often go plant insane. :P

You could use the 45x45x60 for a pair of P. klemmeri or similar sized Phelsumas like P. laticauda.

[Taito]

Especially in the case of L. williamsi it is possible to put a pair together when the female is not mature. The reason is that females are more dominant than the males. She will send or bite him away until she is ready for him. Growth problems after early mating due to missing supplementation are avoidable by giving enough food, vitamins and minerals.

I can definitely not recommend to hold two females together. I had two in the beginning and after both were mature they started to fight hard. In the end I had to sell the more aggressive one. I also heard about that problem from other breeders.

Incompatibility of two females can also happen with Phelsuma klemmeri. P. klemmeri are very peaceful before maturity, but after you will have problems in everything more than 1.1.x. And these problems can occur from one day to the next.